Blogs

When integrating core exercises into a training program, it’s helpful to categorize the exercises based on the pattern of movement or control: Anterior, Lateral, Diagonal, Rotational. Keeping the pattern in mind, there are several different exercises using different pieces of equipment that can be used to target specific areas. This allows athletes some flexibility in […]

There are many ways to individualize a training program to make it more specific to an athlete’s needs. One simple way is to skip phases of an off-season program NOT relevant to the athlete’s needs to create additional time for the athlete to cycle through phases more specific to their goals. This table is from […]

Over the last few months, I’ve shared examples of how an athlete’s speed or conditioning can be limited by different factors, and how game demands vary by position in ice hockey. The reality is that every athlete is starting from a unique place, and therefore requires a specific path to get from where they are […]

Over the years I’ve received a lot of questions worded something like “What’s the best exercise I can do to improve speed (or power, or lower body strength, etc.)”. The allure of the “best exercise” also appears in mainstream media, where we regularly see articles with titles that start with “Top 10 exercises for…” There […]

Lateral and rotational jumps can help goalies improve the speed at which they get across the crease. One piece of feedback I’ve heard from goalies over the years is that after going through a training phase to improve speed/power, they OVER push, and end up past the position they need to be in. A couple […]

Goalies need to generate power in lateral and rotational patterns. The Lateral Bound with Rotational Rebound is an example of a jump progression that emphasizes both patterns along with body control through the transition. The goal is to cover as much ground as possible in each jump, while controlling the transition and the landing. We’ll […]

In viewing the game demands for hockey goalies, it’s apparent they do not need the same focus on anaerobic capacity that is often essential for forwards and defensemen to integrate into their training programs. This picture is adapted from the “Performance Profiling as a Platform for Program Design” presentation I gave at our Optimizing Adaptation […]

The goalie position has unique physical demands compared to forwards and defensemen that should factor into the training process. This image shows heart rate data (courtesy of @dmcconnell29) from a goalie in a game and a practice. Clearly there are differences in the conditioning demands in how goalies are being utilized in practices compared to […]

Short duration maximum effort sprints on the Assault bike is an example of a conditioning strategy to improve repeat sprint ability by “raising the ceiling” (opposed to aerobic strategies that “raise the floor”). The Assault bike is a great tool for this purpose because it’s a low skill movement, so the athlete can focus exclusively […]

During the season, there are time when players should perform extra “conditioning” work. When making daily decisions on how to design this type of work, it’s helpful to ask these 3 questions: · What does the player need?· What has the player done recently?· How long does the player have to recover? This will help identify the most impactful training goal, […]