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3. Swizzle: This move is excellent for strengthening your buttocks and quads. Once you’re off to a comfortable glide, get into a squat position with your hands out in front of you as if you’re steering a car. Then, slowly push both feet out to the sides so that your legs move widely, then pull your feet back together and resume squat position. As you become more confident, make this swizzle a continual motion of legs together, legs apart, legs back together, and hold the squat for 2 seconds to intensify the move.

   Once you have mastered the swizzle, you can try the half swizzle, a more advanced version of the move. From a squatting position, keep your left skate straight and move your right foot out in a swizzle motion. Do this several times, working the right foot, and notice that you’ll be turning in a tiny circle, so you’ll need to lean into the circle. To help stabilise yourself, hold your arms out and rounded in front of you like you are hugging a tree. Then, switch legs.

4. Falling: The safest way to fall is to drop forwards onto your hands and knees, which is why you need padding (knee, elbow and wrist pads are essential). It’s important to practise falling so that when the real thing happens, you’ll know exactly what to do. Practise by starting in a standing position, then bend forward at the waist as if you’ve lost your balance. Reach forward towards the ground, bend your knees and fall first onto your knee pads then on to your wrist guards so you’re on all fours. Don’t slide your arms out in front of you as your chin may hit the ground. If you feel yourself falling backwards instead, reach out in front of you to try and change the direction of your fall. If you do fall backwards, try to roll with the fall to lessen the impact, rather than stopping the fall with your hands.

As with any workout, it’s essential to cool down afterwards for five to 10 minutes. Make sure you stretch all the major muscles in your legs, including you hamstrings, quadriceps and calves. Do gentle stretches for your arms and shoulders as well.

To find your nearest Skate Reebok class, ring 0800 30 50 50.

For information about the Betty Blade, log on to www.sweatybetty.com.