Fitness
Fitness is key to derby, like it is in many sports. Fitness helps you to be stronger, be able to push harder and skate faster. It shouldn't be under taken with the aim of being thin! In fact, thinnest in derby isn't always useful and is certainly not something to aim for [1].
In roller derby we are on track for periods of up to 2 minutes at a time and during this time we might have to be skating flat out, jumping, stopping, recovering and skating laterally - for this we need endurance and explosive power. Therefore we need to adapt our fitness training towards improving these two areas. This is true for both blockers and jammers. The best way to do this is through interval training.
Here are some links to other fitness or strength based workout information: Building strength
If you have money to spend here is a derby specific workout you can buy...
If you like an excitable instructor to watch for a core work out try 'blogilates' on youtube.
[1] Although having said that the WFTDA minimum skills do favour people who are of a small or medium build - I mean that in terms of the UK women's size average, not 'model size average or perceived public image of small/medium'. Also ignore BMI as a way of identifying size, measuring fitness or effectiveness of working out, as BMI doesn't take into account many important factors such as muscle and bone density.
In roller derby we are on track for periods of up to 2 minutes at a time and during this time we might have to be skating flat out, jumping, stopping, recovering and skating laterally - for this we need endurance and explosive power. Therefore we need to adapt our fitness training towards improving these two areas. This is true for both blockers and jammers. The best way to do this is through interval training.
Here are some links to other fitness or strength based workout information: Building strength
If you have money to spend here is a derby specific workout you can buy...
If you like an excitable instructor to watch for a core work out try 'blogilates' on youtube.
[1] Although having said that the WFTDA minimum skills do favour people who are of a small or medium build - I mean that in terms of the UK women's size average, not 'model size average or perceived public image of small/medium'. Also ignore BMI as a way of identifying size, measuring fitness or effectiveness of working out, as BMI doesn't take into account many important factors such as muscle and bone density.