Abs and hockey

[kovyperron5727 0]

Hey guys, I was wondering if hockey players really work out their abs much. I read an article in USA Hockey about a year ago saying that while having abs may look nice, they can actually hurt your hockey game. Also, Ive played hockey with many junior and ex pro players, and the majority of them did not have a "ripped" look and some even have a of a stomach to them. Some even have a lot of stomach to them, (Brett Hull when he played,etc) So my other question is how does a hockey maintain a body that will help suceed on the ice and look good for the women at the same time

[Da Beez 0]

I don't understand how having strong abs can hinder your game. I recall reading about Scott Stevens doing physical testing during a training camp. One of the tests was to do sit-ups to exhaustion, apparently they stopped him at 500 reps!

I play with some high level ex junior players and few of them look "ripped" because they are not training as much as they used to when they played junior. If you search up pictures of guys like Chris Chelios you will see that he is in really good shape.

http://info.detnews.com/pix/sports/2007/re...osworkout05.JPG

[kovyperron5727 0]

I don't understand how having strong abs can hinder your game. I recall reading about Scott Stevens doing physical testing during a training camp. One of the tests was to do sit-ups to exhaustion, apparently they stopped him at 500 reps!

I play with some high level ex junior players and few of them look "ripped" because they are not training as much as they used to when they played junior. If you search up pictures of guys like Chris Chelios you will see that he is in really good shape.

http://info.detnews.com/pix/sports/2007/re...osworkout05.JPG

True, but on the other hand you'll see guys like Pat Maroon or Cam Janssen who don't seem really fit. I also remember reading on this site that Zherdev even had a bit of a stomach.. And, Chelios is probably in the top 5% in the league as far as conditioning goes

Pat Maroon-http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2697606266_88ec7060fc.jpg?v=0

[Da Beez 0]

True, but on the other hand you'll see guys like Pat Maroon or Cam Janssen who don't seem really fit. I also remember reading on this site that Zherdev even had a bit of a stomach.. And, Chelios is probably in the top 5% in the league as far as conditioning goes

Pat Maroon-http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2697606266_88ec7060fc.jpg?v=0

Cam Janssen is a fighter, if you compare him to guys that are more skilled and faster he won't have the same fitness. His average time on the ice is under 5 minutes so being super fit probably isn't his biggest concern. In reading about Pat Maroon he seems to have battled his weight for a while, apparently he lost 35lbs when he was 18 years old. I think every hockey player is better when they are playing at an optimal weight. When a guy like Keith Tkachuk is too heavy it makes a difference in his play. I think that the majority of the top players in the NHL have a very high fitness level and they work to keep it year-round.

[LegoDoom 0]

Jeff Carter

I'm pretty sure Brindy is ripped as well.

[Law Goalie 147]

There's a difference between having a strong core and 'being ripped.' I should know: I have neither. One is a measure of fitness, the other is a measure of aesthetics produced by extremely low visceral fat and dehydration - neither of which are necessarily good for a hockey player.

Having a belly can be of enormous use in certain kind of weight-bearing activities: Olympic weightlifting is the most obvious example, but anything that involves explosive weight shifts and a low centre of gravity (shooting, checking, etc.) could potentially benefit. It's a fine line, I imagine, and very dependent on morphology.

[kovyperron5727 0]

There's a difference between having a strong core and 'being ripped.' I should know: I have neither. One is a measure of fitness, the other is a measure of aesthetics produced by extremely low visceral fat and dehydration - neither of which are necessarily good for a hockey player.

Having a belly can be of enormous use in certain kind of weight-bearing activities: Olympic weightlifting is the most obvious example, but anything that involves explosive weight shifts and a low centre of gravity (shooting, checking, etc.) could potentially benefit. It's a fine line, I imagine, and very dependent on morphology.

This is what the article I read was saying.. But is having a strong core just having a flat stomach or washboard abs? I want to find the perfect balance between having a "hockey body" and a ladies body. Im guessing most guys in the NHL dont have washboard abs, because of the low visceral fat and dehydration required to obtain them

[TBLfan 25]

This is what the article I read was saying.. But is having a strong core just having a flat stomach or washboard abs? I want to find the perfect balance between having a "hockey body" and a ladies body. Im guessing most guys in the NHL dont have washboard abs, because of the low visceral fat and dehydration required to obtain them

So you're looking to build those child bearing hips?

:P

[hockeyfreak7 0]

i think a good example you are looking for is scott gomez. he has always been pudgy, and says he plays better with a gut, haha.

i have always had trouble getting cut, but i dont think that has detracted from my core strength.

conversely, tell a skinny kid to pull up his shirt, and he may seem "cut", but it doesnt mean he has very much abdominal strength.

so if you dont have the beach body, that doesnt necessarily mean you have a weak core. i guess what im getting at is that there is a difference between having a strong core and being "cut".

[zrez 0]

i dont know why u think if someone has a belly they dont have strong abs. In order for abs to show you need less then 8(i think)% body fat. you could have the strongest abs ever but if u have more than 8% body fat then u wont see them. thats why i laugh when people say "i need to work my abs more so they look good." when really they should say "i need to work on my eating habits so my abs look good"

[lampliter87 8]

IMO core strength is second most important to legs for a hockey player.

