Tag: hockey training

Adult Hockey Training

Over the last couple weeks I’ve received a few emails about training programs for adult hockey players. The adult hockey population is rapidly growing, and as with the youth hockey population, they are incredibly competitive.

To be honest, speaking more about adult hockey training never really occurred to me. It’s clearly a large, and generally unserved athletic population. If I were a better business person (I’m not), I’d be writing a book on the topic right now!

I think one of the reasons I haven’t paid more attention to adult hockey training is that the concepts that underlie youth hockey training still apply. We still need to ensure we’re creating appropriate mobility through the ankles, hips, and thoracic spine (the notables), while promoting stability through the knee and lumbar spine; we still need to progress exercises from basic to advanced; and we still need to progress conditioning from less intense to more intense.

The major differences between adult players and youth players are:

The amount of time they spend on the ice
The amount of time they can dedicate to training
The adaptability of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems
The recovery rate from all activities
Post-game nutrition for adults tends to be illegal for youth players

Generally speaking, adult players spend less time on the ice, have less time to dedicate to training, adapt more slowly to training stimuli, take longer to recover, and drink more beer than protein shakes.

Mmm. Post workout nutrition.

While not always the case, most adult hockey players tend to gravitate toward higher body fat percentages than young players. This is a direct result of less activity, more stressed lifestyles, and generally a lifestyle characterized by quick fix nutrition. The take home from this is that the best hockey training program and adult player can follow is one geared toward dropping the extra pounds. Shedding the unwanted fat will ultimately lead to improved relative strength and speed, which will positively impact on-ice performance.

An argument can be made that more hockey-specific training is, in fact, a program geared toward fat loss and I wouldn’t disagree, as long as the athlete is paying attention to their nutrition. The training would only differ in that it would include more traditional speed work, lateral and diagonal movements, and maybe some slideboard work. Of course, if a player’s body fat is too high, none of these things would be safe anyway so the differences become negligible.

If you’ve been reading my site over the last week, you know that I’ve been mentioning hockey training expert Michael Boyle’s new Body By Boyle Online. I think one of the greatest benefits of Boyle’s new site is that he posts the EXACT programs he uses to train his athletes and the exact programs he uses for his fat loss clients. Relevant to our adult hockey training discussion, this means that regardless of whether you want to attempt a program that is more athletic-based (only recommended for relatively in-shape players with a decent training background) or fat loss based (applicable for everyone), you’ll have access to a program that meets your needs and abilities.

What makes Body By Boyle Online so unique is that he has videos of EVERY exercise included in the programs with specific coaching cues so people watching them get an idea of how they’d be coached if they were at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning (which, if you’ve missed my last couple posts, was recently voted the #1 Gym in America). And, for strength and conditioning professionals and proactive intellectual non-professionals, Boyle also put up a number of information-based videos details his philosophies on various aspects of training and giving an inside look to his staff meetings.

The site officially opened to the public today (October 6th) at 9:00 am, and they reserved a special price for the first 500 subscribers (which will inevitably be reached within the first 24 hours). I highly recommend you check out the site at the link below. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you, but this is the first time that programs of this quality have been so readily accessible for EVERYONE, that you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t at least look into it.

>> Body By Boyle Online <<

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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In-Season Hockey Training Program

One of the questions I get the most from hockey players (and parents) is whether or not they should continue to train in-season. The answer, of course, is a resounding “YES!”…or for my friends in Quebec “OUI!”.

Naturally the volume and intensity need to be altered to accommodate the increased on-ice demands of the season, but players should continue to follow a training program to ensure that their now improved speed, power, and strength capacities do not decrease. In other words, in-season training is geared toward, at a minimum, avoiding detraining (some may call this “maintenance”).

I generally recommend that players train two times per week. Because most of our youth players have games on the weekends, they’ll train Monday and Wednesday. One of the difficulties associated with in-season training is how to design the program to maximize improvements AND recovery. That is why I’ve decided to share the program our players are working off with you. Take a look, and feel free to post any questions you may have!

