This Week in Hockey Strength and Conditioning

Closing out another busy week. With Christmas a week away, I’ll likely spend the majority of the weekend scrambling around the stores with the rest of the procrastinators. I’m hoping to squeeze in a hockey game Saturday night as one of the teams I train is playing at home.

It’s been a good, but quite different week in Hockey Strength and Conditioning. Check out what you’ve been missing!

I posted two new articles on my site this week. In you haven’t already, you can read them at the links below:

  1. Is Repeat Sprinting an Aerobic Activity?
  2. Concussions in the NHL

Because of the big name players that are currently sidelined with concussions or “concussion-like symptoms”, there have been a lot of opinions tossed around recently on what the problem is and what needs to be done. In all honesty, I don’t think there is a correct and immediate fix to the problem, but I do hope that the attention helps shed like on the multi-factorial nature of these injuries. Concussion-like symptoms as a diagnosis doesn’t sit well with me. By definition, concussions are a traumatic brain injury. The associated symptoms can stem from several very different causes, and simply labeling something as “concussion-like symptoms” seems overly convenient and borderline irresponsible. Concussion-like symptoms is the new “patellofemoral pain” or “shoulder impingement” diagnosis.

As with ANY injury, it’s important to understand the CAUSE of the injury to drive a proper rehabilitation process. More proper diagnosis should reflect the underlying cause. I suspect there are more ocular dyskinesis cases than are being recognized. This, and a couple other underlying mechanisms that may drive what is being referred to as concussion-like symptoms were discussed in my article Concussions in the NHL. It’s an important issue, so I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on it too!

This was a special week at HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com. For starters, we added a bunch of great content, including:

  1. 2-Day In-Season Training Program: Phase 3 from me
  2. 1-Arm Kettlebell Press Progression Videos from Sean Skahan
  3. In-Season Training Program: Rate of Force Development Focus from Mike Potenza
  4. The Joseph Pilates Method: “Contrology” from Eric Renaghan
  5. How Diet Soda Causes Weight Gain Video

The weight gain video was really interesting. It presents food choices in a relatively new light, and explains how this affects health and performance in laymen terms. Maybe most importantly, it also identifies how zero calorie beverages can induce weight gain and compromise other components of health. Good stuff.

The real highlight of this week is the release of the FIRST EVER Hockey Strength Podcast! We’ve talked about this for a while and I’m excited it’s finally underway. The podcast is completely free to listen to and will feature an interview with a different hockey strength and conditioning coach. This podcast features a great interview with Mike Potenza. Head over to the site and give it a listen, and please help spread the word about the podcast!

Listen here >> The Hockey Strength Podcast

That’s a wrap for today. As always, if you aren’t a member yet, I encourage you to try out Hockey Strength and Conditioning for a week. It’ll only cost $1, and if it’s not the best buck you’ve ever spent, I’ll personally refund you!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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