The Best Core Exercise Ever?

Over the last few years I’ve been fortunate to have had opportunities to attend a couple courses from the Prague School of Rehabilitation on “DNS” or Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization. If you’re not familiar, DNS uses developmental kinesiology (how the motor cortex of babies develops and how this is expressed in the development of their movement patterns) as a model for viewing human movement. While much of the application of these principles, in my opinion, is better relegated for rehabilitation purposes (and often with special populations), there are many key concepts that are important in the strength and conditioning/athletic development process. Charlie Weingroff has done an outstanding job in describing how many DNS concepts apply to the S&C professionals in his DVDs Training = Rehab, Rehab = Training. You can check out a couple previous posts reviewing the DVDs here:

Among the many applicable concepts, DNS breaks down patterns into ipsilateral/turning or contralateral/crawling distinctions, which can essentially be used as buckets to describe every movement, and discusses muscle roles as being “phasic” (think movement) or “tonic” (think support or postural), depending on the task at hand. Utilizing these concepts, I modified a couple common exercises and developed a highly integrated core exercise. As a quick disclaimer, it’s possible (read: likely) that someone else has already done this exercise, so I’m in no way taking credit for its “invention”, but it was a new idea for me!

Eric Tangradi performing the Short Side Plank w/ Kettlebell Screwdriver

There is a lot going on with this exercise, but a few of the highlights:

Utilizes a modified mid-position from the ipsilateral turning position described by DNS (and demonstrated by every healthy baby)
Tonic scap stability work through the bottom shoulder and phasic scap/rotator cuff work through the top shoulder
Lateral hip and core (e.g. lateral subsystem as described by Thomas Myers, among others) work on the bottom side
A component of thoracic rotation, which can often become restricted and performance-limiting in hockey players

Give that baby a kettlebell

This exercise can also be performed with the top knee off the ground, which would add a greater element of external rotation at that hip, but potentially limit the thoracic rotation component. In Ultimate Hockey Training, I provide exercise progressions and lateral substitutions for a number of different subsections of “core training”, including Lateral Hip, Lateral Core, Scap Musculature, and the Rotator Cuff. I like this exercise because it integrates all of these aspects of core training into one exercise, which can save time, but ultimately is a more functional option.

If you’re ready to progress on from traditional side planks and ready for a challenge, give this one a shot. As always, if you have any questions feel free to post them below!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

P.S. If you like this exercise, I posted two of my other new favorite core exercises over at Hockey Strength and Conditioning to accompany the dozens of innovative exercise videos that have already been posted there! Not to mention all the articles, programs, and hockey-specific forum threads!

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Developing Explosive Power

Emily and I just got back from an awesome road trip out west, where we spent Canada Day in Vancouver, drove down to Seattle, out to Cannon Beach, and then over to Portland. I left my laptop charger at home, which was a blessing in disguise! It was great to get away for 8 days and recharge a bit.

Right before we left, I wrote a post digging into the “Bilateral Deficit” idea a bit, and explaining some of the discrepancies we see between unilateral and bilateral lifts and how they may or may not be explained through a neural lens. This has a lot of application into how we design programs on a daily basis, so if you missed it be sure to check it out here: Understanding the Bilateral Deficit

One of the training goals a lot of players have for their off-season training is to improve their explosive power and speed. I hear words like “quicker first step” a lot. As I’ve mentioned in the past, there is A LOT of considerations in how to improve an on-ice ability such as acceleration, speed, or shooting power. From an off-ice perspective, understanding the underlying energy systems and physical qualities (e.g. strength, mobility, stability, etc.) that enable a player to develop or express a certain skill is important. We’re at a point in our off-season programs where many players have completed a couple of phases of strength work and are transitioning more into power training at various points on the high load/low velocity (think heavy hang cleans) to low load/high velocity spectrum (think med ball throws).

