working out for a rec player

[mjpisat 36]

I just started playing a month ago. i'm not in bad shape, but would like to be much better. i've been on the ice 2-3 days a week and that is going to be my primary cardio exercise. If i miss ice time, I will do some HIIT at the gym. I've also been lifting 3 days a week. Rippetoe's starting strength program. Not sure if this is a good idea though because my main goal is weight loss. i think starting strength is supposed to get you stronger, not really bigger.

I'm also only taking in about 1800 calories a day and about 2200 on days I play hockey. I'm 34, 5'8 193 lbs. goal weight is 170-175.

I read all this info on line about hockey specific training, exercises for balance, stretching etc. If all I'm ever going to be is a d leaguer (i'm just in this for fun) are spider man walks and plyometric drills necessary? The main reason i'm lifting is for injury prevention and strength. i want to lose the weight to get rid of my gut and small man boobs. That's it.

If somebody does have a good stretching routine for before/after games/workouts and on days off let me know.

That is one thing I don't do enough, stretch.

[Dish 0]

P90x is a great workout for the goals you describe. I have lost 30 lbs after a year of doing these workouts. As a side benefit my hockey has improved. I am a lot faster now and less prone to injury. Stretching is integrated in the program which is very helpful. I am a beer leaguer like you and 40 years old. They are tough workouts but the intensity is variable depending on where you are fitness wise. You can do it!

[SydNap 25]

1. Anything you do right now is a plus. If your goal is to lose weight, there are a million ways to do that. If you're just happy being a "D league" player I really wouldn't bother doing anything that too hard or strenuous...just focus on the weight loss, cardio, and light lifting, and that will help enough..and probably add years to your life.

2. If you ever decide to want to be a better D-league player....or even entertain the idea of moving up a level, check out the other thread on hockey specific workouts, or PM me (or other people that seem to know what they're talking about)

Good luck!

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I don't even know where to start on this. 5'9 235lbs, and I suck at hockey. P90x is unreasonable for somebody in my position. Does anyone have suggestions on the basics? And not just "do this lift and that lift" because I don't know what those things are or how to do them correctly without hurting myself.

Obviously changing my diet is going to be key, but beyond that im not sure where to go.

[Chadd 916]

Cardio, cardio, cardio. Put in time on the bike, treadmill or road and you will lose weight. Bikes and treadmills are an easy way in.

[jds 20]

I don't even know where to start on this. 5'9 235lbs, and I suck at hockey. P90x is unreasonable for somebody in my position. Does anyone have suggestions on the basics? And not just "do this lift and that lift" because I don't know what those things are or how to do them correctly without hurting myself.

Obviously changing my diet is going to be key, but beyond that im not sure where to go.

Cardio, cardio, cardio. Put in time on the bike, treadmill or road and you will lose weight. Bikes and treadmills are an easy way in.

Chadd hit the nail on the head with the cardio aspect. However, resistance training is also important. Your body uses more energy to maintain one pound of muscle than it does to maintain one pound of fat so the more lean muscle mass you possess the more calories your body expends just to maintain itself. In regards to cardio, there is a lot of information out there about refuelling after a workout to top up glycogen stores blah,blah. The chocolate milk adds are an example. Yes, you do need to give your body the material to repair the damage done by a hard workout but be careful about the caloric count of those "refuelling" attempts. If you burn 200 calories on a run or bike ride and then promptly down a big ass bottle of Gatorade to "re-hydrate" afterwards you just cut your caloric deficit of the workout by half. Not to say you shouldn't re-hydrate but for moderate exercise good old water does a great job. Recent research has now shown that consuming a small protein snack immediately before bed can yield better recovery and muscle growth. There are tons of different opinions out there. Keep it simple. Calories in should be less than calories out to lose weight. Make sure the calories are from good, natural sources and that there is a sufficient amount of protein, carbs and fats.The less packaging and processing the better. Disregard the "fat burning zone" on machines. Just lots of BS. It's all about calories expended. You want to burn calories faster? Increase the intensity. If that makes you too uncomfortable, lower the intensity but it will take you more time to burn the same number of calories. Choice is yours.

As for the strength training, simple basic lifts like benchpress, shoulder press, squats, lunges and pullups cover most of one's needs. You could even do bodyweight exercises if you don't have access to weights. Pushups, pullups,and burpees (google it) are great. Don't get hung up on the weight. Doing an exercise to failure or near failure where you just can't do another rep is key. Doing a light bench press for 20 reps will yield the same results as doing a heavy bench press for six reps as long as failure is reached in both instances.

