Month: October 2021

Comparing Acceleration and Max Speed

There are two general ways to approach linear speed training:

1) Improving the rate at which a player approaches top speed (e.g. acceleration)

2) Improving top speed

It’s rare for a player to reach top speed with any regularity in hockey, whereas the ability to accelerate is integral to performance in every shift.

However, the top speed a player can reach creates a ceiling on how quickly they can accelerate, so training to improve max speed will positively impact acceleration ability.

With that in mind, it’s helpful to understand different characteristics of acceleration and steady state skating so training efforts can be either shifted to emphasize acceleration or max speed work to a greater extent, or to simply ensure that all of the necessary qualities are being addressed in a way that best transfers to the ice.

Summarizing work from Buckeridge et al (2015) and Stidwill et al. (2010)…

Acceleration, identified as the first 3 steps, is characterized by higher activity in the calves, a larger hip flexion/extension arc, and a single peak force-time curve.

This indicates a running-type pattern, with a more sagittal-plane dominant strategy.

Steady state skating is characterized by higher quad EMG, higher hip abduction ROM and velocity, a greater degree of knee flexion at weight acceptance and knee extension at toe off and therefore a greater knee ROM, and a bi-modal force-time curve. The bi-modal force-time curve is created by an initial peak at weight acceptance, a slight dip associated with loading the leg, and then a second peak for the push out.

These characteristics are indicative of a gliding push-off pattern, with more of a frontal plane emphasis.

Recognizing the differences in planes of movement, ranges of motion, and muscular contributions opens up a lot of possibilities for improving training specificity based on individual needs, and adjusting exercise selection and execution to maximize the on-ice transfer.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in effective off-ice training programs specifically designed to improve speed, check out my new book Speed Training for Hockey.

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Dissecting Skating Technique

One of the more consistent findings in determining what differentiates elite and sub-elite skaters is that elite skaters adopt a lower skating position.

This study from Upjohn et al (2008) found that high caliber skaters had a deeper skating position, which translated into longer/wider strides with more extension range of motion through the knee/ankle.

Ultimately, this allowed the players to skate faster, despite using the same stride rate.

Training to improve mobility or stability is typically referenced as a strategy to minimize injury risk. This study, along with several others, provides a rationale for including mobility/stability work to enhance skating performance.

Improving the ability to adopt and control deeper single-leg positions should be a foundational training goal in any speed training program for hockey.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more, check out my new book Speed Training for Hockey.

Enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Sports Performance and Hockey Training Newsletter!

Hockey Speed Training Pyramid

I hope this finds you well, and that you’re as excited as I am for the start of the hockey season.

Over the last few years, balancing my work responsibilities with family time and wrapping up my PhD has not left a lot of extra time for writing.

When I started this site back in 2008, my main goal was simply to share information that could benefit athletes and coaches looking for an edge, and pass along things I was learning to my colleagues in strength and conditioning.

One of the many things I’ve learned over the last 13 years is that the writing process really helps me to clarify my thinking, particularly as I work to integrate new information into an evolving training system.

I’ve missed this over the last few years, and while I still don’t have the time to write long articles, I’ve recently started to share quick posts and videos on my instagram account (@KevinNeeld), which I’ll also post here.

As always, feel free to re-share anything that you think will benefit your friends, teammates, colleagues, etc, and please post any questions comments you have.

Hockey Speed Training Pyramid

In ideal circumstances, the training process should follow this process:

  1. Identify a goal
  2. Diagnose limiting factor(s)
  3. Design and implement a training intervention
  4. Re-assess

We often hear that different things work for different people.

There are many reasons why this is true, one being that most athletes are not exposed to Step 2.

There is no goal-driven diagnostic process to identify specific areas that are most likely to help the athlete achieve the desired outcome.

This picture is a general overview of my model of speed development for ice hockey players, taken from a presentation I gave recently for the Strength and Conditioning Association of Professional Hockey (SCAPH).

The key takeaway here is that athletes, particularly those with several years of training experience, shouldn’t identify a goal and start applying exercises without first diving into which areas of the pyramid are most limiting to their success.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in learning more, check out my new book Speed Training for Hockey.

Enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Sports Performance and Hockey Training Newsletter!