It’s Just Science

On July 11th, 2022, Alien Kinetics sent out our first press release, announcing to the world we were open for business and proudly launching our first product, the DriBlades off-ice training blades. 

On that same day, Steve Whyno of the Associated Press wrote an article about our DriBlades technology. That article was picked up by over 150 newspapers and media outlets across North America.

Since that day, we have been busy selling DriBlades and answering questions from the hockey community about the benefits of our technology. 

What has also been an added surprise is the number of questions we have received from athletes who don’t play hockey as their primary sport.

Figure Skaters Understand The Science

If you have followed the early story of Alien Kinetics, you already know the brainchild of the DriBlades technology belongs to founder and professional kineticist Kelly Riou. 

I am fortunate to work for Kelly, and truth be told, I also consider him a friend.

Nothing excites Kelly more than trying to help others, and that is true both inside and outside his gym. 

Last week, during a DriBlades zoom meeting with the team, you could hear Kelly’s excitement when it was mentioned that many figure skaters were also using our technology.

What excited Kelly and the whole team was that the figure skating community totally understands the science behind our DriBlades product. 

Although we haven’t (yet) made it convenient for them to snap DriBlades into their figure skates, that doesn’t mean the benefits of working out in an unstable environment don’t apply to their sport either.

Because they most certainly do.

The Benefits Of Being Unstable

When athletes dedicate so much time and effort to working out, they are doing so for several different reasons. All athletes want to get stronger, and lifting weights is a part of every high-performing athlete’s workout routine.

But building huge biceps isn’t going to make Connor McDavid a better skater. Every athlete should set goals and create a program around those goals.

First and foremost, working out on unstable surfaces is the best method of targeting your core. The benefits of strengthening your body are numerous, including that our core muscle group is the foundation from which all movements originate.

Spending time in the gym should also be a form of preventative medicine, and it should help an athlete stay healthy and avoid injury. We need to target and develop the muscles we use when performing our required sport.

When we skate, we are on an unstable surface, going at very high speeds, and ultimately vulnerable to many forms of injury because of those two factors.

Working out with your DriBlades off-ice training blades will target and develop your skating-specific muscles and reduce the risk of injury because of a fall or awkward collision.

What also needs to be addressed is the wear and tear bodies suffer through repetitive motions such as skating. Building a program allowing athletes to target those specific muscles is key to staying healthy over a long career.

Muscle mass is the final layer built on top of that foundation. A combination of unstable workout exercises and traditional strength training exercises is the ideal program for athletes looking to improve their performance and stay healthy.

Ensuring that when we work out, whether in your skates or your shoes, we always focus on proper form and technique above all else is also essential to our long-term health and success. 

Too often, an athlete can become fixated on lifting their maximum weight in the gym. A lot of the time, we sacrifice form and technique to do this.

Our goal as an athlete is to be great tomorrow, next week, and well beyond our athletic careers.