Skateboarding is a practice often combined with lifestyles, fashions and cultures relegated to the world of youth, but it is in effect a complete and very valid physical activity for those who love to keep active and fit, not only as a teenager, allowing very varied difficulty levels.
For a few months, lockdown permitting, I have been taking lessons to learn how to skateboard in the city safely, making it my green means of transport.
Why did I decide to approach this discipline? First of all, in terms of approach and movements, it is quite similar to snowboarding and surfing, sports that, as you know, amuse me a lot; it is practical to carry even when not in use, just carry it by hand or tie it to the special backpacks (there are so many on the market); it’s cool, and I don’t have much to add on that 🙂
But you have to know how to choose the right board for your needs, after a few lessons on the classic skateboard I realized that it was not the right vehicle for me: although very light it is not very fast and stable especially on the road; in short, it is perfect for those who want to have fun with friends and show off with tricks, but in my case longboards and cruisers are more suitable. In this case, in fact, in the face of larger and heavier boards (especially in the case of the longboard) you certainly gain in stability and speed and are therefore the perfect means to move around the city even over medium distances.
By practicing this sport I was able to appreciate its benefits both on the body and on the mind. Thanks to the skateboard, in fact, balance and flexibility are improved, thus increasing the general coordination of the whole body. Skating seems easy, but by applying yourself to pick up speed and even perform some simple maneuvers to move, it quickly becomes clear that you will need to train a lot. Resistance to fatigue and falls are therefore very useful consequences from which to take advantage on a physical level.
The psychological advantage is a bit like that of every sport: skateboarding helps to reduce stress not only because you are doing trivial physical activity, but also because you need to focus on what you are doing. The mind therefore finds a way to empty itself and focus on practical thoughts, leaving aside stress. It is also a patience training, made up of a lot of practice and continuous repetition of exercises in order to be able to obtain correct movements.
What will your green vehicle be?