Agony Auntie Terror Answers Your Questions!

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Dear Auntie Terror,

I'm constantly getting injured and it's really getting me down. Ordinarily I'd cheer myself up with some skating, but I can't do that right now. What do you suggest to perk myself up again?

Yours expectantly,
Constantly Injured

Dear Constantly Injured,

I totally feel for you. Being injured sucks big time. Going through a spate of them sucks even more. It’s hard to keep your spirits up especially if you are injured for a long time or repeatedly. There
isn’t an easy fix for this because you won’t magically be uninjured. But you can do things off skates to keep spirits up and maintain your fitness.

In times like these cross training is your friend – it keeps your endorphins up, releases stress, and also maintains your fitness for derby so you can return to badassery with ease. You should first check
with your doctor about what exercise is okay with your injury and how much. If you can, exercise vigorously as often as you can because vigorous exercise is the best for releasing those awesome endorphins.

Some of the best cross training for derby is cycling because it works the same muscles as skating but in different ways. If you can try swimming; it is low impact but a very good workout due to the water
resistance. If you need to get some aggression out you can try boxing, which I happen to think is excellent when you are feeling crap. A good session raging on a punching bag can do a gal a lot of good!

If you are not able to skate or do any vigorous exercising then pilates and yoga are probably the best options for you to keep the spirits elevated and maintain your current level of fitness. Both of these can be pretty intense and give you an amazing working without the cardio aspect. You will probably find that you come back to the track leaner, stronger, and more limber which are all great things for
any skater.

Some girls in my league still come to training and do physio exercises on the sidelines during drills and then help out as NSOs or line-up managers during scrimmages. Some girls that aren’t helping during scrimmage use it as a time to take notes on tactics, teamwork, etc. so that they are keeping their derby brain engaged. So even though they aren’t skating they are doing things keep them participating at training and learning new things.

And last but most definitely not least is to maintain a positive attitude. I know that is probably easier said than done, but it is very important. If you can hip check those off-skates blues away and
soon they won’t come anywhere near you.