How to Perform the Skaters Exercise

If you want a heart-pumping, total-body exercise to strengthen your muscles and burn calories, the skaters exercise is for you. You may have seen skaters before in athletic or HIIT workouts; they require a little bit of balance and core stability. Skaters work the lower body similar to a single-leg squat, helping tone glutes, legs and abs. In this short video, Chris Freytag shows you how to perform the skaters exercise correctly so you can get the most out of this powerful move.

Skaters require you to move laterally from side to side, meaning they work different muscle groups than most moves that are performed from front to back. Adding a new range of motion to your workouts not only improves your balance but it keeps different muscles activated like your obliques and inner thighs. Chris will show you several variations for the skaters exercise so people of all fitness levels can join in.

If you’re just getting started, you can keep it low impact and choose to keep your feet on the ground as you perform the skaters exercise. You should still make sure your abs are tight, your knees are bending, and your spine stays long. If you’re ready to add the hop, you want to come down and really bend through that standing leg. You’ll use your glutes similar to how you would in a single-leg squat. You’ll push off the ground and come to the other side, repeating the skaters exercise for however many reps you want.

You can get lower each time but just remember to keep bending those knees and engaging your glutes and abs. It’s also important to keep your gaze forward during this exercise. Try a heart-pumping set of skaters in your next workout and tell us how you feel!

All exercises you perform are your own responsibility and you perform them at your own risk. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider before starting any physical exercise, fitness or wellness regiments of any kind.