For women deep in the throes of perimenopause, exercise may be the furthest thing from your mind. That is understandable! I mean, if you’re already hot all the time, who wants to sweat even more?

The reality is, however, exercise in perimenopause can help to keep hot flashes under control! But if your hot flashes are so uncomfortable that you just can’t bear the thought of exercise, ice skating is an excellent workout option. The health benefits of ice skating are tremendous!

Five Health Benefits of Ice Skating

Benefit of Skating #1: Balance

Being on skates requires muscle control to balance. If it’s been a while since you’ve been on the ice, you may feel wobbly at first. Ask your local rink if they have a skate-mate. This PVC wonder is like a walker for the ice and can help you gain confidence as you regain your skating legs. The skate-mate will glide on the ice while you push it effortlessly as you skate.

As you work to develop your balance, you’re strengthening the muscles and tendons in your feet and ankles. This benefit carries over even after you leave the ice. Greater muscle strength in the feet and ankles can be what keeps you upright when you step awkwardly off a curb. Rather than crashing to the ground (and breaking a bone) your balance will keep you steady.

If you’re concerned about testing your balance on the ice, some basic safety gear is a good choice. A set of wrist guards and knee and elbow pads will give you confidence to get out on the ice safely. Many local rinks encourage all beginning skaters to wear a helmet, too.

Balance is one of the health benefits of ice skating, but it’s good to be safe as you develop it!

Benefit of Skating #2: Cardio

Ice skating is an excellent low-impact exercise option that still delivers cardiovascular benefits. By using long strokes and active swinging of the arms, ice skating can be quite a good cardio workout.

In a recreational setting (like a public ice rink), you’re not likely to get up to real speed skater paces. And that’s okay! The consistent effort of stroking and using your arm swings to balance will increase your heart rate to levels similar to walking up a hill or light jogging.

How many calories does ice skating burn?

Since one of the health benefits of ice skating is to raise your heart rate, most people want to know how that translates into calorie burn.

According to the Spark People calorie calculator, a 150-pound person who skates for 30 minutes will burn 230 calories. Not bad! There aren’t a lot of low-impact exercise options that allow you to elevate your heart rate up and burn a meaningful number of calories. That alone is one of the great health benefits of ice skating!

Benefit of Skating #3: Pelvic Floor Strengthening

Because ice skating is low-impact, it is a great option for women in perimenopause who have pelvic floor issues.

(Not sure what “pelvic floor issues” means? It means stress incontinence— leaking urine when the body is under pressure from activity or laughter or coughing.)

As we’ve already learned, ice skating helps improve balance and gives a great cardio workout– all without jumping! This means there is no downward pressure on the pelvic floor that can cause stress incontinence.

Even better, the side stroking motion of ice skating requires the pelvic floor to be stretched in multiple dimensions. The pelvic floor is like a hammock. It’s easy to envision how the muscles work front to back, particularly if you’ve ever done Kegel Exercises. But stretching them laterally– a benefit of skating– moves the pelvic floor hammock through a more full range of motion.

So if you avoid exercise because of embarrassing urine leaking, ice skating may be a great option for you!

Benefit of Skating #4: Builds the Gluteus Medius

The gluteus medius is a muscle group on the outer hip. It is frequently weak in women because of the shape of our pelvis. The broad, low-slung pelvis means we tend to use our gluteus maximus more. But using the gluteus medius is important for hip and knee health.

Strengthening the gluteus medius benefits the whole body. Because the IT band anchors at the glute medius, a weak glute med can be what causes knee issues and IT band pain. These types of knee issues often precede falls in women.

The fall risk for post-menopuasal women is significant. Decrease in quality of life after a fall is well-documented, as is a rise in mortality rate after a hip fracture. Working to strengthen the gluteus medius as fall prevention is a great health benefit of ice skating!

Stroking– the backwards-angled push of your leg that propels your body forward in skating–uses the gluteus medius muscle. Because of the repetitive motion of skating, this muscle can be worked to fatigue. It is only with fatigue that the muscle grows stronger.

Benefit of Skating #5: It’s Cool!

While there are documented physiological benefits to getting hot and sweaty from exercise, many perimenopausal women aren’t interested. Experiencing regular hot flashes doesn’t exactly make a gal want to get hot and sweaty on purpose.

One of the most appealing aspects of ice skating for women over 40 is that it is cool! Even when you’re working hard and raising your heart rate, the ambient temperature of the rink (or outdoor weather) is much cooler than in most exercise environments.

In fact, most skaters still wear a good lightweight and breathable jacket and gloves while they skate. Feeling the cool air swirl around you as you glide on the ice makes skating not just comfortable but fun!

If you’ve been turned off from exercise due to hot flashes, give ice skating a try.

It may seem like an odd recommendation, but the health benefits of ice skating are perfect for women over 40. So get out on the ice and enjoy yourself!

The Well Balanced Women blog is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please discuss your health issues with a licensed medical practitioner.