When you are on the go on your stunt scooter you want to make sure that you put on clothing that is comfortable to ride in, offers protection against bails and scrapes, clothes that look nice and that won’t get trashed in a couple of sessions. Finding good stunt scooter clothing can be hard on the high street with the small amount of skate clothing outlets, although online you will find great choice all the top skate clothing brands including Vans, DC, Enjoi and Volcom.

Here is some tips and advice detailing what to wear when riding stunt scooters to ensure good looks, protection and a comfy ride:

Shoes – choosing appropriate shoes for stunt scooters is extremely important to ensure you can perform tricks to the best of your ability. You will need shoes with strong grip that are durable and comfortable to ensure that you can do scooter stunts without putting yourself at risk. We do not recommend wearing flip flops, sandals or plimsols as these are too slippy and flimsy. You should go for comfortable trainers (although not high tops as these hurt your ankles when riding) and skate shoes, with a couple of great choices being the DC Net, Nike SB Koston the Adidas Campus.

Shorts – if you do not like wearing jeans or if the weather is too warm to ride stunt scooters in them, then shorts may be your only option. We would recommend denim shorts as similar to jeans these provide some protection and durability if you happen to bail, but other thick shorts can be great also. Some of the top stunt scooter shorts include those from No Fear and Enjoi.

Hoodies – hoodies are great to wear when on the skatepark giving you the skater look, being comfy and giving you some protection when you fall. Loose and non clingy hoodies are generally better for riders to give more freedom to perform stunts, with some great looking ones including those by skater makes Vans and DC,

T shirts – in the summer you will often find it is too warm to wear anything but a t shirt when doingks, but there are some great designs from skate brands that will give you the skater look and impress your friends such as those from Volcom and Enjoi.

Jeans – when it isn’t too warm jeans are a great choice for clothes on your lower half when riding stunt scooters because of their thick and durable material which will protect you from falls when doing tricks. Skinny jeans are popular for riders, although these can be too tight, so baggy jeans can be great also. Some great skinny and loose jeans to try when riding stunt scooters are those from from Nike Air and Vans.

Safety gear – last but definitely not least you don’t want to forget to wear a mixture of safety gear when riding scooters, such as a hard helmet, shin pads and elbow pads. These should be worn at all times to make sure you are safe when doing extreme stunts.

Wear what you feel comfortable riding in, but also try to choose clothing that will give you protection against inevitable falls!

The bag skate can take many effective and creative forms, but basically the players skate to the point of exhaustion, vomiting or submission whichever comes first. Some may argue that exercise should not be used as a punishment for athletes and I am not looking to debate coaching philosophy in this article. Personally I think we can build a better bag skate and turn them into something a little more productive while still getting the full attention of your hockey players.

Picture your players after 20-minutes of bag skating. Do they look like the type of player you would like to have on the ice during a game? Probably not – they are bent forward at the hips, their knees are barely bent at all, their strides are short and weak – it is just a mess! Now imagine your athletes 20-minutes into a bag skate who are still low in the legs and taking powerful strides. The key is giving them rest! Don’t think I am crazy, I know the point is to exhaust and torture your players. Stay with me a little bit longer.

Which is tougher skating slowly, no knee bend, light strides or low powerful skating? Once an athlete reaches a certain point (lactate threshold), they physiologically cannot continue working above that level for longer than about 60-seconds. Even if the athlete wants to go fast, their body cannot keep up with the demand for energy output. So here is what you can do torture the legs for 30-45 seconds and then torture the arms and core for 60-90 seconds – repeat until you get desired effect. Here are a few sample workouts:

Better bag skate #1

o Blue line to blue line for 45s

o Push ups for 45s

o Core plank from push up position 45s (gets the athletes to activate their core muscles while they are breathing hard – great game specific core activation plus you are working the shoulder stabilizers which will help prevent injuries down the road)

Better bag skate #2

o Partner side boards for 90 seconds (one partner sprints side board to side board while the other partner rests and then next partner goes)

o Partner core stabilization for 45-60 seconds – partners face one another both holding the same hockey stick at approximately chest level. One player will try to hold the hockey stick using the core muscles to stabilize while the other player tries to twist or rotate the stick to challenge their partner. Switch roles as stabilizer after approximately 20-30 seconds.