Day 1

A1a) 15-Yard Sprint (2-Point Start)
Week 1: 3x/side
Week 2: NA
Week 3: 3x/side
Week 4: NA

A1b) Box Jump
Week 1: NA
Week 2: 3 x 5
Week 3: NA
Week 4: 3 x 5

A2) 2-Way Med Ball Crush
Week 1: 2 x (2x20s)
Week 2: 2 x (2x20s)
Week 3: 2 x (2x20s)
Week 4: 2 x (2x20s)

B1) DB Reverse Lunge
Week 1: 3 x 6/side
Week 2: 3 x 8/side
Week 3: 3 x 4/side
Week 4: 3 x 6/side

B2) DB Chest Press
Week 1: 3 x 6
Week 2: 3 x 8
Week 3: 3 x 4
Week 4: 3 x 6

B3) Feet Elevated Front Plank
Week 1: 2 x 20s
Week 2: 2 x 25s
Week 3: 2 x 30s
Week 4: 2 x 20s

C1) Slideboard Hamstring Curl (3s negative)
Week 1: 3 x 10
Week 2: 3 x 12
Week 3: 3 x 8
Week 4: 3 x 10

C2) Low Pulley Row
Week 1: 3 x 8
Week 2: 3 x 10
Week 3: 3 x 6
Week 4: 3 x 8

C3) Feet Elevated Side Plank
Week 1: 2 x 20s/side
Week 2: 2 x 25s/side
Week 3: 2 x 30s/side
Week 4: 2 x 20s/side

CON) Bike
Week 1: 8 x :30/1:00
Week 2: 6 x :30/1:00
Week 3: 10 x :30/1:00
Week 4: 5 x :30/1:00

Static Stretching: 30s each
2-Way Rectus Femoris
2-Way Lying Glute
Lying Knee-to-Knee
2-Way Pec
Cross-Body Lat

Day 2

A1) 1-Arm DB Push Press
Week 1: 3 x 3/side
Week 2: 3 x 4/side
Week 3: 3 x 2/side
Week 4: 3 x 3/side

A2) Alternate Arm Scap Wall Slide
Week 1: 2 x 8/side
Week 2: 2 x 8/side
Week 3: 2 x 8/side
Week 4: 2 x 8/side

A3) Stability Ball Front Plank w/ Mini Rollout
Week 1: 2 x 10
Week 2: 2 x 10
Week 3: 2 x 10
Week 4: 2 x 10

B1) 1-Leg DB SLDL
Week 1: 3 x 6/side
Week 2: 3 x 8/side
Week 3: 3x 4/side
Week 4: 2 x 6/side

B2) Weighted BOSU Push-Up
Week 1: 3 x 10
Week 2: 3 x 12
Week 3: 3 x 8
Week 4: 2 x 10

B3) Inverted Row
Week 1: 2 x 10
Week 2: 2 x 12
Week 3: 2 x 8
Week 4: 2 x 10

C1) Chin-Up
Week 1: 3 x 8
Week 2: 3 x 10
Week 3: 3 x 6
Week 4: 2 x 8

C2) Dynamic Y->W
Week 1: 2 x 10
Week 2: 2 x 10
Week 3: 2 x 10
Week 4: 2 x 10

C3) 1-Arm DB Farmer’s Walk
Week 1: 2 x 50 yards/side
Week 2: 2 x 50 yards/side
Week 3: 2 x 50 yards/side
Week 4: 2 x 50 yards/side

Static Stretching: 30s each
2-Way Rectus Femoris
2-Way Lying Glute
Lying Knee-to-Knee
2-Way Pec
Cross-Body Lat

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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Extra Core Work for Hockey Players

Every now and then I’ll walk through Endeavor and see one of our players doing extra core work on their own. At first, this really intrigued me. We do SO much core work during the off-season I was flabbergasted that they’d want to do more.

