Today I’m excited to let you know that we have a guest post from my friend Maria Mountain. I’ve known Maria for a few years now and admire her work. In fact, her newsletter is one of the only ones that I’m still subscribed to and one of even a smaller list that I read every time! She was kind enough to offer some tips on goalie-specific training for you today. Enjoy!
Enter Maria…
This one is for the goalies and it focuses on post-to-post power, which is the key ingredient to speed. I know it is often referred to as post-to-post speed but I think the term ‘power’ is better suited because it is typically a single effort.
There may be repeated efforts within a short time span but typically you are not scrambling back and forth between posts in succession (hopefully not anyway).
So when we talk about power we are talking about the rate of force production. How quickly can you fire your muscles and direct force into the ice? There are two ways you can improve your power 1) you can increase your strength 2) you can increase the rate of force production.
Today I am going to give you some exercises for both, but make sure you start with a good foundation of strength.
I do appreciate that not every lateral push in the crease is a maximum effort, but if we can increase your power capacity, then even when you are pushing side-to-side at 75% of your top speed, you will still be using a relatively lower percentage of your max effort. Does that make sense? In other words, by improving your post-to-post power you will be using less energy throughout most of the game, leaving more gas in the tank for those extended penalty kills.
The exercises in the video are not meant to be a workout unto itself; that would be overkill. Instead, add one or two of the exercises to you regular workouts, twice per week.
The volume will stay low for these exercises because you are either trying to build strength or power, so you do not want to work to fatigue. Here are some guidelines, but remember, these exercises should be added to your existing base of strength…
For Kevin’s readers only! A free copy of the Goalie Stretch Solution – a follow along flexibility routine for hockey goalies and a complete dynamic warm-up so you are ready to play from the second the puck drops. Just click HERE, register as a new user and get instant access for FREE.
Strength and conditioning coach Maria Mountain, MSc is the owner of Revolution Sport Conditioning in London, ON and the founder of www.HockeyTrainingPro.com. Her training systems have helped athletes from recreational to Stanley Cup and Olympic Champions maximize their potential while reducing their risk if injury.
To your success,
Kevin Neeld
UltimateHockeyTraining.com
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