You hockey coaches can still exhaust you players while keeping them moving at game speed which will improve their performance on the ice. Add in some upper body and core training to build better athletes by building a better bag skate.

Sk8er Boi is the second single from pop-rock star Avril Lavigne’s debut album Let Go. Written by Lavigne and The Matrix and released in 2002, Sk8er Boi reached number ten on the United States Billboard Hot 100. The song reached number eight in the U.K., thirteen in Canada, three in Australia, and number one in Spain.

Sk8er Boi was used in many different media outlets. It has been heard in the television show Cold Case. It also appears in the video games Elite Beat Agents and SingStar Pop. In 2003, the song was optioned for a movie by Paramount Pictures but has either been abandoned or is in development hell.

The song Sk8er Boi is about a preppy girl and a skater boy. The boy openly likes the girl but she refuses to tell him her true feelings, that she likes him back, because of peer pressure from her friends. Eventually he becomes a rock star and she sees him on television. She regrets not telling him her feelings while she had the chance. He is now dating someone else.

Some people trace the inspiration of the song to Marc Gould who Lavigne was dating at the time. Other people say that Sk8er Boi is Lavigne’s autobiography, with one small exception, she is the skater that liked a preppy boy.

The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence. The video starts with a man in an alley with a mound of spray paint on the ground. He is advertising for a concert that Lavigne is hosting. The video continues with advertising seen everywhere from computers and cell phones to coffee cups. There is even a star, the symbol of her concert, spray painted on the road. In the middle of the music video it shows Lavigne and her band setting up for a concert on top of cars. The concert begins and people start filling in around the cars. Eventually the police try to stop the concert. They start putting people into the police car and Lavigne finishes her concert by smashing her guitar into a windshield. The last shot of the video is of a helicopter flying over Lavigne and Lavigne looking up at it. FYI If you watch the music video closely you’ll see that Lavigne switches from blue to black pants with her green shirt halfway through the music video.

In the music video Lavigne is wearing a green and gold shirt from Wilkesboro Elementary in North Carolina. She picked the shirt up at a thrift store in New York. Orders poured in from all over the world for the T-shirt Lavigne had worn in the video. The shirts had been out of circulation for four years but were reprinted. The school earned enough money from the t-shirt sales to buy new computers.

If you think you need new bearings for your inline skates, it’s best to check your bearings for wear using the tests provided in this article. Your bearings are at the core of your wheels and reduce friction so you can skate smoothly and efficiently. Hence, they need to be maintained properly from season to season.

Checking for Wear

The following are indications of major, bearing wear from a no-load, finger-flick, spin test:

• One or more of your wheels stick(s) periodically
• One or more of your wheels (is) are seized
• One or more or your wheels require(s) a lot of force to spin
• One or more of your wheels spin(s) freely for only a second or two

In addition, the following are signs of major, bearing wear from a spin test with the skater as the load:

• While out skating you hear a loud, grinding noise from your bearings
• It takes a lot of effort to pick up and maintain speed when you skate
• Your bearings are hot to the touch after a roll

You may also want to replace your inline skate bearings if you decide to switch to a different type of bearing. You may want to change from shielded bearings to sealed or racing bearings.

Learning the ABEC Scale

Bearings are rated on the Annular Bearing Engineering Council (ABEC) scale. Ratings are numbered 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 on the ABEC scale. The higher the number is, the greater the manufactured precision of the bearing.

However, there are no required materials to meet the ABEC specifications. The bearings only have to be made to a certain precision. That’s all!

Servicing your Bearings

Inline skate bearings usually come in sets of four to eight. Before you head out to your favorite sporting goods store, write down the information that’s shown on the outer shields of your bearings. Don’t forget to flip the bearing over and include the text that’s inscribed on the other side.