One method that can be effective in maintaining or continuing to improve maximum strength while also developing power is known as “contrast” training, where a heavy strength exercise is paired with a movement-specific power exercise. There are several examples of this, including:

Squat -> Vertical Jump
Deadlift -> Broad Jump
Bench Press -> Explosive Push-Up or Med Ball Chest Pass
Chin-Up -> Overhead Med Ball Slam

I talked about this concept in more detail in a previous post: Post-Activation Potentiation

Another application of this concept is known as “French Contrast Training”, which is a method I first learned about from University of Minnesota Strength & Conditioning Coach Cal Dietz. With this method, you pair 4 exercises, all performed continuously, followed by a 3-5 minute break. The exercises should be performed in this order:

Compound Exercise: 1-3 reps at 80-90% load
Plyometric: 3-5 reps
Weighted Explosive Exercise: 3-5 reps
Accelerated/Unloaded Plyometric: 4-6 reps

We’re currently using a few variations of this method in some of our players’ programs:

Lower Body French Contrast Circuit

DB Reverse Lunge (Day 1), DB RFE Split Squat (Day 2): 2-3/side
Lateral Bound (Continuous): 3/side
Vertimax Jump (Continuous): 5x
Unloaded Squat Jump: 5x

A video from a couple Summers ago of hometown hero Johnny Gaudreau doing Unloaded Squat Jumps

Apparently this exercise also gives you silky mitts!

And just for the USA Hockey fans out there…

Upper Body French Contrast Circuit

Bench Press: 2-3
Explosive Push-Up: 5x
DB Push Press: 5x
Unloaded Explosive Push-Up: 5x

Unloaded Explosive Push-Ups being demonstrated by future Maine Black Bear Andrew Tegeler

This is only one piece of the power development puzzle, but the players that have started this type of training have enjoyed the focus on being explosive and the variety in exercise selection. While I would never recommend doing something stupid in the interest of appeasing your clientele, finding effective exercises/methods that the athletes also enjoy is ideal. In this case, the unloaded exercises are a blast for the players, and they also help improve power and contraction velocity, all good stuff if the goal is to improve quickness, speed, shooting power, etc.

In a couple days, I’m going to post a video of one of my new favorite integrative core exercises, so be sure to check back soon!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

P.S. The Ultimate Hockey Training Database will be updated soon with even MORE videos. If you’re interested in getting access to over 800+ videos of hockey training exercises, check out Ultimate Hockey Training for more information on becoming an Insider.

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Exercise Selection, Hockey Nutrition, Nutrient Monitoring, and More!

A couple weeks ago I wrote a random thoughts post on topics ranging from youth hockey performance to heart rate variability to hip impingement. If you missed it, you can check it out here: Hockey Training Random Thoughts

Today’s post follows up on that with some discussion on the disconnect between exercise selection and adaptation, nutrition, supplementation, and the importance of context. Enjoy!