The more I thought about it, the less surprised I was. Just about everyone that steps foot in a gym, hockey player or hockey parent (or, dare I say, someone NOT involved in hockey?), wants to have a more aesthetically appealing midsection. Despite the reality that having an appealing midsection is almost strictly a function of maintaining low levels of body fat (hence the guys with the muscle mass of Gumby with shredded “abs”), and decades of researching demonstrating that training a muscle group will not magically remove the fat above that muscle, the default practice is to lay down on the floor and do “abs” for 15 minutes at the end of every workout.

The resemblance is uncanny. (I apologize to any teenage girls that may be offended by this comparison)

Unfortunately, this will never, ever get them closer to having a six pack…ever. Eating better and learning lifelong nutritional strategies to optimize your health, performance, and body composition will (check out Brian St. Pierre’s site for more information on this stuff), but doing some extra ab work will not.

The bottom line though is that hockey players, like most people, feel better about themselves when they’re a little sore. Despite me pointing out that playing in traffic will also make you sore, most players opt for the extra core work. With that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to put together a few quick “core” routines to help players in this regard, so they don’t just default to crunches, sit-ups, leg throw downs, Russian twists and other moronic core exercises.

Core Routine 1

A1) Slideboard Bodysaw: 2-3 x 8
A2) Bird Dog: 2-3 x (6x2s holds)/side
A3) Standing Cable Rotation: 2-3 x 8/side
A4) Stability Ball Knee Tucks: 2-3 x 8

Core Routine 2

A1) Rollouts (Stability Ball, Bar, or Ab Wheel): 2-3 x 8
A2) Standing Hip Flexed Dynamic Y->W’s: 2-3 x 10

A3) Tall Kneeling Belly Press: 2-3 x 10/side
A4) 1-Arm DB Farmers Walk: 2-3 x 50 yards/side

Core Routine 3

A1) Overhead Rotational Med Ball Floor Slam: 2-3 x 6/side
A2) 1-Leg Glute Bridge w/ Active Hip Flexion/Extension: 2-3 x 6-8/side
A3) 1/2 Kneeling Cable Chop: 2-3 x 10/side
A4) Slideboard Push-Up w/ 1-Arm Reach: 2-3 x 5/side

Hopefully this will give enthusiastic hockey players a framework from which to do their “extra” core work that still fits within the confines of my core training philosophy.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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Ultimate Goalie Training

I’ve had the opportunity to read/review most of the hockey training products out there and, to be honest, I’ve been largely unimpressed. Most are outdated, impractical, theoretical, or, well, minimally educated. When I’m reading through these hockey training products, I look for a balance of education and practicality. In other words, I look for detailed information on what a hockey player should be doing and why they should be doing it.

I recently read Maria Mountain’s Ultimate Goalie Training and was really impressed. Goalies are often overlooked in the training process. Maria’s training program did a great job of outlining the principles behind goalie training, exercises that goalies should be doing and why, and a program for goalies to follow. I was so impressed with the program that I asked Maria if she’d do an interview for us here at KevinNeeld.com.

KN: Goalie-specific training doesn’t receive much attention amongst the strength and conditioning world. Can you talk about the demands of being a goalie and why the position may deserve some special attention?

MM: Like many things in the strength and conditioning world the pendulum for goalie specific training swings to the extremes. There are some practitioners who believe that goalies do not need anything different than the skaters. I have also see practitioners who have their goalies actually wearing their pads while dropping off a high box onto a BOSU. They somehow feel that is creating a better goalie. Personally, I would rather see a coach or trainer do nothing with their goalies than the latter routine.

I believe the goalie must be a great athlete first, but they do have some special needs. With the butterfly style, goalies do need more hip internal rotation, they need to have good control of their hip adductors (groins) in a lengthened position to reduce the risk of adductor strains and they need more very short burst rapid lateral movements coordinated with hand-eye reaction. Finally, when you consider the energy system demands on the goalie, they are quite different from a skater because the goalie will be on the ice for the entire game with sustained postures and then rapid bursts of movement. So I prioritize my training for goalies by developing mobility, stability (in the hips and torso), strength, lateral speed and stamina.

