Weightlifting

[Kubiak91' 0]

I was wondering what workout setup will help you with muscle mass the best?

3 set 10 reps same weight

3 .. 10.. increasing weight

3.. 8.. same

3.. 8.. increasing

3.. 5.. same

3.. 5.. increasing

Pyramid

[barrett 0]

Yeah you should work your way into a power phase eventually where you may only be doing 3 reps but say 5 or 10 lbs more than you would do for 5-6 reps. It is really a gradual process but it also kind of varies with different exercises.

[Kubiak91' 0]

alright

[Squashbuddie 0]

N!!, i must say that I am truly impressed by your knowledge. I come from a country, where the physical aspect of hockey is very underdeveloped compared to North America. Yea, we work out and stuff, but the pointers you have given throughout this subject, are things that I really doubt I would have come across back home.

Either i haven't paid enough attention to the whole thread? But I can't seem to find any sort of program that you "approve of"?

Every single program that has been posted contains either drills where you do damage to the joints, or drills that are more suited for the beach than playing hockey.

This link was posted earlier. It's a program that I found very interesting. The guy seems to know was he is talking about, though it contains some of drills mentioned above.

I'll just post it again for everyone's sake:

Ryan Foster's Gladiator Training

I'm 6'0 and about 175 lbs. I gained about 10 lbs. last summer which was mostly muscle, I ended up being quite heavy on the ice, and as a quick player it didn't really work for me, so i ended up losing it again. I have no problem being heavier, actually I would love to as long as my speed didn't suffer from it. On the other hand, the fastest guys in the nhl aren't skinny lightweight skaters, but strong guys with a powerful stride, so i probably gained it in the wrong way. I did a routine that is recommended to most bodybuilders, it looked good and i got strong, but i forgot the the idea with the whole lot, that i wasn't a bodybuilder but a hockey player.

Ryan Foster seems to get rid of that problem?

Sorry for the long post, hopefully not too long.

[Jason Harris 31]

Maybe your ten pounds were top heavy. A lot of people do sets and sets of showy muscles, but the major contributors to running and skating are the quads and glutes.

[southpaw59er 0]

Go to SI.com and search "Chris Chelios hour of power" - great routine used by this NHL star

[westcoastsniper 0]

I'm actually stuck in a problem where I think I play too much to allow any time for lifting. I don't know which would be more beneficial to me now, to play less and take up a nice routine...or just keep playing.

I wonder about results with this. I've gotten into playing again since last fall, and been playing every week since Mid-January. Just playing routinely, and looking up skating technique online, I have legitimately improved my speed, probably 40%. I think taking time off playing to work out is something of a fallacy, since hockey works out so many different muscles and muscle groups. It'll be very difficult to exercise them all, even with a half dozen compound exercises.

The thing about hockey is that it uses the body in an unnatural way, and while it's a good workout it tends to wear the body down. You have to continually build your body back up, working your core, stretching your legs/glutes and keeping muscle mass in the upper body, all things that hockey doesn't do, but in fact breaks down because of the repetitive nature of skating/shooting.

this is essentially the mantra of Twist conditioning http://www.twistconditioning.com/

The idea isn't strength per se, but its being able to have and be able to use your strength in every possible position, which in turn keeps you healthier and makes you a better player.

Of course, the training incorporates a lot of known exercises such as squats, lunges, deadlifts, rows etc. Cause those work, and are beneficial for daily living.

shit that sounded like an infomercial for twist conditioning, I've just stolen the exercises that I saw on various video clips and the hockey paper that around the rinks they are more than enough for me to tool around with for the time being.

[steve66 45]

shit that sounded like an infomercial for twist conditioning, I've just stolen the exercises that I saw on various video clips and the hockey paper that around the rinks they are more than enough for me to tool around with for the time being.

you can find these articles from twist online in the archived editions

www.bchockey.com

www.albertahockey.com

www.ontariohockey.com

view whichever you prefer, the articles appear towards the front of each edition

[Law Goalie 147]

REST.

When you perform any strenuous exercise you're forcing your body to adapt; in order to recover and complete the adaptation, you need huge amounts of rest. That means resting more between sets, more between workouts - especially early on.

Yes, there are some benefits to be had at higher intensities and shorter intervals, but only at high levels of fitness and in extremely controlled environments.

[SolarWind 23]

REST.

When you perform any strenuous exercise you're forcing your body to adapt; in order to recover and complete the adaptation, you need huge amounts of rest. That means resting more between sets, more between workouts - especially early on.