There seems to be a general misconception that certain exercises necessarily deliver certain adaptations without a respect for how the exercise is loaded and performed. For example, we use kettlebell swings often as a power exercise. However, if the swings are performed like they are in most bootcamp settings (more like a squat into front raise), and not with a rapid eccentric loading and quick transition, the power benefit of the exercise is lost. Likewise, a squat loaded at 50% 1-RM for 3 sets of 8 may be used as a recovery or teaching tool, 50% with a rapid concentric or “up phase” could be used for power development, loaded at 75% may be used for hypertrophy, and loaded at 80-90% for 8 sets of 3 could be used for strength development. Simply naming an exercise doesn’t always dictate the adaptation.
I think people make the assumption that all food choices with the names “smoothie” or “salad” are healthy. The reality is that most smoothies that you can purchase at a restaurant or stand are complete garbage. Most smoothies are pre-made mixes or use a fruit juice base, which is almost always loaded with sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup. The “real fruit” component of smoothies means they put 2-3 frozen strawberries in the mix and may add half a frozen banana. Likewise, most salads leave a lot to be desired. Cesar salads are the worst offenders. Romaine lettuce has a nutrition value slightly above that of crunchy water, croutons offer no worthwhile nutrition value, and all your left with after that is some grated cheese and dressing (which COULD offer some valuable fats if made well). The grilled chicken that often tags along is the only thing that offers some actual nutrition. Nutrition isn’t that complicated, but the efforts to mask unhealthy food as healthy steers a lot of people wrong. If you’re at a loss for what to eat while staying within the boundaries of “healthy”, I strongly encourage you to check out Ultimate Hockey Nutrition, which provides lists of best, good, and bad food choices, smoothie recipes, grocery lists, sample snack ideas, preparation tips, and more!
It seems like omega-3s and vitamin D have received a lot of attention from the nutrition community and even the popular media. More people are aware of the health benefits of monitoring and (when appropriate…which is almost always for most people) supplementing these two supplements. I think magnesium is the next big supplement to gain traction and reach the masses. Magnesium serves a lot of functions in the body, but in general it has a calming effect on the nervous system, which is one reason why it’s found in a lot of sleep supplements. Given the high and prolonged levels of stress that today’s students, athletes, professionals are under, magnesium deficiencies are probable and supplementation will likely have an immediately positive impact. This post dives into some of the science behind magnesium’s role in the body and the differences between the various forms: Gnolls.com Opens the Door to Obesity Fight
In a perfect world, people should get certain health/nutrient measures monitored and then adjust lifestyle/nutrition/supplementation accordingly, a topic I covered here: Recovery Week: Monitoring Nutrient and Hormone Status. The problem with doing this within the general medical system is that there is a notable difference between “normal” and “optimal”. I’m not involved enough in the medical world to know this for sure, but I’ve read that the “norms” are determined by calculating averages of relatively large sample sizes of the population. On the surface, this appears to be a valid approach, but is undermined by the fact that widespread insufficiencies are likely to bring “norms” down far below optimal levels. With the “population average” approach, obesity in the US would be considered “normal”, and wouldn’t raise a red flag in the medical system. Naturally, this is not the case because the norms in this regard were established using prior to the obesity climb, and with some different outcomes as supporting markers.
Every piece of exercise advice needs to be understood within the context from which the person is recommending it. I’m a huge believer in heart rate variability monitoring (as I discussed here: Hockey Training Random Thoughts), but I think it holds a lot more power in situations where athletes are in-season, or training 4+ days per week. Not that the information is ever worthless, but if you only have an opportunity to influence an individual’s training habits one day per week, the total stress your program will add/alleviate in an hour per week is a fairly small drop in the bucket. You could still use HRV information to make lifestyle recommendations, but the direct effect on the day’s training will be less, in my opinion. Likewise, most of the best coaches I’ve had an opportunity to learn from agree on more than they disagree on, and most of the differences in program design stem less from a philosophical difference than strictly operating under different circumstances: space, equipment, supervisors, coach:athlete ratio, athlete level/training background, etc. If you’re in the training industry, understand who you’re taking advice from before you take it.

That’s a wrap for today. I have a couple posts coming in the next week on the bilateral deficit and groundbreaking research on hip injuries, so be sure to check back!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

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Hockey Training Random Thoughts

It’s been a busy few weeks for us at Endeavor as almost all of our players are back at this point. It’s been a fun off-season already, as we’ve had a couple special situations of early arrivals, short-term training availability, combine prep, etc. I’ve been more stringent in re-assessing and tracking various qualities as time goes by so it’s been interesting to see how our players respond/progress through the various phases. A few random thoughts that have come up the last few weeks:

