Whether it be quad or inline skates, indoor or outdoor, safety is ALWAYS important when it comes to roller-skating. Sometimes kids look for an excuse not to wear safety gear, whether it be it’s uncomfortable or just “not cool.” June is National Safety Month, and we’re here to give you the best tips and tricks for safe skating!

Always Wear a Proper Helmet

Accidents can and do happen. When roller-skating, your head needs protection in case of a fall. That means wearing the correct helmet, because not all helmets offer the same amount of protection. Investing in a quality helmet that fits your children correctly while also offering adequate protection and impact absorption is suggested.

Fitness Helmet — Does not always adequately protect from high impact collisions. It also no longer protects after a single collision.

Multi-Sport Helmet — Offers better all around impact protection and is effective for more than one collision.

Skate Helmets — Offers adequate protection during skating but may not protect during other activities like biking or boarding.

You may be able to counter the children’s resistance to wearing their helmet by picking out one in their favorite color, or creating a fun project of customizing their gear with stickers, graphics, etc.

Always Wear Knee Pads and Elbow Pads

No scrapes and bruises here! Sometimes these can get a little bulky, but you’ll have some peace of mind and your child will help their joints by wearing this extra protective gear.

Pick the Right Skates

If skates do not fit properly, it could very well lead to accidents and injuries. They should be comfortable, yet sturdy. They should also offer proper ankle support. To make sure a pair of skates offers enough ankle support, feel the plastic boot around the ankle. If it squeezes, there is not enough support and the material is not strong enough. Find some of the best skates here.

Consider Other Protective Gear

While most adults and children know that a helmet and pads are necessary for safe skating, skaters may want to add extra layers of protection. That means wearing long sleeves and long pants instead of shorts to prevent injury to elbows and knees in case of a fall.

For those who are new to skating, it might be intimidating to see experienced skaters flying past you on the rink. Doesn’t it seem like they can go on forever? It takes awhile to build up some skating endurance; but with some patience and a few tips from the pros, you’ll be a pro-skater in no time!

• Practice! A huge part of skating is repeating what you learn.  Time yourself, and do the same drills over and over. Doing drills in your down time will make for better performance, endurance and speed.
• Perfect the technicalities. A critical aspect of skating is focusing on your form, posture and fluidity. These technicalities are often overlooked, but if perfected can greatly help your endurance and speed! Check out this article for proper skating technique.
• Wear your skates everywhere. This might seem silly, but wear your skates whenever you can. Whether it’s going out to get the mail or around the house, it truly will help. The more comfortable you are in your skates, the longer you’ll be able to last in them; hence more endurance! Be sure to wear comfortable, thick socks to avoid blisters. 
• Branch out. Go skate on a rink, bike path or outdoor trails. Skating on multiple surfaces will get you used to being in your skates, and it makes things fun and interesting. You’ll be willing to skate longer if you can make it fun!
• Treat your body right. The only way to improve your skating endurance is if you’re improving your overall health as well. Eating a well balanced diet, regularly exercising and getting enough sleep are all factors that go into your endurance.
• Get the right skates. The best way to skate effectively is to have the right skates! Here’s where you can find some of the best…
• Push yourself. Lastly, skate until you can’t skate anymore; and then push yourself one step further. Outdoor endurance skating is incredibly effective for building leg strength, speed, balance and awareness.

As always, feel free to practice your endurance skating at Roller Kingdom! If you’d like to improve your skating, we’re now offering summer skating lessons. Check it out on our website!

As summertime rolls around, you’ll have lot more opportunity to get outdoors! Between laying at the poolside, bike riding, hiking and other activities, there’s a little something for everybody. Without the kids in school, you’ll have a lot more time for relaxation. We might be a little biased, but roller skating is the perfect summer activity…and here’s why!

• It’s great exercise. Running can get a little boring and working out can get a little monotonous. Switch it up a little bit and get on some skates! It’s a lot less stress on your joints and you won’t even realize you’re getting a great workout with all the fun!
• It’s great for group activities. Let’s face it. We’re way too glued to our televisions, tablets and iPhone’s these days. Take a break and get some much needed bonding time! It’s a great way to hang out with friends without spending money or staying inside!
• It’s perfect for all ages. A lot of times it’s difficult to come up with an activity that is suitable for everybody. But roller skating is something great for everyone! There’s a ton of fun games you can play. Check out our latest blog post to see our favorites!
• It’s air conditioned. It gets so hot in the summer; and while we love being outside it feels great to be indoors! No sunburns, no heat exhaustion and less sweat; we’d say that’s an all around win!

