I’ll be giving a lesson, working closely with a student who is making good progress. I’m beaming with pride, thinking to myself, “She’s almost got it!” But I can’t leave well enough alone: I love to watch what happens after I call out, “Now pretend you’re relaxed!” In an instant and without much thought, her spine and arms soften and she looks like she just added on a year’s worth of skating experience. What just happened? It’s not my powers of suggestion (don’t I wish!).
Pretend You’re Relaxed!
October 21st, 2012The Endorphins, Yes
October 4th, 2012I am so intensely affected by the exercise high that I have to avoid talking to people afterwards until my unleashed animal side returns to napping in its cage–usually about an hour. What happens to you? I’d love to see your comments below.
Energy. (Life) “Ok, it’s time to take off my sweatshirt.”
Endurance. (Action) “Focus! If I can make it up Kilimanjaro, I can get through this 4-minute spin class hill.”
Escape. (Distraction) “The Zanzibar beach hotel, now that was a romantic spot!”
Existence. (Survival) “All I have to do is get through the next 20 minutes and I’m home free!” (pant, pant)
Emergence. (Solutions) “Wow! I have the answer! I am dying to tackle this right now!”
Excitement. (Plans) “I must order a Carl Sandburg book the moment I get out of this spin class!!
Enthusiasm. (I love everybody! I can’t wait to get to work today!)
Story of a Self-Published Author
September 23rd, 2012
It’s been awhile since I produced the third edition of Get Rolling, the Beginner’s Guide to Inline Skating, but I have checked the links below and they are still good guides for anybody who is interested in writing and publishing their own book.
I am not the best person to ask about finding a publisher because, except for one case, my publishers found me or I self-published. The one time I got a publisher to take over my book was when I approached a travel company with my first edition of Get Rolling, and they signed me up to put together a skate trails tour book and I inserted my how-to section into the front pages. Out of print now, my work has since been transformed to an online database of skate tours, www.CASkating.com.
Surviving a Nighttime Group Skate
September 23rd, 2012
This may come as a big surprise the first time you join a group skate that rolls through the streets after dark: skating on a dedicated bike path using the basic stride and braking you learned in a parking lot just aren’t enough prep! The perils outside a controlled environment require a few defensive skills to help you safely manage real-world situations.
In a group setting, “sometimes the crowd is very dense and moving very fast,” pointed out Alex, a Get Rolling fan from Israel. “There are often light collisions, e.g., frame-to-frame contact.” He is so right! When unfamiliar terrain, motorists, low or no street lighting, unexpected obstacles, hills, and peer pressure are in the mix, the risk for getting hurt goes way up.
Skate (and Eat) With Purpose
September 9th, 2012In-Line Workout Benefits
Fun as it is, skating contributes directly to improving the most sought-after exercise goals: improved aerobic fitness, strength, endurance and body fat reduction. Fast-paced skating has been proved to be just as aerobically beneficial as running; compared to cycling, an equal skating effort results in a better muscular workout for hips, thighs and shins. As long as you apply yourself to purposeful workouts with specific daily goals (as opposed to simply going through the motions), you are setting yourself up to enjoy the maximum possible benefits from fitness skating.
Treat Your Feet
August 25th, 2012
You should be relaxed and resting on your laurels after a long day on skates, especially if you managed to avoid getting blistered or bruised feet (see my review of eZeefit ankle booties for those complaints). But for some, tired or crampy feet or lower legs can be painful or distracting enough to ruin that well-deserved lounge time.
Listed in short- to long-term order, here are some tips to treat the most common foot-related after-affects of a long roll, and perhaps even head them off in the future.
Get Rolling is on Facebook
August 12th, 2012
After years of building pages, maintaining indexes and style sheets, coddling content and FAQs and learning web development skills with Dreamweaver, I had to admit that my old-school web site www.GetRolling.com was no longer cool enough in today’s fast-paced, dynamic world!
Moving my Orbit newsletter to this WordPress blog in 2010 was the first step to making my interactions with skaters around the world more immediate and intimate.
Now I’ve opened up an even more dynamic presence. I hope you Like my new Facebook page, Get Rolling with Liz Miller. All from one place, in Facebook you will be able to read the Orbit Blog and my Twitter stream (@Sk8teacher) along with the photos, links and status updates I am using to keep things lively.
Why Get Rolling at Camp Rollerblade?
June 10th, 2012Why do I believe Zephyr Adventures’ Camp Rollerblade on Hilton Head Island, SC is the best possible way for novices and advanced beginners to gain confidence and inline skating skills?
The rink
For starters, we have full access to the Bristol Sports Arena with its smooth surface, morning shade and bench seating. Whether it’s an astounding breakthrough or a taste of future grace, this rink is where everybody makes progress on the basics as well as more advanced moves for the duration of camp.
Desiree coaches Wini; Sheba, Mike and Rick get a jump on skating skills
Paying attention to trail hazards
June 10th, 2012It was a beautiful spring day for a roll on the trail.
My ski season doesn’t end until after Memorial Day, but with the arrival of spring, the early Daylight Saving time and our first hot spell, I chose a day in late April for my first skating workout of the year. I literally dusted off my skates (we’ve just survived a complete kitchen remodel), and hit the streets, relishing the faint vibrations of urethane on smooth pavement.
Tricks Aren’t Just for Kids
June 10th, 2012
(Updated GetRolling.com article from 1996)
Because all the world is not a stage (flat, smooth, protected), I make time in every lesson to help my students work on real-world skills and drills designed to improve overall balance and agility. Aside from the safety aspect, it’s always fun to have a frisky move or two to impress your friends. As always, gear up before experimenting.
Get Air
How are your hopping skills? Being able to get both skates off the ground at the same time is a prerequisite to hopping up a curb. Out in the real world, this is an essential safety skill: it’s often necessary to hop over an electrical line seen at the last minute. Try your first hops on the lawn or carpet and remember these key points: