Speed Skating

Move · High-Intensity · Movement, Typed Supps

The blade never pushes backwards — it pushes sideways, which is why the inner thigh and outer hip work far harder than they ever do running.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Deep crouch position): Substantial hip and knee flexion is held continuously rather than cycled through.
During the race (Lateral push-off): Propulsion comes from pushing sideways against the blade edge, loading glutes and adductors through a long range.
As the effort builds (Perfusion restricted): Sustained contraction in the crouch raises intramuscular pressure and limits blood flow through the quadriceps.
Months later (Both energy systems): Sprint distances lean on anaerobic glycolysis and longer ones on aerobic capacity, so both must be trained.

Muscles trained

Primary: quads, glutes, adductors
Secondary: calves, abs, heart, lungs

Intensity

13.3 METs (Skating, speed, competitive).

Time to effect

Weeks: The stride push-off and comfort holding the low crouch without excessive fatigue improve within the first few weeks of regular sessions.
Months: The quad and glute endurance to hold that crouch at race pace for a full distance, along with the aerobic engine that separates recreational from competitive skaters, build up over months of dedicated training.

Related supplements

Common myth

Speed skating is basically just fast running on blades. In reality: The sideways push-off through deeply bent knees and hips creates a completely different muscular demand than running, working the glutes and adductors through a much longer range under load, and the low crouch adds a static postural challenge that running never asks of the legs.

In the glossary

VO2 max