[Quintin 16]

Rather than shoot off everything about off-ice training, here's what I would recommend. Everything works - it's about how you apply it. Any more questions, feel free to PM me.

- Warm up/Mobility: Foam roll tight areas before and after your training. Static stretching reduces power output in your muscular system so stretch dynamically.

- Strength: Aim for 3-5 reps for compound exercises. Best exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench & overhead press. All their variations work too. Any higher and it's a different training quality. Machines are useless - they don't stimulate your neuromuscular system & train your stabiliser muscles nearly as much. Rest 2min+ to allow your muscles to recover to train maximally.

- Conditioning: Depends on your game. Are your shifts 1min+ or less? Aerobic cardio (running, bike, jump rope, rowing - pretty much anything other than fixed movement machines) for 1min+ plus. Anaerobic cardio (hill sprints, sled push/pulls, high intensity cardio) for anything less. Rest 30-60s between each 'set'. Go for 6-8 reps.

- Nutrition: You can't out-train a bad diet. However, if you feel the need to 'cheat', consume grapefruit juice and cinnamon. This will help minimize damage.

Chadd hit the nail on the head with the cardio aspect. However, resistance training is also important. Your body uses more energy to maintain one pound of muscle than it does to maintain one pound of fat so the more lean muscle mass you possess the more calories your body expends just to maintain itself. In regards to cardio, there is a lot of information out there about refuelling after a workout to top up glycogen stores blah,blah. The chocolate milk adds are an example. Yes, you do need to give your body the material to repair the damage done by a hard workout but be careful about the caloric count of those "refuelling" attempts. If you burn 200 calories on a run or bike ride and then promptly down a big ass bottle of Gatorade to "re-hydrate" afterwards you just cut your caloric deficit of the workout by half. Not to say you shouldn't re-hydrate but for moderate exercise good old water does a great job. Recent research has now shown that consuming a small protein snack immediately before bed can yield better recovery and muscle growth. There are tons of different opinions out there. Keep it simple. Calories in should be less than calories out to lose weight. Make sure the calories are from good, natural sources and that there is a sufficient amount of protein, carbs and fats.The less packaging and processing the better. Disregard the "fat burning zone" on machines. Just lots of BS. It's all about calories expended. You want to burn calories faster? Increase the intensity. If that makes you too uncomfortable, lower the intensity but it will take you more time to burn the same number of calories. Choice is yours.

As for the strength training, simple basic lifts like benchpress, shoulder press, squats, lunges and pullups cover most of one's needs. You could even do bodyweight exercises if you don't have access to weights. Pushups, pullups,and burpees (google it) are great. Don't get hung up on the weight. Doing an exercise to failure or near failure where you just can't do another rep is key. Doing a light bench press for 20 reps will yield the same results as doing a heavy bench press for six reps as long as failure is reached in both instances.

Sorry to burst the bubble but....

- Weight loss is about burning more calories than consumed. High intensity work burns most calories in its However, the energy source for that is muscle glycogen. Studies that support HIT work is done on untrained individuals for up to 6 weeks. Any further than that and it's a recipe for injury and overtraining. Low intensity interval cardio is more specific to fat loss, using bodyfat storage as the energy source, with the interval structure allowing you to continue doing work.

- Light bench to failure is not the same as heavy bench to failure. In the main lifts, you stimulate and stress your neuromuscular system (link between brain and muscle) a lot more than hypertrophy/'bodybuilding' type work. Both are different training qualities. Also training to failure week in/out is no good. Train close to failure, whether it's intensity, weight, rep, whatever, and include a deload (drop in volume and/or intensity) week.

:)

[jds 20]

Sorry to burst the bubble but....

- Weight loss is about burning more calories than consumed. High intensity work burns most calories in its However, the energy source for that is muscle glycogen. Studies that support HIT work is done on untrained individuals for up to 6 weeks. Any further than that and it's a recipe for injury and overtraining. Low intensity interval cardio is more specific to fat loss, using bodyfat storage as the energy source, with the interval structure allowing you to continue doing work.

- Light bench to failure is not the same as heavy bench to failure. In the main lifts, you stimulate and stress your neuromuscular system (link between brain and muscle) a lot more than hypertrophy/'bodybuilding' type work. Both are different training qualities. Also training to failure week in/out is no good. Train close to failure, whether it's intensity, weight, rep, whatever, and include a deload (drop in volume and/or intensity) week.

