You just had a great off-season of strength training, sprinting, plyometrics and medicine ball exercises. You feel strong and ready to compete this hockey season. But now what do you do to keep all that strength and power during the long hockey season?
Unfortunately, many hockey players see a drastic decrease in their strength and power during the hockey season. All the on-ice practices and games and travel take a toll and many players just don’t know what to do about off-ice training so they either skip it or do all the wrong exercises.
Dr. Chad Coaching
Remember, the hockey season could be anywhere from 6-9 months long depending on your level of play. If you aren’t planning your off-ice training, you will most definitely be a weaker player come playoff time, wasting all the work you did in the off-season.
When I was the Fitness Consultant for the Edmonton Oilers, I would tell all my players that the work we do in the weight room during the season would give us a 1% advantage. In most playoff series, it’s that 1% advantage that gives you the series win!
4 Tips To Make This Hockey Season Your Best Ever
- Hit the weight room 2-3 times per week for 30-45 minutes. Keep the volume low (2-4 sets) and the intensity/load high (4-8 reps at 80-90% of 1RM) for most exercises. In the fitness science world, this is called periodization. You want to feel energized after workouts and not fatigued. If you have a significant break of 4 days or more (i.e. Christmas break), you can increase the volume as you will have more time for recovery. The HockeyOT program does all the science work for you and uses periodization in all programs to maximize the effectiveness of your workouts.
- Focus on a specific fitness goal. Take your pre-season fitness testing results and identify your weakness (let’s face it, we all have something we need to improve!). Work on that specific fitness goal for the next 4 weeks. This will help you improve your overall athleticism. The HockeyOT program allows you to choose from 8 different fitness goals so that your training will be specific to your needs as an athlete.
- Don’t forget about nutrition. Eating a healthy athlete diet and proper hydration are key ingredients to your hockey success. Athletes that are disciplined on their nutrition and hydration get fewer injuries and are ready to compete every day. The HockeyOT program has an athlete nutrition builder that comes with your subscription. Use it to take a serious advantage over your competition.
- Release that tight fascia and muscle! If you have access to a soft tissue guru, use him/her to open up those tight hips and shoulders that most hockey players have. At the very least, use a foam roller or lacrosse ball to work on your own tight spots. Use contrast hot/cold showers/tubs to help speed recovery. For more on recovery for hockey, check out the following article: Hockey & Restoration.
Dr. Chad Moreau is the President of HockeyOT.com, an online training site dedicated to improving the fitness level of hockey players of all levels. He was the former Strength & Conditioning/Nutrition Consultant for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) and the Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL). For more information please visit hockeyot.com.
