Training Help

[Yakus 0]

Does anybody have any training secrets or tips that can help increase stamina / endurance? My season is just starting and I would like to be able to skate very hard without getting tired fast. Anybody know what's the best or fastest way to do this? I've seen guys on the ice that are like Superman and they can skate back and forth and never seem to be tired.

[Crazy Otto 0]

There are lots of good hockey off-ice training books out there. For myself, I try to do a combination of aerobic and anaerobic workouts. You need the aerobic for cardio, but you also need the anaerobic for powerful short bursts of speed. Interval workouts are where you combine intervals of sprints followed by walking or slow jogging. It's a good way to build up your anaerobic conditioning. Add some plyometrics to give you the powerful leg muscles and weight training for upper body.

[Yakus 0]

I'm not in bad shape but I would like to develop crazy stamina like some of the guys I see. I'm looking for something I can do off the ice. I have a few ideas like sprinting, jogging, skip ropes, etc... but I don't know if they are effective or which exercise works the best.

[biff44 0]

Endurance is pretty easy. Get on an exercycle or stairmaster, set it on a fairly high constanct resistance, and work it for a straight 45 minutes. Don't be gobbling down too much water while you are working out, as you want you body trained to go it without drinking too much. Twice a week it good.

The best exercycles are the "recumbant" ones, where you sit on a fairly wide seat and the pedals are far in front of your, not below you. A standard bike, with the pedals directly below you, does something bad for hockey players and their hip muscle, screwing up your hip flexibility.

[2-Keys 1]

i know this topic is about enderance, but... i an not teh fastest skater and need to get faster. anyone have any good tips for me?? ive started sprinting a lot lately and ive started running hills. im just wondering if anyone has any other ideas. thanks

[sherwood21 0]

2-Keys, working with a power skating instructor is always going to be #1. A guy named Shawn Belle..Canada's WJC team, Tri Cities, etc works with a power skating instructor and has personally told me that it has helped his skating a ton. I have read scouting reports that say he is the best skater in the entire CHL. Nothing beats a power skating instructor.

Another thing to think about is Guerilla Cardio. I have heard of it catching on the last couple months. It is where you sprint as hard as you can for 30 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds, you do 8-12 reps of this. Sprinting downhill builds footspeed, which will also help with your skating. Also getting on a fitness bike to increase cardio will help out a lot with skating.

[#94 3]

If you want to train to get faster on the ice, you need to do overspeed training.

Get a buddy and have them lay on their stomach while you hold your and their stick and drag them down the ice. Make sure to pump your legs as quickly as possible.

This builds footspeed and stamina, as well as "tricking" your muscles into believing they will have to work this hard everytime you skate. When you do hit the ice, you won't have your 150 lb. buddy weighing you down, you'll be staking much faster.

Also, you could go out and purchase a weight vest. You won't need anything over 20 lbs. Put this on over all of your equipment and skate around for awile. You will definitely feel it. As soon as you take the vest off, you will feel an unbelievable difference.

This is the method I use, introduced to me by Eric Brule former Pittsburgh Penguin and current coach at the Lawrenceville School.

Also, plyometrics are great and should definitely be incorporated into your workout.

Good luck.

[SB39 2]

#94 that's good stuff, but that's not overspeed training. Overspeed training is sprinting down a 1-4% decline, cuz anymore will make your start to deccelerate yourself to keep from falling. It's going over your top speed.

Try sprinting hills, it's about the best off ice way to train. One legged squats, or pistols, are great for developing strength and balance. Also hit the weight room and do squats, both types of deadlifts, any olympic lift with the proper instruction and supervision. Long answer, but bust the hell out of your legs.

[#94 3]

I was talking about on-ice overspeed, not dryland/off-ice.

[MDE3 0]

I was fortunate where I lived when a teenager. My house was on a road situated on the top of a hill that climbed about 400' over a 3/4 mile. My routine started out with a run to the bottom and then back up to the top, and then from there progressed to a 2.5 mile outbound run and a 2.5 mile inbound run, that finished with this kind of a climb. As my conditioning improved I was able to sprint the last 250 yards up the hill(climbing maybe 60' over this distance).

After three months of this routine, I could play open hockey for 2 hours without ever going to the bench if nobody objected....and still have more speed at the end that anyone out there....never had so much energy. Lung capacity was hugely improved from all that expanded breathing.

[biff44 0]

There are two types of speed. One is flat out speed and straight line acceleration. You train that with lifts, sprinting, things to coordinate mind-body connections to fire faster.

The other is quickness, or lateral acceleration. A really easy way to train that that quickly yields results is to get an "agility ladder", and practice various stepping drills with it. You can buy one, or even use masking tape on the floor to make one. Agility/footspeed is what you need if you are a Dman, and a big power forward is barrelling down on you and fakes to get around you. If you are agile enough, you can still react and get a piece of him.

http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/agility.htm

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Maybe I know what it is in french but what is a deadlift?