The Ultimate Goalie Training system builds from a strong foundation up to the more dynamic goalie specific plyometric drills. It is not a quick fix or a laundry list of exercises where goalies can pick their favorite exercises and do them over and over. It takes the goalie through a logical step-by-step progression without any guesswork; I tell them what to do each day resulting in improved performance on the ice and reduced incidence of injury, so they can stay in the game.

KN: One of the limitations I see in a lot of training programs is that it’s hard to relay how to do the exercises with correct form. You do a great job of giving goalies everything they need to learn and perform the exercises. Can you explain for our readers how you went about doing this?

MM: In the Revolution Studio where I train athletes in London, Ontario I am extremely picky about technique. I think we share a common philosophy on this Kevin in that if an athlete is not doing the exercise properly then they are not training the muscle groups they are trying to target. Although it was very time consuming, my passion for perfect technique dictated that I videotape every exercise in the program with technical pointers. I basically teach the goalie who is using the Ultimate Goalie Training system the same way I would teach an athlete in the gym.

Even if a goalie knows how to do squats for example, I want him/her to learn what is important to me from a technical perspective. Again the goal is to maximize performance and reduce the risk of injury. Once the goalie has viewed the videos, I also included ‘quick reference’ guides, which include photos of each exercise that they can put into their training manual and take along to the gym just in case they forget anything. I have had goalies email me to say that they have loaded the videos onto their iPod – which I think is really cool, but please don’t ask me how to do it – I am proud of myself if I can buy a song on iTunes!

KN: One of the questions I get a lot from hockey players is “what exercise should I do for…?”. Can you talk about how you decided on the exercises to include and how you structured the program?

MM: When I create any program, the first question I always ask myself is “what am I trying to accomplish?” Then I set about to create a program that will accomplish that goal in the least amount of time. I see too many workouts that include 12-14-16 exercises (I actually saw one workout that had 21 exercises per strength workout – for three sets). In my opinion, if you are including 21 exercises in a workout, you have no idea what you are trying to accomplish; you are throwing crap at the wall and hoping something sticks.

So with the Ultimate Goalie Training system I included the basics – remember goalies must be great athletes, so there are squats and squat variations because they need to build some great, strong, powerful legs. Then I supplemented that with strength movements or power movements in other planes, which helps train similar patterns of muscle recruitment that the goalie may use on the ice. So we are covering the big bang movements – the goalie gets stronger overall, and then I supplement with exercises to keep them mobile, nimble and injury resistant. Not one exercise is included to help the goalie just look better; every exercise is either included to improve performance or reduce the risk of injury. Any other fluff is cut – I don’t want someone wasting my time; so why would I waste the time of my athletes?

I also included an in-season training schedule and an off-season training schedule so the goalie knows exactly what to do each day regardless of where they are at in the season. I tried to make it as step-by-step as possible while still providing an advanced training experience for the goalies that are serious about improving their performance.

KN: Thanks for taking the time Maria. Great stuff as always and a great resource for goalies to check out!

For more information on Maria’s Ultimate Goalie Training, check out UltimateGoalieTraining.com.

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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This Week at Hockey Strength and Conditioning

Check out what you missed this week over at Hockey Strength and Conditioning!

Article: Leadership Lessons from the NHL from me
A recap of the most important lessons I learned from my 1st NHL training camp. From talking to Coach Potenza, this is stuff that we agree all coaches AND players should know.

Article: How Should I Strength Train Leading Up to Training Camp? from Mike Potenza
A great description of the off-ice training protocols Coach Potenza uses with the San Jose Sharks to prepare them for training camp.

Video: 10-Rep Cluster Bench Press from Sean Skahan
Clusters are a great way to build strength. Cool video from Coach Skahan.

Video: Rear Foot Elevated Jump from Michael Boyle
A single-leg plyo exercise from Coach Boyle. This would be a great one to use in conjunction with a back leg raised split squat if you’re into pairing strength and power exercises.

Video: Goblet Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat from Ben Bruno
I was exhausted just watching this video!

Click the link below for more information about Hockey Strength and Conditioning!

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

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