We’d love to have you this summer at Roller Kingdom! Our Hudson and Tygnsboro locations are open 7 days a week! Stop by anytime, and take a look at our special events to get in on the summer action!

We all love roller skating, but going around in circles can get a little monotonous sometimes! So we’d like to share a few of our favorite games. These are super easy, safe and they’ll keep the whole gang entertained. Check it out!

• Musical Skates: Familiar with musical chairs? It’s the same deal! Instead of chairs, skaters will have to stop at a black “x” on the floor (use tape). Like musical chairs, make sure you have one more skater than x’s. Grab a DJ to play some music, and have them stop it at random intervals. When the music stops, skaters will have to find the closest x…and whoever doesn’t make it onto an x will be out! Keep going until the last person stands.
• Roller Tag: Put a fun twist on a good ole’ classic! Find an empty parking lot, rink or gym and get a group on skates. Pick one person to be the tagger. This person will chase the other skaters in an attempt to tap their back. If someone gets tapped, they’re it! To make it a little more interesting, add multiple taggers.
• Corners: Who doesn’t love a little incentive? Gather some note cards and write down different areas of the rink. They can vary; examples may be “snack bar” or “DJ booth.” Put all the note cards in a hat, and start some music. Tell the skaters to start skating around the rink. When the music stops, the DJ will pick up a card, and whoever is closest to that location will win a small prize! This is a great game for parties or for rink events.
• Food Relay: This is a tricky one, but it could improve your skating skills and inspire some team bonding! Gather a large group and split them into two teams. Create two distinct lanes on the rink using cones (or any other item you can find), and then mark a start and finish line for each lane using tape. Line the teams up behind the start line. On go, the first player on each team will have to weave through cones, holding a certain amount of pizza boxes (let’s say 5). If at anytime anyone drops their boxes, they have to go back to the start! First team to go through all of their players, wins!

We can’t wait to see you guys try these out! Be courteous to others during open skate time and let us know if you’d like to start one of these games. We recommend these mostly during private parties or as suggestions during Roller Kingdom events. We’ll see you soon!

Social media is the trend these days, and we’re here to tell you we’re all over it! We pride ourselves on offering great entertainment for family and friends, but what we love most about our business is being able to connect with you. We love seeing pictures of your favorite memories posted on Instagram, a great shout out to our Twitter page or a friendly review on Yelp. Your feedback means the world to us, because it lets us know how to improve! In a world of new technology, social media allows us the great opportunity to create a two way street of communication, where we can make Roller Kingdom not just an entertainment center, but a community. So here’s a peak at where you can find us!

1. “Like” us on our Facebook page for both Hudson and Tyngsboro! We post daily, whether it’s discussing a special event we have coming up, or a fun article, like this lady who relearns roller skating at 94 years old! You can also inbox message us with any questions, check in, or tag us in a visitor post. Feel free to like, comment and share on your favorite posts!
2. We’re on Instagram! This is one of our favorites. Tag us in your best photo using the handle @roller_kingdom!
3. Give us a quick shout out on Twitter! Use the same handle @roller_kingdom to send a tweet, GIF, picture and more.
4. Hey what do you know, we’re on YouTube too! We’ve posted a couple fun videos you can take a look at, like this fun bear that made an appearance a few years ago.
5. If you’d like to tell us about your experience or see what others are saying about our business, visit our Yelp pages for Hudson and Tyngsboro. We love hearing your feedback as it helps us be the best we can be!

Young or old everyone wants to have a brain that is fit and ready to respond to the demands of daily life. We crave that spark of focused concentration that we may have once had. Well, you can have that again, but it comes through getting regular daily exercise to help your body and mind maintain optimum fitness. One of the most enjoyable ways to get that level of fitness that your brain needs is through roller skating.

Believe it or not, skating is one of the safest and most enjoyable sports that you can try. It is twice as safe as gymnastics, three times safer than football, four times safer than basketball, and five times safer than cycling. If you are interested in weight loss, you may note that roller skating for just one hour burns over 600 calories. You can get your cardio workout through roller skating, which can get your heart rate up to around 148 beats per minute giving you an excellent chance for a healthy heart benefit.

In fact, is you are interested in strength training, then you may be interested to know that roller skating works a greater number of muscle groups than practically any other exercise that you can do. It works the glutes, calves, quads, abs, and arms muscle groups effectively. Roller skating is easier on the joints than many other athletic activities and causes 50% less stress on your joints than running. Additionally, you can build great muscle strength and endurance through roller skating.

If you are concerned about your health and well-being, then roller skating is a great choice for a healthy body and mind. Why not consider checking out the rest of our website and checking out all of the options that are available for you and your family.