Tag: hockey training

1-Arm DB Lateral Squat

Developing strength in multiple planes is important for improving the transfer of strength to sport-specific movements and to improve durability by preparing the tissue to produce and accept force in these patterns.

The 1-Arm DB Lateral Squat is an example of an accessory single-leg strength exercise that emphasizes a lateral push.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Kevin Neeld, PhD (@kevinneeld)

Two quick coaching cues:

✅ When you hit the “bottom” position, all your weight should be centered over your stance leg, so your nose down through your sternum should be centered over the foot.

✅ Actively push your hips away from the ground coming out of the bottom (e.g. don’t lift with your upper body).

Typically performed for 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingAdaptation.com

P.S. For comprehensive hockey training programs to improve your speed AND repeat sprint ability, check out: Speed Training for Hockey

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

    Size vs. Strength

    One thing I used to hear from a lot of hockey players is “my legs are big enough.”

    In most cases, this was the player’s way of saying “lower body training is hard, and I don’t want to do it” but aside from the laziness, there’s a misconception that bigger means stronger.

    Muscle size relates to the strength POTENTIAL, but a significant portion of strength is driven by the nervous system – in terms of improving coordination, maximizing activation, and minimizing inhibition.

    In other words, for any given size, strength can vary widely; so strength training is important to maximize the ability to produce force REGARDLESS of whether gaining muscle is a priority.

     
     
     
     
     
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    A post shared by Kevin Neeld, PhD (@kevinneeld)

    There are 2 things that I love about this video:

    1️⃣ Kyle hits an easy 3 reps at 205 at a body weight ~165lbs early in the off-season while he was in college. His relative strength was a key factor in his speed development.

    2️⃣ When most players suffer an injury, they’re told to take time off while it heals. Kyle was back in the gym as soon as he got his cast put on, focusing on what he COULD do, instead of what he couldn’t. It’s this drive/leadership that lead to him becoming the first 2-time captain at Harvard since 1923.

    As more and more team sport athletes prioritize speed development, improving relative strength should be a foundational training target.

    Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

    To your success,

    Kevin Neeld
    SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
    HockeyTransformation.com
    OptimizingAdaptation.com

    P.S. If you’re interested in year-round comprehensive hockey-specific training programs for players at different ages, check out Ultimate Hockey Transformation.

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

     

    Speed Training: Alternating Crossover Run

    The Alternating Crossover Run is an exercise I’ll integrate into our pre-practice prep and as a main exercise in speed development blocks.

     
     
     
     
     
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    A post shared by Kevin Neeld, PhD (@kevinneeld)

    It’s a great option to teach:

    1️⃣ Hip/shoulder separation
    2️⃣ An aggressive push-under
    3️⃣ Introductory single-leg deceleration.

    The goal here is to cover a lot of ground laterally, while turning the hips in the movement direction, but keeping the shoulders square to straight ahead. This hip/shoulder separation comes into play in most transitional patterns, but is especially helpful for situations where your eyes need to track the play away from the direction you’re moving.

    Great option for athletes that don’t have a lot of space for their speed work.

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

    Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

    To your success,

    Kevin Neeld
    SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
    HockeyTransformation.com
    OptimizingAdaptation.com

    P.S. For comprehensive hockey training programs to improve your speed AND repeat sprint ability, check out: Speed Training for Hockey

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

     

    Lateral MiniBand Skater Walk

    This is an exercise we integrate into our warm-ups to help reinforce a low skating position and strong push-off.

    A common problem you see in less efficient skaters is that they adopt a wider stance and their stance leg collapses inward slightly, which causes the player to ride their inside edge, and create more friction on the glide leg, which ultimately slows the player down.

    Similarly, a lot of players will make the mistake of over-reaching with the front leg, when the emphasis should be on pushing the ground away through the back leg.

    I’ll cue players to think of their front knee, hip, and shoulder pushing against a wall, while the back leg pushes.

    The band creates a slight inward pull on the knee, which the player can actively pull against to reinforce the foot/knee/hip/shoulder alignment we want from a stance leg in skating, but the focus on keeping the knee straight also makes it feel less natural to reach with the foot compared to when the front band is around the ankle. If you reach with the foot with the band in this position here, the band rolls up the leg, which doesn’t feel great. Once the player understands the motion, the band can be slide down to the ankle.

    Typically performed for 3 sets of 8-10 reps/side

    Give this a shot, and feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

    To your success,

    Kevin Neeld
    SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
    HockeyTransformation.com
    OptimizingAdaptation.com

    P.S. For comprehensive hockey training programs to improve your speed AND repeat sprint ability, check out: Speed Training for Hockey

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

    Speed Training: Med Ball Chest Pass w/ Step

    In a previous post, I mentioned that limitations in speed development can be identified by asking the below questions:

    1️⃣ Can the player get into the right positions?
    2️⃣ Can the player hold the right positions?
    3️⃣ Can the player push out of the deep positions?
    4️⃣ Can the player “explode” out of deep positions?
    5️⃣ Can the player create separation?

    Related to Question #4, early acceleration phases of skating rely on a more sagittal plane dominant strategy (pushing back), opposed to max speed skating that relies on a more frontal plane dominant strategy (pushing laterally).

    This video is of a Med Ball Chest Pass w/ Step, and is an example of an exercise that can positively impact this early acceleration phase, which is often described as “first step quickness” by players and coaches.

    The emphasis of the exercise is on an aggressive push through the front leg (see picture). With that in mind, it’s important to:

    ✅ Set up with an aggressive forward lean over the front foot.
    ✅ Think of “pushing the ground back” through the front foot to JUMP forward.
    ✅ As your foot leaves the ground, follow through by throwing the ball as hard as you can toward the wall.

    Make sure to leave yourself plenty of room so you can catch the ball safely off the rebound.

    Give this a shot, and feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

    Feel free to post any comments/questions below. If you found this helpful, please share/re-post it so others can benefit.

    To your success,

    Kevin Neeld
    SpeedTrainingforHockey.com
    HockeyTransformation.com
    OptimizingAdaptation.com

    P.S. For comprehensive hockey training programs to improve your speed AND repeat sprint ability, check out: Speed Training for Hockey

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

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