Yes, there are some benefits to be had at higher intensities and shorter intervals, but only at high levels of fitness and in extremely controlled environments.

without diminishing the importance of rest I have to add that it's NOT the most important part - building & increasing one's work capacity is!

basically it's possible to increase the general physicue preparedness (GPP) & through that handle large volume & more repetitive stress.

real life example - movers/lumber jacks etc - an average person would get incredibly sore after moving all that heavy shit even once & would take quite some time to recover, but movers for instance can do it every day, day in & out

this is actually a lot more useful in real life then just an absolute strength that is trained in a traditional fashion: work/rest/repeat...

lots of useful articles on westsidebarbell.com (granted - powerlifting focused, but there're ones on GPP as well)

[raygunpk 0]

I've been reading some posts on here that crunches aren't good because it is not a functional movement in hockey. If that's the case, what is the best way for developing ab muscles?

[phunky_monkey 6]

You want to develop your core, not your abs as such. Deadlifts and squats are great for the core and will be very beneficial in hockey. Crunches will be useless for hockey... if you want abs, just lose weight :)

[shooter27 116]

Check out Pro Camp Sports

http://www.procampsports.com/

The have a very interesting take on training and they've trained quite a number pro athletes, particularly NHLers.

[raygunpk 0]

You want to develop your core, not your abs as such. Deadlifts and squats are great for the core and will be very beneficial in hockey. Crunches will be useless for hockey... if you want abs, just lose weight :)

It's not so much about wanting the look of abs, I just thought that abs are part of the core so I'd have to develop those as well.

[guasto74 0]

I think Gertzky was accurate when he suggested that kids play other sports in addition to hockey to make them better hockey players. I find that I'm a much better hockey player in the spring/summer when I only play hockey once a week and golf once or twice a week. I will also do some core exercises as well. This as opposed to playing hockey 2-3 times a week and trying to squeeze in an off-ice workout once or twice a week during the winter.

In general, I just feel much more rested and conditioned when I play in the summer. I think the golf has a lot of benefits, specifically, aerobic because I do none of that during the winter. Also, walking the course is a great way to work out the quads and glutes. Especially when you're walking up and down hilly areas or rough terrain areas.

[lotus 2]

I'm very confused about what to be lifting for hockey, and I noticed that my gym actually doesn't have much for free weights. So I have been doing mostly machine work. Anyway, there is a bench + bar but it's machine assisted obviously. Would it be unproductive to do squats on a machine? Since apparently the crunches I've been doing aren't going to help my hockey game, and most upper body work I hear won't do jack for it either. So apparently all I've been doing that is helpful is the cardio, and I'm not even sure I'm doing that right!

Got my head taken off again tonight by a guy with a good 60 lbs on me =[

[SolarWind 23]

Got my head taken off again tonight by a guy with a good 60 lbs on me =[

this isn't necessarily related to pure strength - how's your skating? often right befor getting checked players stand up rather then bending keen even more to lower the center of gravity, widening their stance for stability & also deepening the inside edges so that they'd dig deeper into the ice

Would it be unproductive to do squats on a machine?

I wouldn't do it personally unless it'd be my last resort

you can do all sorts of interval training on a bike or threadmill - easiest would be crank it up a level go for a min (I use level 12), drop it down a level (I use 6) & go for a minute, repeat as needed - work/rest intervals should be adjusted based on your shape

does the gym have any dumbbells? if so you can do one leg squats in the skating stance, lunges & all sorts of other crap

machines in general aren't very productive since a) they control the motion [which totally sucks on squats for insance] B) limit the number of muscles used - all the stabilizers aren't even used

BTW strong upper body is quite usefuly for hockey - would not only assits in withstanding checks, but would also improve your shots

[lotus 2]

My gym does have dumbells so I'll have to check that out. I figured the machine assisted squats weren't a great idea, so I had been mostly running hills for 2-3 miles - though I could certainly do more, I'd imagine just turning up the level would be a better idea. I pretty much lift entirely on machines since I don't have many other options. My gym has 3 benches so if I wanted to even try free weights, I'd have to stand in line.

I think I'm in okay shape, just not very muscular. My strength on skates isn't too great, so I'd imagine knocking me over is pretty easy. Tonight however, I saw it coming and was able to prepare a tiny bit...was a little more concerned with where I was throwing the puck to. He still got me really good, but it only took me to a knee and I got right back up, albeit winded. (also, it was kind of a charge from across the rink :P)

I've been told by goalies on my team that I have a rather heavy shot, especially for my size. Improving this would be exciting for me.

