Channeling my inner Mighty Duck.

I had been looking online at different workout classes I could take around the metro and while some of them looked exciting, I wasn't in the mood for an actual workout class. I wanted to get a workout in on Friday but the traditional workout of the gym wasn't going to do. I had been to the gym six of the seven days previous and needed a change of scenery.

I thought about things to do in Minnesota. Healthy things to do, active things to do. It was a last minute decision, to go ice skating. I called my sisters and asked them to bring the kids. For some reason, it's less intimidating if there are kids around.

Something about their enthusiasm is contagious. My niece, Kayla helped me lace up the $2.00 rented ice skates.

We all met at the Maple Grove Ice Arena for open skate at 7:15pm on Friday. I hadn't been ice skating since I was really young. REALLY YOUNG.

Skates laced, I stood up and took a deep breath attempting to channel my inner Mighty Duck. This was either going to be a total failure and I'd walk away with all-over bruises or I'd find a way to keep myself up-right. Luckily for me, it was the latter.

Oh you bet I held onto that wall for as long as I could! I wanted to let go, push myself to the center of the rink and spin into a double jump Russian squat but I decided I should probably figure out how to let go of the wall first.

Around the time I was psyching myself up to let go of the wall, my nephew Colton and my sister Alicia came up behind me. I figured then was as good of time as any to make my ice skating debut so I grabbed on to Colton, wrapped my arms around him, and with a huge breath, pushed myself away from the wall and prayed to God.

Kayla was giggling with excitement, Colton was screaming "MORE! MORE!" Becoming more confident, my sister, Alicia and I went back and forth with the kids. Music started playing over head and Kayla screamed "Oh, yeah!" and started bobbing and wiggling her little butt. Thirty minutes passed and I found myself working up a sweat. My legs were getting a workout and I could feel a little soreness in my arms from helping the kids skate.

I was surprised at how easy ice skating was. By no means was I twirling and doing fancy footwork but I was ice skating. Using an online calculator I found (here), it says I burned 231 calories in the 30 minutes I was there. More importantly though, it was an active Friday night out with my sisters, nieces and nephew.

I won't be joining the U.S. Figure Skating team any time soon but who knows, I may find myself at an ice arena sooner rather than later.

At the Maple Grove Ice Arena, it is $5.50 for non-residents, $4.50 for residents. The rink is open year round but check the online calendar for open skate days & hours. If you aren't close to Maple Grove, go HERE for a rink finder website to locate a rink in your area. A lot of rinks open year round. Ice skating makes for a great family night, friends night or date night activity!