Spice Up Your Hockey Conditioning – Part 1

If you are a hockey player and looking to elevate your training program then be sure to join us on our two part series.   The first step in designing a sport-specific program is to identify the main components of a workout.

1.    Specialized warm-up and stretching routine specific to each joint
2.    Balanced strengthening routine focusing on each major muscle group
3.    Sport-specific power exercises- cleans, snatch, deadlifts…
4.    Cardio- Boxing, skipping, bike…
5.    Speed, outdoor running program
6.    Plyometrics, includes jumping and bounding movements
7.    Sport-specific drills (shooting drills, face off drills…)

Each workout needs to start with a specialized warm-up routine designed to prevent injuries.  The most common areas of injury for hockey players are the groin, knee, shoulder and lower back. Players need to focus on muscle balance, flexibility and joint stability in order to prevent wear and tear and overuse injuries.

A strengthening routine needs to be focused on increasing strength but also on being balanced.  If an athlete increases the strength in their quadriceps but not there hamstrings they will not benefit from full leg power and become susceptible to a knee injury.  Similarly, if an athlete develops a strong chest but has weaker back muscles they become susceptible to a shoulder injury and decreased performance due to poor body mechanics.

Power exercises such as hang cleans and deadlifts are good for hockey because they help to improve strength and speed.  It is best to choose two or three power exercises and to perform three to five sets of each.

When performing cardiovascular exercises it is effective to vary the exercise and monitor your heart rate.  Alternate between skipping, stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical machine, or stair climber.  It is also a good idea to perform time specific interval training when doing your cardio.  For instance, if you normally have 45-second shifts then perform 60-second intervals at a higher intensity every two minutes to simulate a shift.  Your heart rate can vary from 80%-90% of maximum.

Speed programs are beneficial not only for the development of speed but also for the strengthening of the tendons around the knee and ankle.  Plyometrics are most effective if they are performed six weeks before the start of the season.  They can be hard on your body so it is not recommended to perform them for long durations.  This includes jumping, bounding, and hopping type exercises.

Sport specific drills such as shooting drills and face-off drills are an effective way to improve coordination and overall performance.  Practice makes perfect.  Be sure to join us next time as we will go into more detail about scheduling and organizing your workouts.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800 or visit their web site www.karpfitness.com.

Spice Up Your Hockey Conditioning – Part 2

If you want to be an elite athlete you need an individualized workout that can take your body to the next level.  You can only reach your full potential if you continually focus on your weakest link.  A player who is small and quick needs a different workout from a player who is big and strong. Goalies, defenseman and forwards need to do exercises specific to their position.

In the first of this two part series we outlined the main components of a hockey-conditioning program.  After understanding each component the next step is to decide how much time will be spent on each component.  This is essential because it is not effective for any athlete to exercise for more than two hours/day five days/week.  The key is to start with a structured and organized plan and to set concrete goals so you understand where you want to be and how long it will take to get there. Specialized conditioning programs are vital and essential for elite athletes as they improve performance, consistency and help to prevent injuries.

There are many possibilities of how to coordinate a program that involves strengthening, plyometrics, agility, core specialization, speed, stretching, and cardio.  The first step in deciding how to set up a program for an athlete is deciding what components will be done on each day.  Below is a very effective 5-day split system.  The great thing about this plan is that the exercises can be adjusted on each day to individualize the workout for each athlete.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
	Power exercises		Power exercises
Lower Body (60 min.)	Core & Agility (30 min.)	Upper Body (60 min.)	Core & Agility (30 min.)	Whole Body (60 min.)	Off	Off
	Plyometrics (20 min.)		Plyometrics (20 min.)
30 min. Cardio		30 min. Cardio		30 min. Cardio

The lower body workout on Monday is crucial because the legs are responsible for most of our explosive movement.  The other great thing about having a workout designated for the lower body is that many lower body exercises require use of the whole body making it very functional.  For instance, when performing squats, hamstring deadlifts and lunges many of our core and upper body muscles are used to stabilize our bodies when performing the exercises.

The core and agility workout is also a sport specific workout designed to improve your core strength and foot speed and coordination.  It is good to use a medicine ball to step up the intensity of the core exercises and think about using an agility ladder or agility ball to improve coordination.

The upper body workout should focus on improving the strength of the major muscle groups of your upper body.  This includes specific exercises for your back, chest, shoulders and arms.  This day can help keep your upper body balanced to avoid injuries.  It is very common for athletes to have stronger chest muscles compared to their back muscles, which can lead to a shoulder or back injury.

The whole body workout should be a functional workout designed to target all of your muscles.  It is good to use multi-joint movements on this day and it is also good to add stability exercises with stability or bosu balls.

This workout plan can be used for athletes from the ages of 16 all the way to the professional level.  Each workout is designed to be approximately 90 minutes to two hours.  Warm up before each workout and be sure to take two days off on the weekend for a full recovery.

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800 or visit their web site www.karpfitness.com.