Month: January 2022

Analyzing Game Demands of Ice Hockey

In an international hockey game, the average shift length was ~86s, which was split in half between playing and stoppage time. Players spent ~18% of their playing time in high intensity skating.

The big take home here is that the ice hockey requires bursts of high intensity skating interspersed by periods of lower intensity skating and stoppages.

Shifts are followed by LONG recovery periods on the bench.

This is significantly different from the 40s of work, 1:3 work to rest ratio commonly used to describe game demands.

The longer you go, the slower you go.

So recognizing that the game is comprised of peaks and valleys in movement speed/intensity (higher highs and lower lows), opposed to 40s of continuous work, should have a significant impact on how players condition.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For in-season and off-season hockey conditioning programs, click here >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

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The Biggest Mistake in Hockey Conditioning

There are many ways to break down the demands of the game to gain insight into how to best prepare. In ice hockey, it’s common to look at shift length and work-to-rest ratios as an indicator of game demands.

At most levels of hockey, a typical shift is 40-60s and teams carry 3-4 forward lines and 3 d-pairs. Following this thinking, “hockey-specific” conditioning would involve work bouts of 40-60s with a 1:3 work-to-rest ratio.

While seemingly logical, this is one of the biggest mistakes in hockey conditioning.

Legendary track coach Charlie Francis is often referenced as saying “Watch the player, not the game.”.

When you do this in hockey, a very different pattern emerges. For the individual player, a typical shift consists of intermittent maximum effort bouts interspersed with brief periods of rest.

Over-emphasizing 40-60 second work bouts, particularly on the ice, will compromise speed in 3 key areas: 1) speed of skating, 2) speed of skill execution, and 3) speed of decision making.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some of the available research highlighting the demands of the game, limiting factors to hockey conditioning, and specific training strategies.

If you have any specific questions or comments, post them below and I’ll address them throughout this series.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For in-season and off-season hockey conditioning programs, click here >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

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

Embrace the Monotony

The athletes that SUSTAIN success commit themselves to doing the little things right, consistently.
 
They warm-up with intent before practice. They train regularly in-season. They hydrate, eat, and sleep with purpose, with a performance mindset.
 
Often times, these acts are monotonous. They’re repeated on a daily basis for months in a row.

The best athletes do them anyway. They commit to the process. They EMBRACE the monotony because it lays the foundation for consistent, long-term success.
 
And that means more to them than the perceived loss of the small sacrifices along the way.
 
These are all simple decisions, completely within the athlete’s control.
 
Make the right choices. Embrace the monotony. Succeed.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. One of the areas where “embracing the monotony” is especially crucial is nutrition. Fueling for health, performance, and recovery requires making good choices, consistently. If you’re interested in highly effective sports nutrition strategies, check out this manual from renowned nutritionist Brian St. Pierre: Ultimate Hockey Nutrition

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Improving Power from Low Positions Continued…

Lateral Bound from Pause w/ Drop Start

Similar goal as the Squat Jump w/ Quick Dip with maximizing transition speed except now the push is lateral, so the athlete should “push the turf away” to cover as much ground laterally as possible. The emphasis is on the push, NOT on reaching out with the lead leg.

Typically performed for 3-4 sets of 5 reps per side.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in improving your speed on the ice, check out my book Speed Training for Hockey.

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

Improving Power from Low Positions

The stretch reflex of the quadriceps is typically utilized from a low position in skating.
 
This is the first of two examples of simple modifications to commonly performed jumping exercises to emphasize the stretch reflex and power output from these “skating-specific” positions.
 
Squat Jump w/ Quick Dip

The athlete starts around skating depth, quickly dips, and then jumps as high as they can. The goal is to maximize transition speed and jump height.
 
Typically performed for 3-4 sets of 5 reps.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. If you’re interested in improving your speed on the ice, check out my book Speed Training for Hockey.

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