AHL Coach completes gruelling mountain bike race

[RadioGaGa 162]

http://tsn.ca/ahl/story/?id=330745

Not much to add...just wanted to share. A show of the overall athleticism of a hockey player.

[jds 20]

http://tsn.ca/ahl/story/?id=330745

Not much to add...just wanted to share. A show of the overall athleticism of a hockey player.

Zdeno Chara is a huge cylcist who has ridden stages of the Tour de France. He is also an avid cyclist ;)

[twolinepass 0]

Zdeno Chara is a huge cylcist who has ridden stages of the Tour de France. He is also an avid cyclist ;)

Trevor Linden is also a huge cyclist. I did a charity bike ride a few years ago and was on my bike all the time and it helped my endurance big time.

[shotty 7]

its amazing to me that he never rode the course ahead of time in preparation. EVERY SINGLE person i know who enters races like this (and i know a few) have always made it a priority to at least "simulate" the race ahead of time. hats off to the guy. pretty spectacular accomplishment.

gotta admit though, a GOOD endurance coach will push you past what the course takes from you in training, so that you're "prepared" for the challenges.

Trevor Linden is also a huge cyclist. I did a charity bike ride a few years ago and was on my bike all the time and it helped my endurance big time.

huge is an understatement. its his life. his body has totally changed. he said he isn't even sure if he could play hockey anymore because his conditioning has totally shifted to endurance. he's like a different person.

[MTG35 0]

Its pretty interesting because if you read the cycling magazines and websites they say the best off season training for biking is hockey. And I know quite a few hockey players who feel the best off season training for hockey is cycling.

I happen to love both which works out really well for me. Some days its a matter of which I want to do more, ride or play.

[twolinepass 0]

quote name='shotty' timestamp='1282021040' post='815560']

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huge is an understatement. its his life. his body has totally changed. he said he isn't even sure if he could play hockey anymore because his conditioning has totally shifted to endurance. he's like a different person.

I was just pointing out that it helps with hockey, there is no reason to be a jerk about it.

Its pretty interesting because if you read the cycling magazines and websites they say the best off season training for biking is hockey. And I know quite a few hockey players who feel the best off season training for hockey is cycling.

I happen to love both which works out really well for me. Some days its a matter of which I want to do more, ride or play.

Thanks you for helping prove my point!

What bike do you have?

[MTG35 0]

I have a Cannondale R1000 for road and a Specialized Epic for mountain biking. I played a lot of hockey last winter and it really helped my riding. Come spring I was way ahead of the guys I ride with because my conditioning was much higher from hockey.

[jds 20]

I have a Cannondale R1000 for road and a Specialized Epic for mountain biking. I played a lot of hockey last winter and it really helped my riding. Come spring I was way ahead of the guys I ride with because my conditioning was much higher from hockey.

I used to do tons of cycling and triathlons but haven't really ridden my bike since I started hockey a few years ago. Too much time involved in road cycling to fit it around my new hockey obession plus I weigh about 30 pounds more than I did when I was riding a lot. The one thing I found going to hockey was that my high intensity movement (sprinting etc) was crappy due to all the endurance work I had been doing but I would recover way faster on the bench than my teammates. I still recover well but my endurance has gone to shit. I tried running a few miles and it was way tougher than I remember. Obviously good to add some endurance work to the intensity work that is generally used in hockey so I may pump up the tires again.

[saba 0]

What is just as amazing is that a guy who just completed the Tour can get on a mountain bike and set a new course record.

So much for my hill repeats and VO2 max intervals. Pretty sure those help with that explosive speed needed in hockey

[MTG35 0]

So much for my hill repeats and VO2 max intervals. Pretty sure those help with that explosive speed needed in hockey

I think those types of things definitely help with hockey. If you just ride long distances at a comfortable pace then you may be increasing your aerobic ability but not your explosiveness. But things like VO2 max intervals and hill repeats not to mention adding all out sprints into your riding definitely help your hockey. VO2 max intervals are similar to suicides but on a bike.

[twolinepass 0]

What is just as amazing is that a guy who just completed the Tour can get on a mountain bike and set a new course record.

He probably played a bunch of hockey between the races :)