Practice Roller Skating on Your Carpet to Improve Balance

If you are new to roller skating or just bought a new pair of skates, you may be wondering if you can roller skate on your carpet.

As a general rule, roller skating on your carpet can be a safe way to work on your balance, get used the feel of wearing skates, and break in new roller skates. Carpet can also be useful for trying out new tricks to get some muscle memory before doing them on hard surfaces.

Improve balance and confidence

When you first put on roller skates, they can make you feel very unstable. People who are not used to having wheels on their feet could benefit greatly from spending some time practicing on carpeted floors. The carpet will provide you with enough balance to stand and move around without falling down immediately. This could be just what you need to build your confidence.

For adults who are just getting into roller skating, falling down is a huge concern. We don't bounce quite as much as we did when we were kids! When you first get your skates out of the box, give yourself a few days of practice on carpeted areas to get used to the feeling of wearing your skates. Move your body in different directions to see how your weight shifts in your boots. This will be valuable knowledge to have the first time you hit the concrete!

Break in a new pair of skates

Anyone who has purchased a new pair of skates, or even a stiff new pair of shoes, knows that the break in period can be painful. If you are just learning to balance as well as breaking in a new pair of roller skates, you have a tough road ahead. Some of this break in can be done at home, on your carpet, and make your skate sessions easier and more fun.

Brand new skates have stiff ankles and boots. It can be challenging to bend your knees as much as you liked to the ankle stiffness. Some of this can be remedied by loosening your laces or not lacing your boots up to the tip top, but lots of the stiffness just needs to be broken in. Do this in your living room by holding onto your couch or a chair and moving your ankles around. Do some squats, bend and twist. The stiffness will ease with use.

Spending time in your house with your skates on can also save you from blisters and other uncomfortable rub sores when you first take your skates out or to the rink. Getting your ankles and shins used to the feeling of your boots, trying out a couple different pairs of socks, try different styles and tightness of lacing. All of these things will save you when it comes to your first skate sessions!

Get the feel for new tricks

For the more advanced skater, carpet can be the safest place to try out new tricks such as hops or 180 jumps. You will be able to feel where your weight is landing in the skate and adjust accordingly before you try it on a hard surface. Being able to perfect your weight placement is so important to roller skating, and will save you a lot of falls on your bum!

You can even practice wight placement and leaning into edges on the carpet at the rink. Head over to the carpeted side of the low wall and you will be able to hold on with one hand while practicing leans and one foot moves. Once you are comfortable, you can head out onto the floor to try out your balance.

Build up your skate muscles

Another great reason to wear your skates around the house is the resistance it offers for strength building. When you are at the rink or on the pavement, each push of your roller skate moves you forward easily. This is not the case on carpet! Each push on the carpet will move you just a few inches, giving you the opportunity to build up those pushing muscles in a small space.

We use all sorts of small, stabilizer muscles in our feet, ankles, legs, hips, and core when we are roller skating. Putting your skates on in the house will allow you to workout those muscles. I know skaters who wear their roller skates for hours in the house while doing chores, just to make them feel like a natural extension of their feet.

Check out the fun video at the end of this post for ideas for doing some skate warm ups on the carpet. You will have fun and work up quite a sweat! This skater uses the small space that she has, and works around her family to get a great workout on skates. I love this video because it helps me to remember that we do not need to have the perfect skate spaces that we often see on social media in order to practice our skating or have a good time. Use the space you have, the skates you have, and go for it!

Important safety considerations

Roller skating in the house and on the carpet can be very safe ways to practice, but the house also has built in dangers. As you can see on this video, kids and pets will be underfoot so be sure that you have enough balance to hold your own with whatever crew you have practicing with you!

As well, there are a lot more trip and fall hazards at home then you would find at the rink. Be sure to clean your space ahead of time! If you are working on balance and feel comfortable bending and squatting, clearing the floor on your skates can be the perfect exercise!

Watch your head! As scary as the concrete or skating rink might sound, one thing that can be safer about them is that they are designed for skating and have wide open spaces. In your house, there are many more opportunities to hit your head or other body parts on the way down. I spend a lot of time practicing in my kitchen so that I have a counter to hold onto on either side. This makes me feel comfortable when trying new tricks. I always wear a helmet, though, because falls happen so fast and my head could easily hit the counter on the way down.

Watch this fun video to see a quick carpet warm up!