Off-Ice Hockey Conditioning Programs

As a follow-up to my previous post on creating off-season (or lock-out friendly) programs that coordinate on- and off-ice demands, today’s post presents the mobility circuit and conditioning programs referenced in the training schedule from that last post. The mobility circuit serves to help improve multi-planar hip mobility and thoracic mobility, two areas that are commonly restricted in hockey players, while also getting some blood flowing which will help facilitate recovery. After completing the circuit (twice), the player should feel loose and energized, but not fatigued at all. Circuits like these are a great way to get some low level aerobic work in without fatiguing the system. I also included an abbreviated mobility circuit with just the stationary mobility work, as I think these are important to mix in frequently throughout the week, and, frankly, I don’t think most players will do the entire circuit 6+ times per week in addition to their pre-existing dynamic warm-ups.

Hockey requires extremes of hip range of motion. Achieving and preserving optimal multi-planar hip mobility is an important off-ice training objective, year-round.

The conditioning programs are presented with three options so the player can still get the work in even without access to any given piece of equipment or space (e.g. field or ice), and to give the player some ownership over the program. They’re listed in order of preference, meaning in an ideal world the player would perform the 1st option, followed by the 2nd if the 1st isn’t an option, and finally, the 3rd. Each day is designed to be in accordance with the targeted energy system for that day’s lifting and on-ice work. Within Conditioning 2, I started to incorporate some work that somewhat diverges from the rest of the work for that day to prepare the player for an upcoming on-ice skating test.

Check everything out below, and please post any questions you have! In a future post I’ll put up a video with all the exercises in the mobility circuit for your reference. This can also be used as a substitute dynamic warm-up for players that need a change of pace. Enjoy.

Mobility Circuit

  1. Wall Ankle Mobilization: 3x(5x2s)/side
  2. Back Knee Elevated Quad Mobilization: 10x2s/side
  3. Back Knee Elevated Lateral Kneeling Adductor Mobilization: 10x2s/side
  4. Supported Hip Airplane: 10x1s/side
  5. Quadruped Cat/Camel: 10x1s
  6. Quadruped Thoracic Rotation: 10x1s/side
  7. Reverse Lunge w/ Hands Behind Head: 10/side
  8. Modified Yoga Push-Up: 10
  9. Lateral Lunge w/ Hands Behind Head: 10/side
  10. Scap Wall Slide: 10
  11. Inverted Reach: 10/side

Modified Mobility Circuit

  1. Wall Ankle Mobilization: 3x(5x2s)/side
  2. Back Knee Elevated Quad Mobilization: 10x2s/side
  3. Back Knee Elevated Lateral Kneeling Adductor Mobilization: 10x2s/side
  4. Supported Hip Airplane: 10x1s/side
  5. Quadruped Cat/Camel: 10x1s
  6. Quadruped Thoracic Rotation: 10x1s/side

Conditioning 1

  1. 50-Yard Shuttle Run (Lines at 0&25) on 60s (Run the shuttle as fast as possible and rest the remaining time until the next minute):
    1. Week 1: 10x
    2. Week 2: 11x
    3. Week 3: 12x
  2. Treadmill: 10s/50s (Put the treadmill at a low incline (2-4°) and put the speed at something you can barely maintain with good running mechanics for the full 10s. Straddle or put the speed to 3mph during the rest)
    1. Week 1: 10x
    2. Week 2: 11x
    3. Week 3: 12x
  3. Elliptical: 10s/50s (Pick a resistance that is hard, but that you can still move fairly quickly for the work intervals; push it all the way down for the rest):
    1. Week 1: 10x
    2. Week 2: 11x
    3. Week 3: 12x

Conditioning 2

  1. On-Ice Shuttle Skate (Goal and Blue) Work ~16s w/ 44s rest
    1. Week 1: 3 x (3×2 Laps on 60s) w/ 2 mins between reps
    2. Week 2: 2 x (4×2 Laps on 60s) w/ 2 mins between reps; 1 x 7 Laps
    3. Week 3: 1 x (6×2 Laps on 60s); 2 x 5 Laps w/ 5 mins between reps
  2. Off-Ice Shuttle Run (Lines at 0&25)
    1. Week 1: 3 x (3×100 yards on 60s) w/ 2 mins between reps
    2. Week 2: 2 x (4×100 yards on 60s) w/ 2 mins between reps; 1 x 300 yards
    3. Week 3: 1 x (6×100 yards on 60s); 2 x 250 yards w/ 5 mins between reps
  3. Airdyne
    1. Week 1: 3 x (3x20s/40s) w/ 2 mins between reps
    2. Week 2: 2 x (4x20s/40s) w/ 2 mins between reps; 1 x 60s
    3. Week 3: 1 x (6x20s/40s); 2 x 50s w/ 5 mins between reps

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

Please enter your first name and email below to sign up for my FREE Athletic Development and Hockey Training Newsletter!