If you’re happy with the original bearings that came with your skates or the last set you installed, by all means buy the same bearings. If you have serviceable bearings like TwinCams or YAKs and you don’t mind doing your own cleaning and lubrication than you may want to stick with the double-shielded type, especially if they are the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that your skate manufacturer recommends.

On the other hand, if you have non-serviceable or sealed bearings and are squeamish about doing your own cleaning and lubrication, even periodically, you may want to stick with this type of bearing and just replace them when they need to be changed.

In addition, if you have shielded bearings with pop-out caps, like Powell Swiss or Black Hole brands, and like them for their ease of maintenance, it’s probably best to go with this kind of bearing again.

Buying new Bearings

My K2 skates have 8-mm, TwinCam, ABEC-1, double-shielded bearings with the following inscribed on the casings:

TwinCam

ABEC-1

608 ZZ

Normally, the manufacturer or brand doesn’t make a lot of difference within the three categories of shielded, serviceable bearings, shielded, serviceable bearings with pop-up caps, and sealed, non-serviceable bearings. A bearing size of 8 mm and the 608 designation are fine for recreational, inline skaters. The ABEC rating is another story!

ABEC-1, 3, and 5 are the most common bearings that come with inline skates, as well as the newer ABEC-7s, which are gaining in popularity. Whether a skater can go faster with ABEC-5 bearings versus ABEC-1 bearings has never been proven, scientifically or otherwise.

Furthermore, the higher precision may not make a significant difference for the recreational skater who travels in the 10 to 20 mph range. The average skater doesn’t require a higher-rated bearing because the difference in performance is so minimal that it would only become apparent at speeds an inline skater never attains.

In addition, the higher precision eventually deteriorates down to ABEC-3 or 1 due to dust, dirt, and regular wear and tear. To increase your skating speed, you’d be better off to improve your technique and learn how to cut down on wind resistance. These are proven ways to make you a faster and more efficient skater.

So, get the most affordable ABEC-1 or ABEC-3 inline skate bearings you can find, clean and lube them with oil or grease on an annual basis, and you’ll be just fine.

Summing Up

When it comes time to purchase new bearings for your inline skates, make sure you write down the information that’s inscribed on the outer casing of your bearings before you head to your local, skating shop. In addition, beware that an ABEC rating is nothing more than a bearing precision. If you find a set of bearings at the right price that are suited for your skates, but they have a lower ABEC rating, go for it anyway! You’ll probably never notice the difference.

Carpet skating, or carpet boarding, is a great way to learn some new tricks right in your own bedroom. While most people probably don’t have a room big enough to do full skating, you can practice tricks, balance and more on your board indoors on carpets.

You can practice carpet skating in one of three ways:

1. With a board with no trucks
2. On a board with trick trucks
3. On your board with wheels because they won’t slide as easily on carpet

Benefits to Carpet Skating

There are many benefits to carpet skating. For one, it just gives you something to do to get more familiar on your board while you are inside the house or in your room. Another benefit is that it lets you practice certain tricks and moves without the board sliding all over the place on you. It can help you build your confidence on the board. If you fall, it usually doesn’t hurt as much, or at all when you are practicing on carpet. Another benefit is that it’s just fun to do.

Pitfalls to Carpet Skating

There are some downsides to carpet skating, of course. You will not get as much pop and since you can’t really roll around on carpet, certain moves will be more difficult. There is also the risk that you will break something or hit something when skateboarding indoors. The board can fly out from under you and if you lose control, it might break something.

Practice Tricks

If you want to use carpet boarding to learn new tricks, you might use a secondary board and take the trucks off or put practice trucks on. You should first decide which trick you are going to practice and you can watch some videos in your room and then try the moves for yourself. Watching videos that you can pause and rewind make it easier to slow it down and get your foot placement right. This makes it easier to get the tricks just right.

That’s pretty much all there is to carpet skating. There are no official rules; it’s just something that a lot of skaters do. If you’ve never tried it before then now is a good time to give it a shot and see if it helps you with balance, control or any new tricks.

