Skating
Skating is a continuous, lateral cardio drill modeled on a speed skater's stride: you push off one leg and glide or step sideways onto the other, then immediately push back the other way. It keeps your heart rate up the way a straight-line cardio drill does, while also training the inner and outer thigh muscles that most forward-and-back cardio work skips entirely.
Why it works
Because you push off to the side rather than forward, your abductors and adductors have to work to control and redirect that force with every stride, alongside the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves that drive the push. Most cardio machines and drills only move you forward and back, so this lateral pattern trains a plane of motion your body needs for sports and daily life, like stepping sideways to catch your balance, but rarely gets from a treadmill or a bike. Because you're constantly changing direction rather than repeating the exact same stride, the drill also asks your ankles and knees to make small stabilizing corrections on every landing, the same kind of low-level coordination that carries over to uneven ground like a field or trail.
Set up
- Stand with your feet a bit wider than hip-width, knees soft.
- Pick a lane with a few feet of clear space on each side.
- Keep your arms loose and ready to swing with each stride.
- Start at a pace you can hold for the whole set before speeding up.
How to do it
- Push off your right leg, driving sideways to the left.
- Land on your left leg with a bent knee, letting your right leg trail behind you.
- Immediately push off your left leg back to the right.
- Land on your right leg and let your left leg trail behind.
- Keep alternating sides in a continuous rhythm, swinging your arms to help drive momentum.
- Slow the pace gradually for the last few strides instead of stopping all at once.
Form cues
- Push through the outside edge of your foot.
- Let your trailing leg reach behind you, not just lift up.
- Stay low between strides instead of standing tall.
- Match your arm swing to your leg drive.
Breathing: Settle into a steady breathing rhythm across the set, matching two or three strides per inhale and exhale rather than holding your breath through the push.
Common mistakes
Standing too upright between strides.
Fix: Keep a slight bend in your hips and knees throughout, like a low athletic stance.
Only lifting the trailing leg instead of reaching it back.
Fix: Let the trailing leg extend behind you for balance and a bigger stretch through the hip.
Going all-out from the first stride.
Fix: Start at a pace you can sustain, then build speed once your rhythm feels smooth.
Letting the knee cave inward on the landing leg.
Fix: Keep the knee tracking over the middle toes on every landing, even as you speed up.
How to program it
- As a continuous cardio drill rather than a single maximal effort, 3 to 5 rounds of 30 to 45 seconds with short rest between rounds works well for conditioning.
- It fits naturally into an interval circuit alongside other cardio moves like rope jumping, since both keep the heart rate elevated without loading the joints as heavily as running does.
- Because the effort is submaximal and the impact is moderate, most people can do this three to four times a week without much recovery cost.
Safety notes
- Wear supportive shoes with grip, since lateral pushing puts more shear force through the foot than forward running does.
- Keep the surface clear of obstacles on both sides before you start.
- Ease off the pace if you feel your knee tracking inward on the push-off side.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- Cardio
Frequently asked questions
How long should I do the skating exercise for cardio?
Three to five rounds of 30 to 45 seconds, with 20 to 30 seconds of rest between rounds, is a solid starting point for conditioning.
Can I do skating without any equipment?
Yes, it's a bodyweight lateral drill. All you need is a few feet of clear floor space on each side.
What's the difference between skating and lateral bounds?
Lateral bounds are a single explosive jump from side to side, while skating is a continuous, lower-impact stride meant to be repeated for time rather than for a set number of reps.
Why does the outside of my hip get sore after this exercise?
The abductors on the outside of your hip work hard to control each sideways push and landing, so soreness there is a normal response to a movement plane you may not train often.
Is skating a good warm-up before running or field sports?
It works well as part of a dynamic warm-up at a moderate pace, since it raises your heart rate and rehearses the lateral stability your ankles and knees will need during the session.