There's so much I've read in this thread that has confused me though. Are crunches really not going to do anything for my game?

I really just want what every hockey player in the world wants, to be stronger and faster. Knowing how to do it is step one I guess :P

I feel like I've read Pete Twists conditioning for ice hockey book three times over, numerous other routines, tons of articles - and I still don't know what I should be focusing on at the gym. I work out with a teammate but I get the feeling that bicep curls are the least of my worries.

[Tikkanen 1]

There's a difference between resistance training (using machines) and using free weights. My friends are trainers and they suggest both but relying on 1 won't get you the best results. You can do lunges and squats with dumb bells. In your situation I'd try to do at least 100 push ups a day added on to what you're doing at your gym. If you can afford it have a trainer design a weekly workout routine specifically for you, for hockey and for what you're trying to do (build explosive muscle, not become a bodybuilder).

[CTK30 0]

I've been doing this lately

It's always something different so it's not boring

http://www.crossfit.com/

[lotus 2]

Sadly enough I don't have much money, so a trainer isn't much of an option. When it gets nicer out, a friend told me he'll show me some plyos so that should be interesting. But for now it's still the gym and if I'm doing machines, I'm not really sure which will be of any use. So I'll keep my focus on running hills and maybe some harder intervals on the bike...

[SolarWind 23]

Sadly enough I don't have much money, so a trainer isn't much of an option. When it gets nicer out, a friend told me he'll show me some plyos so that should be interesting. But for now it's still the gym and if I'm doing machines, I'm not really sure which will be of any use. So I'll keep my focus on running hills and maybe some harder intervals on the bike...

I definitely wouldn't worry about a personal trainer - actually from my exeprience quite a few of them got nothing other then a course or two behind them, and aren't even worth the money they're charging!

if anything (urge to flash $ down the toilet or something :) ) get some one-on-one hockey lessons - after all you're playing the game, conditioning is only supplemental - plus there's so much info available on the subject (books, videos, free stuff online) that all you need is the desire to improve - resources are there...

on the other hand some people tend to use personal trainers for "motivation" - to me it's counter productive - if there's not drive no amount of personal training is going to help!

[Tikkanen 1]

Sadly enough I don't have much money, so a trainer isn't much of an option. When it gets nicer out, a friend told me he'll show me some plyos so that should be interesting. But for now it's still the gym and if I'm doing machines, I'm not really sure which will be of any use. So I'll keep my focus on running hills and maybe some harder intervals on the bike...

I definitely wouldn't worry about a personal trainer - actually from my exeprience quite a few of them got nothing other then a course or two behind them, and aren't even worth the money they're charging!

if anything (urge to flash $ down the toilet or something :) ) get some one-on-one hockey lessons - after all you're playing the game, conditioning is only supplemental - plus there's so much info available on the subject (books, videos, free stuff online) that all you need is the desire to improve - resources are there...

on the other hand some people tend to use personal trainers for "motivation" - to me it's counter productive - if there's not drive no amount of personal training is going to help!

I somewhat agree. But, for the people who wander into a gym for the first time and have no clue what the machines to, how to properly lift weights, etc-these people need somebody to show them what to do. I see tons of people just bounce from machine to machine, they don't touch the free weights, their technique is awful-I don't see how hiring a guy for $ for an hour can hurt as long as you can afford it. If you can't then, like was said before, there are books out there specifically for the hockey player workout. Not only for workouts but diet, rest, hydration. It may be supplemental but when you are in rec leagues the majority of hockey players are playing with stomachs full of pizza, hot dogs, burgers and beer, these guys don't lift weights, they're in questionable physical condition, so any edge is worth it in my book.

[lotus 2]

I play ACHA club hockey, so depending on the team it's mostly required to just keep pace.

My diet is okay...i actually kept a log a little ove ra week ago, for a week, just to see how I did on average. I'm not too worried about that, I think.

But I really don't have an idea on what to do with free weights, should they ever become available. Are machines really not going to do much for me? I always figured I'd focus on the bike / running anyway since I can't really fuck that up.

[Tikkanen 1]

I play ACHA club hockey, so depending on the team it's mostly required to just keep pace.

My diet is okay...i actually kept a log a little ove ra week ago, for a week, just to see how I did on average. I'm not too worried about that, I think.

But I really don't have an idea on what to do with free weights, should they ever become available. Are machines really not going to do much for me? I always figured I'd focus on the bike / running anyway since I can't really fuck that up.

If that is all you have access to then machines are fine, certainly better than nothing. You could also go to a sporting good store and buy some dumb bells to do on your own.