If you are into figure skates, you should know that new skaters often find it hard to buy skates for the first time. Actually, there are a lot of things that should be kept in mind when making this purchase, such as the brand, size, and model, just to name a few.

Brand

First of all, you should know that no brand can be called the best brand. There are a lot of reliable and trustworthy brands out there, and all of them strive to provide the right fit and support. As a matter of fact, the best brand will be the one that will offer the best fit. In addition, it should fulfill your skating needs. However, you should keep in mind that expensive skates won’t make you great at skating. It’s your time and effort that can help you skate better.

Basically, there is no major difference between skating boots offered by different manufacturers. However, the things that make a skate different from another sake are the lifespan, thickness, leather quality and stiffness.

Weight

Nowadays, lightweight skates are increasing in popularity. A few decades back, figure skates were heavy. Leather was used in their heel, sole and inside. Therefore, the shoe was heavier. With the passage of time, skaters felt the need of lightweight boots so that they could perform better. Heavy skates didn’t let them get higher off the ground. Therefore, manufacturers started using other materials to make boots. Nowadays, figure skates are made from leather and quality synthetic materials. Therefore, we suggest that you prefer a lightweight boot to a heavier one.

Size

If you are new to skating, you may think you can buy one based on your regular shoe size. This is a mistake since skate manufacturers offer different sizes. Therefore, it’s important that you get a measurement of your feet in order to know which size will fit you.

The boots should fit you snugly just like a glove. While wearing the boots, you should not be able to move your heel in the boot, which is known as a competitive fit. Actually, your feet should touch the inside of the shoe slightly. Moreover, the boot should have enough room so that you can wiggle your toes.

Typically, parents want to buy their kids skates that will stand the test of time since this is going to be a big financial investment. However, you need to keep in mind that skates that are too big for your kids are not going to help them play well. While skating, they will have to take breaks to tighten their laces over and over again.

Stiffness

You need to take into account four factors as far as buying your figure skates is concerned: skating level, frequency of skating, weight and height. This will help you determine how stiff your skating boots should be. As a matter of fact, stiffness is the support the boot will give your feet while playing. Boots that are considered on top of the line are really stiff as they are designed for adults.

So, if you have been looking to buy figure skates, we suggest that you consider the tips given in this article.

Wireless electric skateboards provide ultimate fun and a great means of transportation as well. Nowadays, various skateboarding events are also being organised which tend to draw huge attraction. According to the stats, 2014 saw an approximate hike of 30% in the number of wireless electric skateboards that were sold as compared to the year 2013. Skateboarding, just like other outdoor activities, is really catching-up all around the world.

If you’re a beginner who is still struggling with his/her wireless electric skateboard, you might have faced various embarrassing instances. However, all you need to do is buckle up and try to get your mind straight. As a beginner, it is important for you to learn the art of skateboarding in a skate park. Following are some great skate park tips for novice skateboarders.

1. Go In The Morning – Visiting your nearest skate park in the morning is best for those who are still nervous while skating. At this time, the skate park is generally empty and one can ride and learn freely without worrying about others. You can also try your own methods to learn skateboarding as there will be nobody to laugh at you.

2. Make New Friends – Try to make new friends who just like you also come to ride their wireless electric skateboards in the skate park. By knowing the local and daily skaters, you can be rest assured that there will be somebody to accompany you when you decide to show up at the skate park. Show them respect for their skills.

3. Always Warm-Up – This becomes more important if the skate park is at least a 30 minute ride from your place. Jumping on the skateboard right away while trying to show your best tricks can lead you to a pretty ugly wipe-out. Instead, stretch your legs out a little and do whatever you think is best for you to loosen-up and relax.

4. Keep Your Head Up – The skate park can be full of skaters or bikers and that time it is important for you to know as what exactly is happening around you. Try to be sharp, attentive and thus watch-out for yourself. Wait for your turn if you feel like skating on an obstacle. Crashing into guys is common but try saving yourself from it.

