weight vest/weighted belts

[cause4alarm 6]

Anybody here have any experience training or playing with them on?

[gman 0]

I have some experience training with a weight vest. There is NO WAY I would skate with one. You can hike hills, do pushups, situps, "bodyweight" squats. You could try jogging but it would put a lot of strain on your knees.

A great exercise that I was doing for a while before I wimped out, was carrying a 100# punching bag up and down the hill in front of my house. The hill is about 150 yards long and not too steep. The slope probably only drops 20 feet or so in the 150 yards. We have a cul-de-sac at the top so I just do laps.

I would alternate from one shoulder to the other, then carry on my back (shoulders) then try to carry in front. The whole idea for me was to keep going and not put it down. I was able to work up to just over two miles. That was my workout for the day and I was out of commission for the rest of the day and sore the next. It was AWESOME!!!!!

[TBLfan 25]

I definitely would advise against skating with it.

[cause4alarm 6]

I definitely would advise against skating with it.

I got the idea when I saw some kid bring it to open hockey once. Yeah, he was slow as dirt, but it did have me start wondering how fast he must have been whenever he wasn't wearing the flak jacket.

[Trooper 8]

I definitely would advise against skating with it.

I got the idea when I saw some kid bring it to open hockey once. Yeah, he was slow as dirt, but it did have me start wondering how fast he must have been whenever he wasn't wearing the flak jacket.

Training slow doesn't translate into speed. As has been stated above, get in the weight room, do bodyweight squats, etc. When you are on the ice, don't do things that will slow you down.

[TBLfan 25]

skating while being top heavy isn't good training... it's just making it more difficult to skate. Build leg strength and core strength by working off ice, it's easier, more effective and costs less.

btw, I'm pretty sure there's a couple topics on this.

[willy0314 0]

I don't have much experiance with the topic, but the fastest guy on our team at school practices with a 20 or 25 pound vest on. I don't know how much the vest has to do with it, but he is insane fast.

I also see the basketball players training in a vest from time to time. Usually doing repeated long jumps.

[LkptTiger 1]

My coach last season had five of them. Before every pre-season training practice (early on-ice sessions and dry-land practices), he would draw five names from a hat. If you were one of the five pulled, you wore one for the entire practice.

My biggest complaint is the fact that the weights would swing - especially during dry-land - and constantly hit me in the stomach, back and ribs.

Aside from that, they really did work wonders. Adjusting to the extra weight took a little time on the ice, but once I got used to it, I really felt it working; especially when it came to agility drills. It also made a noticable difference while running - especially, again, during footwork drills or sprints on an incline/decline.

I'd recommend it.

[gman 0]

Out of curiosity Lkpt,

What age group are you? I am guessing you are in college. I am on my way to geeser(sp), so there is no possibility of me skating with a vest. However it appears, from your experience, that a young and already physically primed body may be able to handle it. But what did it do to your stride mechanics? Running dirt hills would be okay, but did you actually run the pavement? How heavy were the vests? The ones I am thinking of are #100.

[LkptTiger 1]

I'd done vests before, but never as extensively as I did with this particular coach...it was a Tier I (AAA) Midget Major team.

The vests were anywhere from 90 to 120 pounds - not too heavy, just heavy enough to cause greater fatigue - the one you got depended upon when your name was picked.

Skating, and skating well, with a vest on was difficult at first. Your legs won't make the adjustment immediately, so your stride will feel slightly off; you're not going to get the same "pop" and you'll probably feel a bit off balance. After a few minutes, though, your legs will get used to it and start putting-out a little extra - this is where the fatigue comes from - and your body will learn how to transfer weight more effectively. Re-adjustment to skating without a vest was never much of an isse...really, never anything more than a couple seconds. Drills with a lot of quick stops and starts (i.e. the Iron Cross) were especially exhausting while wearing the vest.

We mostly stayed on grass for our dry-land practices. Most of the 1-on-1 and piggyback (God help you in your partner was wearing a vest that day) footraces and footwork drills were done on level ground, but the majority of the "serious" sprints (more like "climbs") were done going up the hills of the water resevoir in Niagara Falls. We had to run down a longer, shallower asphalt path to go down, though, as the banks that we ran up were far too steep to run down.

It sucked, but I believe it was worth it. If you're in good physical shape, this will help you get better.

[moose77 0]

Years ago, USA Hockey had a power skating video out where they actually showed a player training with a weight vest and said it was a good idea because it changed a player's center of gravity.

I wonder if they still sell it or if it got put into the "what the hell were we thinking?" category.

[Jake 0]

I'm thinking about trying them. For a guy like me that's not exactly a pro player, would 25 lbs. suffice? Right now I'm 5'8" 160 lbs.

[LkptTiger 1]

Depending on what kind of shape you are in, I am going to put money on it that a 25-pound vest isn't going to do much for you - if anything at all. Like I said: even the 120-pound vests weren't overpowering; they just added a little extra strain to each stride. Multiply that little extra strain by however many strides you take in a few back-to-back-to-back Suicide Drills, and you've got yourself some burn.

[gman 0]

Lkpt,

You were/are at a very high level of fitness and hockey. A hundred twenty pound for alot of the young kids on this forum, as well as alot of beer leagers, is a very substantial portion of their bodyweight.