[2-Keys 1]

thanks a lot guys! i am going to start doing some of the stuff you guys suggested right away. i cant thank you enough. i just wish i would have asked sooner. :D

[Squirrel 0]

what is a deadlift?

http://www.protraineronline.com/past/nov15/deadlift.cfm

[biff44 0]

Re: Deadlift

That picture does not show it, but most people grab the bar with one hand palm out, one hand palm in ("alternate grip")

[MDE3 0]

There are two types of speed. One is flat out speed and straight line acceleration. You train that with lifts, sprinting, things to coordinate mind-body connections to fire faster.

Very true....One thing I noticed after months of running/training, was when I was working out with players from a major Canadian University football team that same summer, with guys who did a lot of leg weight training....they had much more jump off the line in the 40 yard dash...I was behind after the first two steps.....even though by about 25 yards I would pass them, in a game situation that two step jump would give them a serious advantage. Although this was football, the analogy remains the same to hockey. Knowing I was "fast" over a 100 yard sprint, and could eat them alive in a mile run, I was shocked to find myself so easily beaten "off the line"

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I heard it was not good for hockey players to do too much continuous aerobic workouts because it tend to develop more slow muscle than high velocity muscle. What do you think of that?

[hockechamp14 0]

I heard it was not good for hockey players to do too much continuous aerobic workouts because it tend to develop more slow muscle than high velocity muscle. What do you think of that?

It's a compromise that has to be made somewhere. You can only have so much explosion, or else your skating will be gone after a couple shifts. You can ony have so much endourance or else your skating will be full. It's in finding the optimal balance that is the challenge.

94... what you were talking about in dragging the kid is resisted skating, overspeed skating you would have to do something like tie a really long bungee to another player halfway across the ice or so, and stretch it all the way out. When you go, you will be forced to skate faster, while the other kid will be skating resisted.

[sherwood21 0]

I heard it was not good for hockey players to do too much continuous aerobic workouts because it tend to develop more slow muscle than high velocity muscle. What do you think of that?

Do you mean like fast twitch muscles, as in a runner's physique? I would imagine you should have more fast twitch muscles than slow, due to the explosiveness of hockey.

[SB39 2]

Along that note, it isn't of very much use to train your aerobic system by doing straight aerobic exercise: It is much more efficient to train your heart and lungs, in terms of time , effort, and sheer boredom, through high intensity modes, like guerrilla cardio, hard skating, supersets in the gym, olympic lifts, etc. Long distance cardio will only prepare you for long distance, low intensity activity, except when you factor for the fat your may lose doing that cardio, which you would lose quicker and with less muscle wasting effect doing high intensity cardio. More later...

[Adam91 0]

plyrometrics are great

[Jim Bob 0]

http://store.athletesperformance.com/view_....php?category=7

For general strength and conditioning, I'd suggest checking out Core Performance and Functional Training for Sports.

Functional Training for Sports is written by Mike Boyle who used to be the strength coach for the Boston University hockey team and the Boston Bruins.

He has a very loyal follwoing amongst the many NHLers that came through the BU program while he was their strength coach.

As far as cardio goes, I'd suggest a mix of what some people have suggested here.

For aerobic work, I'd suggest riding a stationary bike for 45 minutes to an hour. If the bike has a random program, I'd say go with that. And be sure to up the intesity every 2 to 3 weeks.

For interval training, I'd suggest a running workout where you sprint for 30 to 45 seconds and then walk for 90 to 120 seconds. Do this interval workout for 30 to 45 minutes. This will simulate the short bursts followed by periods of rest that you will need in a game situation.

Adding in plyometric work (the best book I've heard about this topic is Jump into Plyometrics) would also be a good idea.

Also, you might want to look into some quickness and agility drills using an agility ladder, cones, and hurdles as well.

And finally, don't forget to stretch. A yoga DVD that I'm looking to get for my stretching routine is Baron Baptiste: Live - Unlocking Athletic Power.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsess...hydra?id=459683

This also has a nice static stretching routine at the end of it that incorporates some yoga elements along with some more "mainstream" stretches as well.

[2048 0]

Re: Deadlift

That picture does not show it, but most people grab the bar with one hand palm out, one hand palm in ("alternate grip")

Some use that, but I've been told it's best with both palms in. The key is keeping your back straight, getting a very very very slight bend in the knees (which you lock) and using your hip as a pivot. Works your hamstrings, glutes and lower back (to a lesser extent) like none other. Of course, you also want to do squats as SB39 said. I've been doing em for the past month and my strength and balance have really shot up; I'm much harder to knock off the puck now than I was just a few weeks ago.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Along that note, it isn't of very much use to train your aerobic system by doing straight aerobic exercise: It is much more efficient to train your heart and lungs, in terms of time , effort, and sheer boredom, through high intensity modes, like guerrilla cardio, hard skating, supersets in the gym, olympic lifts, etc. Long distance cardio will only prepare you for long distance, low intensity activity, except when you factor for the fat your may lose doing that cardio, which you would lose quicker and with less muscle wasting effect doing high intensity cardio. More later...

What is guerilla cardio?

[Jim Bob 0]

http://www.uwlax.edu/strengthcenter/Athlet...20Speed/APS.htm

http://www.uwlax.edu/strengthcenter/videos/video_index.htm

Here are some very good weightlifting, plyometric, and agility drill video examples.