Roller Derby Training

Roller derby has my life by the vagina. I'd say balls but you don't need balls to play roller derby, you need a vagina.

I'm currently training two days a week for a total of four hours. Every Wednesday night and Sunday morning we all bundle into the car so I can skate my ass off. I haven't quite skated my ass off and I won't because in derby you have an ass from squatting low while skating.

Getting ready Wednesday night

So far I've done one round of phase one, six weeks of finding my feet and learning to not fall over or more correctly fall over correctly. I have two weeks left of the second round of phase one and I'm desperately hoping I'll pass my exam so I can go onto the next phase.

It's been so much fun learning when I am more balanced, last time I really wasn't comfortable or confident due to being so unbalanced. I've still got a lot to learn before my exam but I'm a lot better than I was five weeks ago when I did it last.

What I can comfortably do;

• Skate in roller derby position (knees bent, elbows against side, hands in a fist holding boobs in)
• Single knee falls/slides
• Double knee fall/slide
• 180 knee slide
• Baseball slide
• Get up from the above falls/slides without using hands
• Stepping
• Weaving

What I need to work on;

• T-stops
• Transitions
• Crossovers (almost got it, will have it done this Sunday)
• Starts - running toe stop and duck run (smashing it this Sunday)
• 5 laps in 1 minute

Last time I wasn't even close to doing any of what I need to work on. I couldn't stop at all doing t-stops, I was shit scared of crossovers and without crossovers I couldn't get 5 laps in 1 minute or 25 laps in 5 minutes.

Learning for an extra two hours on Wednesday nights is beneficial beyond belief. For example, last Wednesday I couldn't do crossovers properly, I was doing some type of stepping over one leg then pushing off causing me to lose my balance and kiss the floor. After the two hours I am now confident I can do crossovers properly and without falling over. Transitions are another story but this Sunday I am going to work so hard to do them safely and with correct form.

One thing that is really hard is doing everything on both sides. One leg is way stronger than the other. I can only do t-stops with one leg and transition (badly) on one side. Crossing over while going clockwise (to the right) is so damn hard too. Lucky derby is to the left.

I've also been reading up on the rules. So many rules! To help with this I'm starting to watch the league training scrimmages (practice bouts). Hopefully this will help and next season I might try my hand at NSOing (non-skating official - refereeing). Anything to get more derby time in and get to know the girls in the league (Northern Brisbane Rollers, I'm training with their recreational league).

To get my fitness up to what it needs to be I've been exercising six to seven days a week doing both cardio and strength. I've noticed a massive difference in my body, energy and really notice a difference having a day off.

One of my derby shirts

To help with motivation and ideas I've been active on SparkPeople. It's helping but not my only source of information. I've also been using Jillian Michaels, Turbo Jam, Zumba and Nike workouts as well. Anything to change it all up so I don't get bored. I find if I try and do the same workout over and over I start to slack off but if I alternate them I work harder. Skating is still my favourite form of exercise though and wish I could do training every day.

My week roughly looks like this;
Sunday - two hours training
Monday - one hour strength
Tuesday - one hour cardio
Wednesday - half hour strength, two hours training
Thursday - depends how sore I am, maybe half hour cardio or at least an hour skating
Friday - hour strength, half hour cardio or at least an hour skating
Saturday - half hour cardio
I do mix my weeks up and rather than have a day off I lower the intensity or minutes.

I'm loving having muscles. My arms and legs are getting smaller and harder. Cellulite is disappearing and my skin is becoming smoother. I'm getting stronger, no longer do I only carry the light groceries upstairs, I grab the heavy stuff first. I do squats in the shower, when hanging out the washing and clueing my teeth. It's a lifestyle change, one I'm definitely happy with!

Hello bruise