Is Skateboarding A Good Workout? Skateboarding Health Benefits

Once you get the hang of it, skateboarding is super fun. All the tricks, spins, and slides. It feels like a great achievement to land a kickflip even when no one’s looking. And it works as a great vehicle on the way to school.

With so many upsides of skateboarding as a recreational activity, one could easily wonder, is skateboarding a good workout? And guess what, after reading this article, you’ll probably skip leg day to spend some more time on the skateboard. Because one won’t give you half as the adrenaline as the other one.

Is Skateboarding A Good Workout?

What do you think? That’s right, skateboarding is a good workout. I can guarantee you that it’s a better way to improve your physical health. Better than most other regular activities you follow for the same outcome and fun at the same time.

Skateboard flip

Skateboarding can be a great medium for cardio workouts. We don’t realize it but spinning and sliding on that board is capable of giving us the same benefits we expect from HIIT sets.

Why Is Skateboarding A Good Workout?

Is riding a skateboard good exercise? The answer is yes! If you observe your body movements during skateboarding, you’ll get a pretty good idea why. Michele Olson, Ph.D., is an Auburn University professor with expertise in exercise science. A few years back, he told Man’s Journal about his findings on the impacts of skateboarding on our bodies.

He compared skateboarding with spinning and skipping and couldn’t recommend it enough. According to Dr. Olson, the cardiovascular muscles go through the same sort of effort when you’re attempting a trick on the board. The grinds, slides, and constant flips work the muscles just as hard, sometimes even more.

Cruising around the neighborhood will help you a bit with legwork and quick-thinking abilities. And your glutes will have a field day when you’re on a trick-or-flip streak. So, yeah, the secret lies in how you approach your skateboard on that particular day.

In fact, for more expert opinion, why not check this video out on “Discussing Skateboarding with Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman”? It reflects on more interesting aspects regarding the health benefits of skateboarding.

See also: Can Skateboarding Help You Lose Weight – Useful Tips For You

What Regions of The Body Does Skateboarding Benefit?

Skateboard flies

As skateboarding requires explosive attempts and complicated movements for tricks and slides, it has a unique impact on some particular regions of our body. Precisely, the lower half benefits a lot from the movements required for most trick techniques. Especially, the regions highlighted below:

Glutes

Glutes cover a significant part of the lower body and are responsible for balancing the movements of the legs and the upper body. Moving your hips and legs to do flips and tricks work the glutes more than average activities like walking, or even cruising.

Abs

Abs are right over the glutes, and even more responsible for balancing all the motor activities happening on your upper body. It keeps the limbs still when you’re on a grind or bending your knees. Skateboarding helps burn the fat around that region and keep the core toned as much as possible.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are located right between the glutes and the back of the knees. Doing constant tricks, flips, and grinds strengthens the hamstring and helps to keep up with the pressure of intense movements.

Quadriceps

Quadricep muscles work the hardest during skateboarding. They’re the ones pushing the legs to cruise forward on the board, or bending the legs as high as possible for a trick. These muscles get a good amount of workout from skateboarding tricks.

Is Skateboard Good For Losing Weight?

Skateboard running

Skateboarding does wonders for burning calories. According to Dr. Olson, doing tricks, even if not excessively can help you burn somewhere between 7 to 12 calories in a minute. But that’s just a very simplified way to describe the effect skateboarding can have on your body.

The way workouts affect the heart rate can be classified into three different levels. The ‘Aerobic’ zone is the highest level where the heart rate increases up to 80% and burns about 45% fat as calories. 

You’ll have to keep on doing flips and tricks and ride on the bowl nonstop for hours for that sort of fat-burning. This is where skateboarding becomes a cardio workout. 

However, you’ll be disappointed if you expect the same outcome after casually skateboarding to another block from your house. It doesn’t get your heart rate up as it should. Dr. Olson compared skateboarding to spinning and skipping for that reason exactly; he’s referring to complicated tricks guaranteed to get your heart rates up.

Told ya, you won’t have to skip a leg day when you’re skateboarding regularly. Better than the gym in that aspect, isn’t it? Also, if you’re hung up on losing belly fat with skateboarding, this link might help you with some elaborated insights.

Is Skateboarding Better Than Running?

Fun-wise? Yes. But if were to consider workout benefits, or more precisely, cardio benefits, running takes the crown. Running at a regular workout pace, you’re bound to burn more calories in a minute than you’ll with a skateboard.

To get a similar result with skateboarding, it doesn’t work the muscles as much and brings the same cardio results as running. You’ll have to resort to extreme grinding and flipping. Riding around the town won’t do the trick. For beginner skateboarders wondering how to start with new skateboarding tricks, check out the link attached here for some cool tricks. They’re for beginners, so anybody can try.

That doesn’t make skateboarding any less effective of a workout, though. Running is a great cardio workout that gets the heart rate super high. But skateboarding gets the lower body muscles moving in more extreme ways. And it increases dexterity and electromotive forces, some of the essential skills least likely to be required for running.

FAQ

Does Everyone Burn the Same Amount Of Calories with the Same Skateboarding Tricks?

Skateboarding or not, everyone burns calories at a different level with the same amount of cardio exercise. It depends on the person’s age, height, and weight. For instance, a 120lb person’s body would burn around 320kCal  with an hour of skateboarding (without explosive stunts), while the calorie-burning percentage would be a lot higher for a 200 lb person. 

And this is just an estimated number that varies every time, even when you’re repeating the same routine. So, no, everyone doesn’t burn the same amount of calories every time they do the same skateboarding tricks.

How Should You Skate to Lose Weight?

To lose weight, you have to burn excessive amounts of calories, which is only possible with stunts that get your heart rate higher than usual. Instead of casually cruising on a skateboard, grind and flip as much as possible. Tricks like laser-flip and backside tail slide will work your muscles harder and help you burn stubborn calories. However you do it, the trick is in the skateboarding tricks (pun 100% intended).

Conclusion

As you can see, the answer is pretty layered when it comes to this, is skateboarding a good workout? It’s a fascinating workout when a skateboarder is dedicated to landing that perfect nose grind or 5-0 at the park. But have to work these glutes and hamstrings, no matter what.

Feeling pumped up for adopting skateboarding as a medium of regular workout? Do that, and meanwhile, check out other articles on our website to help with your skateboarding needs.