Yay! It’s Autumn!

Leaves are falling, frost is crunching underfoot, Championals are over, and leagues all over North America are preparing for winter hibernation… 

And yet. You are here. YOU, my friend, are not about to let cold, wet weather stop you. You don’t want a breather. You can’t wait for next season to get here already, so you can start channelling your new derby spirit animal, Loren Mutch.

(Or, you’re in Australia and it’s summer. Whatever. Continue to bear with us North Americans and our hemispherical ignorance…)

Here in Vancouver autumn doesn’t mean 2 feet of snow, nor does it (usually) mean crisp, sunny, brightly-coloured days. No, here in Vancouver, November is our rainiest month of the year. A typical week around here has us cloaked with a thick, drenching drizzle for 85% of the week, then a brief but glorious clearing where the sun shines, the mountains reveal themselves, choirs of angels sing, and the ground remains far too wet for skating.

Thus is born this No Hands Roller Derby Workout. For when you wanna get outside and enjoy that millisecond of sunshine (hurry! cause it’s dark at 4:30pm!), but it’s still too wet and clammy to do much.

Another good reason for this one? If you have an upper body injury! Or you just can’t be bothered to do push-ups today. This “No Hands” workout will keep you clean, dry, outdoors, and rockin’ your skating muscles. This is a great one to do with your team before or after practice. Indoors, outdoors, either way!

If you’re an All-Star member here at RDA, you’ve got access to a real time video to follow along with, and a handy printable of this workout. 

Here’s how the workout goes – you only need a stopwatch for this!

• Warm up
• Part 1: Low impact
• Rest 30 seconds
• Part 2: Plyometric
• Optional: Repeat part 2
• Cool down & stretch

Part 1: Between each exercise below, do 30 seconds of side lunges, alternating sides

• 10 Squat pulses
• 10 Forward Leanover lunges, each side
• 10 Sumo Squats
• 30 seconds of Duck Walks

Part 2: Between each exercise below, do 30 seconds of skater strides

• 10 Squat Jumps
• 20 Lunge Jumps (total)
• 10 Sumo Squat Jumps
• 30s of Frog Jumps, forward and backward

If you are new to training, recovering from injury, or need a lower intensity day, just repeat Part 1 two or three times through. If you want to make this workout harder, do both parts, then repeat part 2.

So… Do you have another great no-hands move that’s great for wet days working out outside? Leave me a note in the comments below!

xo Booty Quake