Mindful Moments: Here’s Why We Should All Be Getting Into Ice-Skating Right Now

Netflix's Spinning Out might have kicked off our obsession, but the sport as serious wellness-benefits too. Time to get your skates on!

by grazia |

Updated on24th January 2022 at 2.33pm

Ice skating is one of our newest health obsessions. It's official. Why? Yes, Netflix's Spinning Out may have sent us running for the ice, and if you hadn't been tuning into Maura Higgins' appearances on Dancing On Ice before she was voted off at the weekend, well then quite frankly, you've been missing out. It was hard to imagine that we wouldn't catch the bug really, and it seems the craze isn't limited to the Grazia office. London's Queens skate, dine and bowl location in Bayswater reported record numbers of skate-goers at the start of 2020, with many sessions booking up entirely.

©Netflix

The Physical Benefits Of Ice Skating

Let's start with the physical aspects. It's a low-impact exercise that's suitable for all ages, added to which it's incredibly social. An hour or so at a rink is a great way to spend some weekend time. The balance required in skating engages all of your core muscles, and being in skates tackles the muscle groups in your bum and tum to boot.

It's easy too to forget the impact that working out in a low temperature environment has on your fitness levels. Colder temperatures increase your workout efficiency and recovery. They raise your metabolic rate, and there's the added plus that you'll be able to work out relatively hard without ending up drenched in sweat.

©Queens

The Mental benefits Of Ice Skating

Many will wax lyrical about exercise being the best medicine, and there's no way we'd argue with that, but the benefits of sports and hobbies like ice skating go way beyond a mood-boosting endorphin hit.

Ice skating, surfing, painting, even simply reading, offer up a means to occupy your mind. For those who find it hard to switch off in a yoga class, can't quite complete that meditation session on their favourite app without stray work thoughts or worries making its presence known, and spend their time on the treadmill thinking about work, activities like the above offer a moment of mindfulness. These activities demand that your mind be focused on one thing, and one thing only. If you let your mind wander when your ice skating, you'll fall. There's no other option.

The benefits of such activities are now widely recognised amongst professionals. Surfing is even being used to treat PTSD, depression and difficulties with sleeping.

©Kelli McClintock

A Figure Skating Lesson Reviewed

Annie Vischer popped along to the ice rink at Queens in London's Bayswater to try her hand at the sport. 'I was lucky enough to be coached by skating pro Danielle Bennett for a full hour. Now I've never skated properly before. My skating CV doesn't extend beyond the token Christmas trip to a rink in London, so the most I was expecting was a bit of a bruised bum. Danielle first took me through the basics, coaxing me away from the wall, and showing me how to glide off on my merry way. I learned how to stop (crucial), how to cross step, how to glide with one leg off the ice, and...shock horror...how to actually spin. Now don't imagine that I was doing any of this particularly gracefully, but as someone who grew up watching videos of Torville and Dean (I went to see them live at Sheffield Arena too, just saying), this was all pretty major.'

©Kelli McClintock

'The hour went quickly, way too quickly, and aside from the sheer delirium of having spun on the ice, I left with a hefty dose of mental clarity, and feeling seriously de-tressed, which was no mean feat. London particularly offers little respite from a busy schedule, and in that hour skating I found an addictive influx of calm. I've already vowed to take this activity on regularly. And that has nothing to do with my longing for a pair of shiny white skates. Nothing at all.'

Entry for skating at Queens, Bayswater, is £12 per adult for up to 4 hours of skating, alongside an additional £2.50 for skate hire that is waived if you bring your own. Find the list of lessons on offer right here.