It’s been neat to see how some players resting heart rate and heart rate variability shift dramatically toward more ideal levels after a 3-4 week aerobic oriented phase, and how some players have gained ~15 degrees of rotation arc in their hips after 3-4 weeks, presumably because of the corrective work we’ve prescribed. I talked a little more about some of the other early results we’ve seen with some of our off-season programs in a previous post: Off-Season Hockey Training Programs
It’s always nice to have evidence that players are adapting in the direction you want, but it’s also valuable to learn when players are NOT adapting, which allows a deeper thought process as to what may be limiting the adaptation. For example, many of our players continue to have limited ankle mobility, despite putting a strong focus on improving dorsiflexion ROM across several weeks. For some players, it’s definitely a tracking issue and some targeted soft-tissue work and different mobilizations may do the trick. For others, I strongly believe they have a structural deviation of the ankle mortice that limits this ROM, similar to how FAI limits hip flexion ROM. For more information on ankle mobility, check out these two old (but still very current) articles from Carson Boddicker: Alleviating Ailing Ankles, Alleviating Ailing Ankles II
I got an email from a parent of a 9-year old wondering why his son plays with such an observable drive during practice, but seems much more timid in games. This is something I imagine many parents with young athletes in all sports wonder. The first thing that comes to mind is that the player is 9, and it really doesn’t matter, as long as he’s having fun. The second thing, which is very related, is that the player is likely performing at a higher level in practice because he feels free to play and try new things without the pressures of in-game consequence. If you try a new move and fail in practice, it doesn’t matter; no one is keeping score. In fact, that is the point of practice. In a game, especially in the win-at-most-costs culture we’ve created for our youth athletes, the stakes are much higher and the player is probably thinking (consciously or subconsciously) that it’s better to avoid making mistakes than the potential reward of succeeding at something more risky. This really highlights the importance of rewarding behavior, and not outcomes. Encourage kids to be creative AND to make mistakes. No one cares if you win when you’re 9.
Today alone, we had two examples of HRV values showing “red flags” that have allowed us to alter our programming to allow a player to recover better. One case was related to too much fun over the weekend; the other simply needed a longer recovery period from a previous phase. In both cases, the player completely understood why we needed to change things and values the fact that we’re individualizing things to allow for the most optimal adaptation. I’m working on ways to build HRV monitoring into the programs of all of our 4-day/week players, as I strongly believe that this simple measure provides a powerful indicator of the individual’s current adaptation capacity, and the state of their autonomic nervous system. If you’re unfamiliar with HRV, I’d encourage you to read this post: BioForce Heart Rate Variability
Because I’ve written a lot about Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) and have worked with number of athletes that were surgical candidates, were post-surgery, or are in an “at-risk” population, I get emails almost weekly from people suffering from FAI symptoms that are looking for advice. While I think it can be valuable to do some reading online to better understand what may be driving your dysfunction, it’s EXTREMELY difficult to self-treat injuries, especially those involving structural changes. It’s equally difficult to diagnose injuries over the internet. I can’t understate the importance/value of seeking out a quality health care professional for a thorough assessment. I work closely with a few guys in our area that we send athletes to regularly when I need another set of eyes or if they require manual/treatment skills that I don’t possess. If you’re a S&C professional, build a network of physical therapists, chiropractors, and functional medicine/osteopath/naturopath physicians in your area. Not only can they be a good source of referrals, but sending a client to the right professional at the right time is a great way to stimulate more word of mouth marketing. For everyone else, the same mentality is still valuable; build a healthcare team in your area. It’s the best way to manage your own health and performance.

I have a lot of other random thoughts floating around my head, but our afternoon groups are starting and I have a couple players to assess! Until next time…

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

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Off-Season Hockey Training Programs

A couple weeks ago I announced the completion of the Ultimate Hockey Training Video Database. Since then, I’ve received a bunch of emails about accessing the database and about off-season training program design.

This is really an exciting time of year for me. As my friend Devan McConnell said, the hockey off-season is really the hockey strength and conditioning coach in-season. We’re currently training the Team Comcast U-18 team 4x/week through August, the two U-16 teams 3x/week through August, and the ’99s, ’00s, and ’01s will start up 2x/week in June and train through August. This is in addition to the dozens of junior, NCAA D1, and professional players we’ll have in the mornings everyday through August. A few of the junior kids have been in since February. Talk about maximizing your off-season! Needless to say, it’s been a busy few weeks assessing/testing everyone and designing programs.

Once players take a few weeks off and let their body recuperate a bit, the off-season provides a great opportunity to start restoring and improving different capacities (e.g. range of motion, movement quality, speed, power, strength, conditioning, etc.). The key to maximizing this time is to really understand where you want to be come pre-season and what you’re willing to do to get there. Finding a good strength and conditioning coach that understands how to coach movement well, how to design a quality training program, AND the demands of the game is extremely difficult, and will almost always require some degree of inconvenience, typically in the form of a longer drive (there isn’t a quality coach in every neighborhood) and increased costs (great coaches cost more money to work with).