5. Trust Your Gut – While skateboarding, always listen to your intuition. If you are having a bad feeling regarding a certain trick, don’t do it. Skateboarding is all about coming out of your comfort zone. Getting wiped out is a part of the learning process. However, you can avoid various nasty wipe-outs by simply trusting your gut feeling.

Try to practice the tips and tricks you have learnt at home and then implement them at the skate park. Also, don’t be afraid of trying anything new as every professional skateboarder was an amateur once.

Winter brings with it numerous opportunities for fun and recreational activities for everyone. If you are looking for a winter workout in Oklahoma City, Braum’s Ice skating rink in front of the Civic Center Music Hall, Downtown is the best place to visit.

Exciting Features of Braum’s Ice Skating Rink

The 62 by 150-foot rink is said to be one of the largest outdoor rinks in the Southwest. This means the rink has increased its size by 50 percent compared to the year before with an intention to accommodate more visitors and give additional space for skaters to show off. The entertainment stage of the rink offers a host of activities such as singing and dancing. On special nights you get to enjoy with Santa, as well. All these add to the festive mood of December. Participants can visit the Braum’s Ice Rink Café for coffee, soda, hot cocoa, hamburgers, hot dogs, and ice cream.

Important Things to Know About Braum’s Ice Rink

The skating season starts from November 25 and runs through January 1. All these days the rink is open from noon till 10 in the night. Braum’s Ice Rink is also open during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the same hours. For skating, you can bring your own skates or get shiny new skates for rent from the rink. Skates are available in all sizes. If you rent the skates, the ticket rates may go up to $8, otherwise, you need to pay just 5$.

Additional Entertainment Activities in Oklahoma City

Besides giving room for ice skating activities, Braum’s ice skating rink in Downtown, Oklahoma City offers a range of other entertainment activities which include snow tubing at the Brick, evening cruises on Bricktown Water Taxis, boating near The Oklahoman Christmas tree and much more. Many of the hotels in this place offer their guests special shuttle services to all interesting locations.

Figure skating is a sport that requires more than just grace and artistry. While most non-skaters don’t realize this, pulling off any technical element in skating requires a significant amount of strength and stamina. Awkward positions must be held for extended periods of time, and muscles that most people hardly ever use must be strong in order to execute the jumps, spins, and lifts that impresses the crowd and judges. All figure skaters, regardless of age or ability, should engage in a proper off-ice strength and conditioning program in order to give them the strength and stamina to execute elements, and also to help prevent injuries.

Note: Be sure to check with both your coach, your parents, and your physician before engaging in any off-ice exercise and conditioning program.

Figure skaters looking to build any sort of off-ice conditioning program need to look at their overall objectives in order to put together an overall off-ice program. I would like to suggest three exercises in particular that all off-ice programs should incorporate, and this is for all skaters, including pairs, dance, and freestylers.

1). Bicycle crunches. Like athletes in just about any sport, if a figure skater were to do absolutely nothing else off-ice except ONE thing, then it would have to involve core strength. Your core strength is what allows you to check out of jumps, center your spins, and maintain an erect posture in dance and step sequences. Try doing a twizzle or checking your rotation out of an Axel without core strength — it simply isn’t going to happen.

A study conducted at San Diego State University evaluated over a dozen different abdominal exercises for increasing core strength, and one stood out far and above the rest: The bicycle crunch. To do the bicycle crunch, lie on the floor with your abs engaged and your lower back pressed into the floor (you may have to rotate your pelvis under to achieve this). Put your hands beside your ears (DO NOT pull up on your neck!) and elevate your legs to about a 45 degree angle. Move your legs through a bicycle pedaling motion while simultaneously crunching up in a twisting motion and touching your elbow to your opposite knee.

2). Arabesque exercises. In the worlds of dance, gymnastics, and figure skating, the arabesque position is one of the most common positions you will need to learn to sustain. For figure skaters, this is particularly true when it comes to spirals and camel spins. An arabesque is represented most perfectly by the standard flat blade or edge spiral position of the pre-preliminary and preliminary Moves in the Field tests, with the skating leg held straight, the free leg at or above hip height, and the torso at a 90 degree angle to the skating leg.