I will hazard a guess and say that you were at the elite end of the physical spectrum when you were doing this. Most of us mere mortals will feel a burn with 25# or 50# extra. I was going to ask if you would recommend this kind of training to a squirt or pee wee. I still think I wouldn't. Perhaps late high school and college age would be able to benefit without too much risk of injury.

[lee92 2]

a friend of mine's neighbour back home patented these skate weights, that slide in your holder, and can adjusted for up to 3 or 5 lbs per skate. they're pretty handy.

and another thing, i remember hearing that for weighted vests, you're not suppose to go over 10% of your total body weight, otherwise there's too much stress and strain placed on your joints, specifically the knees. i don't know how much merit it holds, but i can't see having 100 extra pounds on you being any good for your body.

[Jason Harris 31]

The folklore among my buddies is Derek Armstrong skated with them during pickup. Although the guys were in their 20's and 30"s, some of them are decent -- between HS and college when they were younger -- but, of course, Armstrong was skating circles around them.

Then they got into the locker room and he took off his vest and ankles weights. :o

[LkptTiger 1]

I will hazard a guess and say that you were at the elite end of the physical spectrum when you were doing this. Most of us mere mortals will feel a burn with 25# or 50# extra. I was going to ask if you would recommend this kind of training to a squirt or pee wee. I still think I wouldn't.

I think you'd be surprised. Think about all those times when you were younger (or maybe it still happens) when 110-120 pound girls (drunk or otherwise) would jump on your back and demand to be carried around (my girlfriend, who is a little over 5'10" and weighs 120-125 pounds, asks for piggyback rides from the parking lot all the way up to my room, which is on the fourth floor - I admit, it can be a struggle). The girls weren't heavy - I'm sure you could still run and jump and move around (maybe not as well, but you could still do it). Now imagine that weight taken from that one area (your back) and being equally distibuted all over your stomach, back and shoulders. That weight just went from being "slightly cumbersome" to "not so bad."

That said, I don't think this is something that a 10 or 12 year old kid should be making use of. At that age, most kids are still polishing their skating stride - throwing weights on them would probably be more a detriment than anything else. I would wait until about 15 or 16 before trying anything like this; by then the skating stride will be stronger and more mechanically correct.

Lee: I've had knee problems since I was 12, but I never really felt as though the vests were doing my knees (or other joints) undo stress.

[gman 0]

Think about all those times when you were younger (or maybe it still happens) when 110-120 pound girls (drunk or otherwise) would jump on your back and demand to be carried around

Somehow the 110# girls always felt a WHOLE lot lighter than 120# of lead. :D I remember doing calfraises, one legged and two, with my girl friend (wife now) sitting on my shoulders. The lead still feels heavier and alot less comfortable...

Quick someone change the subject!

[cause4alarm 6]

I've heard that ankle and skate weights would be worse for you than a weight vest, which would more evenly distribute the weight and keep it closer to your center of gravity (which is supposedly good).

Most weight vests I've seen on Amazon are either for 20 lbs or 40 lbs. I haven't seen any that go up to 120.

LkptTiger, would your girlfriend mind coming along to sit on my shoulders during my next open hockey game?

[LkptTiger 1]

Most weight vests I've seen on Amazon are either for 20 lbs or 40 lbs. I haven't seen any that go up to 120.

LkptTiger, would your girlfriend mind coming along to sit on my shoulders during my next open hockey game?

1) I got the impression that the crazy sonofabitch (my coach, that is) made modifications to the vests to accomodate the extra weight. I'm not sure if vests are available for retail with that kind of weight, or where to get them. If anyone sees them anywhere, I'd appreciate a heads-up.

2) Why would you want that? Bringing her into the rink for an Open Hockey session, yours or mine, would be the fall of my final haven. She'd always come to almost every home game (and some of the ones on the road) since we met, but that was different - I didn't have to deal with her, then. Just the other day she was telling me about how she's looking forward to bringing our kids to the rink to watch me play. I nearly cried (sad cry, not happy cry).

I still can't decide whether or not the time I've been dating her have been the best or worst two+ years of my life...lol.

[gman 0]

weight vest link. Expensive though...

http://www.weightvest.com/Pages/100lbpage.html

[Ghostrider 0]

Here is another source they have several weights to choose from but there are around the same price as teh site Gman pointed out.

http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?cid=179

[hockechamp14 0]

One thing that I've heard recommended from a book was using a weight vest on the ice at the onset of fatigue. The book was geared at the soviet style training of overspeed. So once you can no longer maintain your top speed, it recommended you use the weight vest in order to work on your turning. The higher center of gravity forces a skater to get lower when making the turns.

[cause4alarm 6]

Here is another source they have several weights to choose from but there are around the same price as teh site Gman pointed out.

http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?cid=179

The ones on Amazon were going for about $40 for 20 lbs and $80 for 40 lbs (both adjustable). I can't say that I'm adventurous enough to dive in and spend $300 for a 100+ lb vest on my first shot.

[GSHL99 0]

Outside of a great way to screw up your knees, I wouldn't recommend skating with weighted belts or vests. In addition to probably hurting yourself at some point when you start training slower you're going to develop bad habits, like reaching for the puck with your stick instead of moving your feet or trying to forecheck while standing still. The weight room is for the weights, practice ice is for practice. You practice the way you play, so if you practice slow then you play slow.