Understanding Quality Programming

One of the biggest struggles players and families face in finding an off-season training program is being able to decipher quality from garbage. With seemingly knowledgeable people boasting the benefits of their programs, it can be difficult to sift through the hype and really see who knows what they’re talking about. In my opinion, a quality program should encompass:

Some sort of initial assessment to identify structural limitations, range of motion/mobility impairments, movement quality, and basic performance capabilities. At Endeavor, we find resting heart rates, baseline heart rate variability, 12-site body fat calculations, assessments taken from the Functional Movement Screen, PRI, and traditional orthopedic tests, and a simple battery of performance tests to get an indication of their power, full body strength, muscular endurance, and repeat sprint ability. This is key to understanding the limiting factors in a player’s performance. For example, a player may not be able to maintain a low skating position because they: 1) Don’t possess the hip structure to squat any deeper than they are; 2) don’t possess sufficient strength to support their weight in this position; or 3) don’t have the local muscular endurance or conditioning necessary to maintain this position for any significant amount of time and pattern themselves into a higher position. A thorough assessment will shed light on the limiting factors to all components of performance.
Different physical targets based on the individual’s stage of development. USA Hockey has done a great job outlining the windows during a youth player’s development where he/she is “sensitive” to developing specific qualities. Players at different age should have programs designed to emphasize different qualities (see image below).
Progressive phases, each with their own emphasis. Once players cross the ~13 y/o age group, going through random workouts or “classes” isn’t likely to deliver the results the player is looking for. In general our off-season phases progress from: Work Capacity/Hypertrophy -> Hypertrophy/Strength -> Max Strength/High Load Power -> Low Load Power/Speed/Strength -> Conditioning/Speed/Power. Each phase is essentially tiered so that it has a primary emphasis, but also includes some work in other qualities to make the transition from each phase smooth. For example, the phase before we attack speed work, we’ll integrate a low volume of sprints so the player becomes accustomed to sprinting and has some time to work on technique before we really hit the gas. Planning progressions in this fashion is simply what S&C professionals refer to as “periodization” and is essential to hitting higher peaks in performance.
An energizing training environment and positive culture. Finding a facility that isn’t shy with the music volume, and doesn’t ban chalk, Olympic lifts, and deadlifts will go a long way in improving the quality of the player’s training as well as the amount of fun they have in the process. Our players look forward to coming in over the Summer (at least most days!), in large part because they get to train alongside current/former teammates and friends, have some say as to what goes on the radio, and basically are placed in an environment where they can just get after it. This is one of the major downfalls of general member gyms; it’s tough to do 100lb farmer’s walks by some idiot in a tank top grunting while doing curls w/ 65lbs in the squat rack. Environment matters, and so does the culture. One of the things I love the most about Endeavor is that I’ve now had some of the same kids for 5 Summers; these guys know our system so well they are often proactive in teaching new players how to perform the exercises. It ends up being a great experience for both players and a huge help to us!

Developmental Sensitivity Periods

Naturally, the most important part of any off-season program is that it gets results. I know our corrective/mobility works because I remeasure players. After 1-2 phases of our program, most players (that need it) are adding 15-20 degrees of hip rotation arch in EACH hip. This is huge in maximizing their structural mobility, giving them the best opportunity to optimize their stride and avoid injury. We have a player preparing for the NHL combine here that has added 4.5″ to his vertical jump in two weeks. Another that has put on 12 lbs of muscle in 12 weeks. These are just a few examples of the early successes from our current off-season group, but provides supporting evidence that our programs are delivering the results our players are looking for.

If you’re interested in using one of our off-season hockey training programs for your own purposes, you just need to join the Ultimate Hockey Training Insider’s Section. Simply, it’s the most affordable way to follow a quality, proven training program if you can’t find/access a hockey training facility this off-season. To become an Insider, follow these steps:

Purchase a copy of Ultimate Hockey Training
Register to become an Insider here: Ultimate Hockey Training Insider

Insider access is only available to those that have purchased Ultimate Hockey Training, as the book provides a ton of information that will help players get more out of their training, including exercise progressions and lateral substitutions so players can make exercise substitutions based on equipment availability without compromising the intention of the exercise. An Insider membership provides access to monthly training programs for players at each age group, the newly added 800+ exercise video database, and recommended equipment, all for a monthly cost of less than a decent lunch.

Follow the instructions above, and have the best off-season of your career!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

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