[jjmills22 0]

http://mhchockeytrainingtips.blogspot.com/...1/1000-abs.html -article by joe ciardelli former trainer for st. cloud, ran summit sports training center in philly, and now trains guys like tj oshie, paul stastny, ryan malone, and blake wheeler over the summer in minnesota. he recommends doing a lot of sit ups a day and the way he explains it... it really makes sense.

[Law Goalie 147]

This is what the article I read was saying.. But is having a strong core just having a flat stomach or washboard abs?

Absolutely not. The core includes your back, obliques, intracostals, etc. I'm not an anatomist, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of core musculature is not visible.

I want to find the perfect balance between having a "hockey body" and a ladies body. Im guessing most guys in the NHL dont have washboard abs, because of the low visceral fat and dehydration required to obtain them

There isn't any such balance. Appearance is a secondary characteristic of physical fitness.

Example: an actor who gets in shape to play an athlete is not an athlete. Yes, I know all the aggrandizing stories about how Deniro and Will Smith trained so very, very hard that their boxing coaches thought they could 'turn pro', but the fact is they wouldn't have lasted four minutes in any good ring. The actors train to appear as though they are athletes, not to actually be athletes, because that's impossible.

If you want to impress chicks, get a Maserati, a gangster's roll, a couple of scars, and a codpiece.

If you want to be good at hockey, eat, drink, and train: you'll get the scars, you'll have a jockstrap, and if you're really, really lucky, you'll get to see a leased Maserati go by you on the street one day driven by a debt-riddled investment banker right before it's seized along with his house, boat, and mail-order bride.

[shotty 7]

I don't think having a cut abdomen is going to hinder your on ice abilities, unless that's the only area of your body in which your focusing your strength and conditioning. pro soccer players have similar conditioning routines to hockey players and I'm pretty sure the only reason why they're cut is because they swap shirts at the end of the games.

[shooter27 116]

As others have said, its two different aspects of training.

Having cut abs is a result of having very low body fat, roughly <10%. If you have 5% body fat you're going to have cut abs, regardless of how strong the muscles are.

For hockey you want really strong core muscles, abs, obliques, transverse abdominus, intercostals, hip flexors, etc. Whether or not they'll show it completely dependent on your level of body fat.

[gxc999 7]

Absolutely not. The core includes your back, obliques, intracostals, etc. I'm not an anatomist, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of core musculature is not visible.

There isn't any such balance. Appearance is a secondary characteristic of physical fitness.

Example: an actor who gets in shape to play an athlete is not an athlete. Yes, I know all the aggrandizing stories about how Deniro and Will Smith trained so very, very hard that their boxing coaches thought they could 'turn pro', but the fact is they wouldn't have lasted four minutes in any good ring. The actors train to appear as though they are athletes, not to actually be athletes, because that's impossible.

If you want to impress chicks, get a Maserati, a gangster's roll, a couple of scars, and a codpiece.

If you want to be good at hockey, eat, drink, and train: you'll get the scars, you'll have a jockstrap, and if you're really, really lucky, you'll get to see a leased Maserati go by you on the street one day driven by a debt-riddled investment banker right before it's seized along with his house, boat, and mail-order bride.

I nominate this for post of the year in all respects, PERFECTLY stated. BTW, one thing that helped me a lot with core strength is to concentrate on skating with a forward lean and your knees bent. It'll feel like your lower back is killing you after an hour or two the first few times you really get into the lean, but it will really increase your overall core strength and make you a faster skater. Beyond that, crunches on an exercise ball worked wonders for me. Oh, and ab side bends too.

[kovyperron5727 0]

Good posts guys, thanks for responding. I guess I should sort of rephrase my question, how much body fat should a hockey player carry? I'm guessing its a personal thing, but what would you say the average is for an NHLer?

[shooter27 116]

I'm sure its all over the map. It really depends on the player and his anatomical makeup. If I had to guess I'd say in the 8-10% range, but thats probably a hair on the low side.

There's also this quote I saw, the context was talking about a prospect at the NHL combine that had a high body fat score

# Gare Joyce had an interesting take on Ellis registering the highest body fat percentage. “It reminds me of an anecdote about Ray Bourque. At the training camp of the Canadian team prior to one of the Canada Cup tournaments, the guys in the white lab jackets got out the calipers to check Bourque’s body fat. It was a remarkable 20 percent, about double the next highest reading on the team. Not that he was out of shape — he was down close to his regular-season playing weight. And not like it ever affected his game.”

I'm sure thats the exception rather than the rule, be as you can see, its all over the place.

[n3ss 0]

ask the blackhawks

http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/...g-pictures.aspx

[kovyperron5727 0]

ask the blackhawks

http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/...g-pictures.aspx

Those girls..eeeshh

[lampliter87 8]

Riley Cote looking particularly flabby:

[usahockey22 0]

Every time you play hockey, skate, or do lifts like squats, you are working the entire core in a functional way. So, yes, hockey players should be indirectly working their abs and core quite a bit. But, working on an ab bench or doing crunches all day is not the same thing, and won't get you very far compared to the functional core strength you can gain doing something like squats or deadlifts.