To build your flexibility and stamina for holding the arabesque/spiral position, work on the following rotation, to be completed on each foot. Start by holding the arabesque position for one minute while supporting yourself with the wall, then another minute with your leg supported by a partner or half wall, then one minute on your own, then another minute with your arms on the wall again. Rest about 30 seconds between each position. These one minute intervals will be difficult at first, but will improve over time and greatly assist you, especially if you also do ballet or gymnastics.

3). Box jumps. For most spectators of our sports, it’s the jumps that draw the big rounds of applause. If you are a freestyle skater, your jumps are usually your most difficult technical element, and one of the things you spend the most of your training time working on perfecting. Fully rotating your jumps, particularly your doubles, triples and, if you can pull it off, a quad, requires an incredible ability to obtain “hang time” in the air. Getting “hang time” is mainly a matter of being able to vault yourself into the air with incredible power, which itself is a matter of shear strength.

Box jumps are one of the best ways to work on your jumping power and increase your time in the air. A basic box jump is completed by jumping onto an 18 to 24 inch tall wooden box with both feet from a standing position. Exploding up onto the box, and then exploding off the box and back to the ground is the most basic method for working on your jump power. Additional methods of box jumping include jumping up onto one box, then immediately onto another, higher, box, and then back to the ground. There are numerous variations of this exercise, all of which will improve your jumping ability.

These three exercises in and of themselves comprise the most basic off-ice training program possible. Of course, as with any athlete, eating right, getting enough sleep, and a basic cardio program are also of benefit to all skaters.

Think how cool you’ll be – literally – when you are gliding around the local ice rink on a hot summer day! It’s going to be easier than you think. Here are 7 tips to get you on the ice.

1. Equipment: Forget the jeans – they may seem like a good choice to protect you during a fall and keep you warm, but they’re a bad choice. You don’t want a stiff fabric that restricts your movements in any way. Go for warm leggings, a T-shirt, a jacket and gloves. Most important are the skates. If you’re starting at a rink, you’ll probably rent for your first couple of visits. Ask for help from the attendant if possible. Skates should feel a bit tight so pay attention to width.
2. Walk: Keep those blade guards on and take a walk on the rubber mats that are on the floor. Get used to the feel of walking on the blades. If you’re wobbly, try focusing on one point in the distance and walk towards it. That gives your body a chance to get it right. When you feel comfortable, walk out on the ice. Do a lap – or two or more – just walking around the rink while you hold on to the rail.When you’re comfortable, move on to balance.
3. Balance: Start working on balance. Hold your arms out just below shoulder level, bend your knees slightly and lean forward. You shouldn’t be able to see your toes and your shoulders should be forward and above the knees. Move forward slowly. Eventually, speed will help you keep your balance but not quite yet.
4. Fall: Yep, it’s going to happen. If you can anticipate the fall, bend your knees and move into a squat position. Now you know where you’re going to land – falling backwards is better! When you put your hands down to break your fall, keep them in a fist. You don’t want to lose a finger to a passing skater. Now, how to get up? Start from your hands and knees and move to being on one knee with the other foot forward between your hands. Practice standing.
5. Push off: You can walk and you’re feeling more confident. Now, let’s go to the first step of that wonderful gliding motion. Lean on your weak foot and push off with a diagonal push from your stronger foot. Bring the strong foot forward and then, do it again.
6. Glide: Lengthen your strokes and bend your knees. Your body should move with the strokes. Both skates should be parallel and pointing at the same angle to go farther and faster. Try pretending you’re on an imaginary scooter on the ice.
7. Stop: You’ll get tired of running into the rail. Learn to stop by bending your knees, bringing the skates parallel and pushing out to the side. You should both stop and make a little “snow” on the ice.

You can do it! These simple steps will have you gliding like a pro in no time and at that point you’re going to want to look like a skater, too. The skating rink may have new skates for sale or you can probably save money by shopping for your skates and other equipment (one of those cute little skirts or real skater’s pants?) by looking at on-line skate merchants. You’ve just found a way to stay cool and look cool!