What skating has done for me, physically
Born in 1965, in 2016, after over 30 years of being anywhere from 25-50 pounds overweight, with smoking, and way too much drinking to go with it, I underwent a lifestyle change, which, surprisingly to me at the time, began a series of events that eventually transformed my body almost to how it was when I was in my late teens-early 20’s.
Fitness wasn’t my goal, but in 2018 it suddenly became important to me, as I found myself underweight, due to diet changes, quitting drinking (I quit smoking in 2010), and exercising again.
In 2018 I began working out at the gym, and started to track my weight with a body composition scale, out of pure interest.
In 2019, I did 6 months at the gym with a personal trainer, who helped me with correcting bad posture from years of inactivity, along with strength work, flexibility and conditioning.
In May of 2020, already in the best shape of my life, was when the gyms closed due to Covid, and I discovered skating again.
As a result, I have been in even better shape, ever since then, and without the gym.
At 5 feet 9, with a small frame, I have been able to maintain my ideal weight, while keeping body fat percentage in a very healthy range, ever since returning to skating.
As an added bonus, medications I had been taking for hypertension and cholesterol, I no longer needed after somewhere in 2019, as my bloodwork numbers were moving back into normal ranges again, and ever since 2021-22, nothing in my bloodwork is out of normal range, with very healthy blood pressure. (my resting heartbeat is in the 50’s and has been as low as the high 40’s during the height of skating season)
I’m a firm believer that the amount of skating I do, especially in that rockered setup, along with eating right, has been key to optimum health for me.
After any skating session, where I will usually get my heart rate to 160+ beats per minute, several times per skating session, I always feel like I got a whole body workout.
Averages By Year
Fat% = Percent of body weight in fat
Lean% = Percent of body weight of lean body mass
M Age = Metabolic “Age” (I’m currently 59)
V Fat = Visceral Fat Value (whatever it means, I had readings as high as 9, and as low as 3)
Then and Now
