Blogs

Recently, I posted the exact program I used with a female college hockey player this season to help restore functional ability and minimize pain related to chondromalacia and patellofemoral syndrome.  If you missed it, go check it out here: The Knee Pain Program I wouldn’t consider myself a knee expert, far from it actually.  But […]

Catch your interest? Type II Diabetes is characterized by low insulin sensitivity and is largely the result of a diet packed full of simple sugars and a lifestyle of inactivity. Take home message: It’s completely preventable! Hockey-related hip injuries are usually the result of under-preparation or overuse. Take home message: They’re almost completely preventable.  I […]

If you haven’t yet, pick up a free copy of “Strong Hockey Core Training” on my site.  It details a few dozen equipment-free exercises and appropriate progressions. After reading that you might be wondering two things: 1) What if I have equipment? 2) What’s next after I follow all those progressions? My answer is similar […]

Another one of my favorite reactive core training exercises is the overhead medicine ball perturbation.  Same concept as previous exercises: maintain a stiff, stable core in the presence of an external force or perturbation.  Holding the MB overhead maximizes instability as it raises your center of mass (higher COM=greater instability).  Check it out: [quicktime]http://kevinneeld.com/videos/Overhead%20MB%20Perturbation.mov[/quicktime] To […]

[quicktime]http://kevinneeld.com/videos/Pallof%20Press%20Perturbation.mov[/quicktime] Are you noticing a theme here?  These are all the same exercises I’ve shown you before, but with a more advanced external sensory stimulus added.  The greater the challenge to stability, the more carryover to athletics.  I love these exercises for a couple reasons, but mostly because they are so simple to progress.   […]

[quicktime]http://kevinneeld.com/videos/Side%20Plank%20Perturbation.mov[/quicktime] Adding a partner perturbation turns this basic core stabilization exercise into a reactive core (and shoulder!) stabilization exercise.  It also ties in a team dynamic, as your athletes learn to work in pairs or small groups.  The goal is the same as the regular side plank: maintain a neutral position.  The only thing that’s […]

My schedule has been exceptionally busy this week.  Papers/articles to write, presentations to prepare, marketing to do, etc.  No complaints-I’m fortunate to spend the large majority of my day doing things I’m passionate about.  But because I’m limited on time, I’m going to keep it short and sweet today. More on Core Training… Core training […]

I’ve been a Flyers fan for as long as I could remember.  We’ve had our good years and our bad years, but one thing always seems to remain constant-just about every time there is a Flyers’ player in a highlight, it’s a poor defenseman or goalie on the losing end of a highlight reel play. […]

As promised…my favorite rotational core training exercise.  This is actually an ANTI-rotation exercise, developed by and named after physical therapist John Pallof.  Remember that the primary function of the core musculature is to provide stability in the presence of internal and external forces causing movement.  Essentially all this exercise involves is setting up something (like a […]

On Wednesday I introduced the Front Plank and went over why it’s an essential part of any hockey training program.  The Side Plank (video above) adds a greater emphasis to the lateral musculature of the core, including the muscles underneath what most people refer to as their “love handles.”  Will it help get rid of […]