:)

McMaster University study recently showed that it is working to fatigue/failure that is key to muscle hypertrophy and not necessarily the load.Heavy weights to fatigue work for sure. But for some that are leery or nervous about such large weights, the same benefits can be had with lighter loads and more volume to the same fatigue/failure level. In other words, both work.

As far as the cardio, it is true that the low intensity aerobic activity burns a higher percentage of fat calories but it is a higher percentage of a smaller number. A low intensity walk that burns 100 calories and uses 85% fat as fule will burn 85 calories of fat a while moderate run, although only using fat for 50% of total fuel needs could burn 500 calories which would yield 250 calories of fat. The other factor is that if you burn mostly fat during a workout, carbohydrate stores remain relatively full so any calories you consume in the hours after the exercise aren't needed to top off carbohydrate stores and, thus will be stored as fat. Whereas, the higher intensity (60-70% max HR) exercise uses more glycogen the resulting post-exercise calories will go more to topping that off with fewer calories left to store as fat since they ended up going to glycogen stores. My point in this is that there is no easy fix. Simple lifts to fatigue, moderate aerobic activity where you are just unable to carry on a conversation and sensible diet works. Easy aerobic activity is pushed because of the fat-burning zone misnomer and it is easier to sell to people that you don't have to leave your comfort level to workout. True, though that if you are at full-bore intensity all the time, you will overtrain, get injured, sick and likely regress.

[mjpisat 36]

Anything on stretching? So hockey specific workout programs aren't necessary?

[Chadd 916]

My comments were directed at Optimus and his reference that things like P90x are not possible for everyone. For anyone in that position, working your legs and lungs will burn calories and improve your conditioning. Once you have improved in that area, all of the other options people have discussed become much more accessible.

[ibeck 38]

If you're serious

If somebody does have a good stretching routine for before/after games/workouts and on days off let me know.

That is one thing I don't do enough, stretch.

1- Foam roll before and foam roll after. You have a better chance of getting micro tears in your muscles (which over time will get bigger) if you just skate around 2 laps and "stretch". Foam rolling loosens up your muscles before and loosen up after and will reduce your chance of injury and will aid in your warm up stretching

2-If you want to lose your gut and work on your cardio, I'd say just run treadmill/stationary bike

3-Strength will make you stronger but at the same time bigger since stronger muscles mean bigger muscles.

4-Depending on how happy you are with your current shape, you may also want to do some endurance training so you dont be so physically tired during/after the game

5-Putting the right foods in your body and eating the right portion sizes before games will also help (don't eat a huge steak, potatoes an hour before you leave.) Hydrating properly BEFORE the game will help a lot during your game.

6-People really under estimate eating/hydrating after the game

EDIT: 7- Training for flexibility will also help you prevent injury as well as help reactions during games...pro players programs include lots of flexibility training along with strength training.

Just my 2 cent from working in/around the game closely for the past 4 years.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

My comments were directed at Optimus and his reference that things like P90x are not possible for everyone. For anyone in that position, working your legs and lungs will burn calories and improve your conditioning. Once you have improved in that area, all of the other options people have discussed become much more accessible.

I actually have the p90x box set sitting on a shelf. It's just too much.

Though, a friend of mine suggested doing it anyway, and just doing things slowly, less reps, etc. "do what you can"

[Chadd 916]

6-People really under estimate eating/hydrating after the game

Not my team. We usually grill several pounds of beef and drink a case of beer after every game. Then again, we're all pretty committed.

[Dish 0]

Dude don't let P90x intimidate you! It is a scalable workout. The guy that runs it is constantly telling you to hit pause if you are tired and take more time. Also the intensity and or weight is totally dependent on what you can do. I could do one pull up when I started, you just use your legs and a chair to assist you. It is a hard workout but you can do it if you commit to it. I am in the best shape of my life, and it has helped my hockey out a lot too. Now if I could just get a set of hands........

[ibeck 38]

Not my team. We usually grill several pounds of beef and drink a case of beer after every game. Then again, we're all pretty committed.

You guys have my vote for your league's annual chugathon then, good luck!

[Stewie 721]

Yoga. Not exactly the manly answer your looking for as a hockey player, but it improves your strength, flexibility, and breathing all in one workout session. I just started getting into it, its such a workout, and already i can tell my breathing has improved vastly since starting.

Also running is great, of course, but dont just set out to run a certain mileage every other day. I do one long run (5-6 miles) at a slower pace, two-three shorter runs (2-3 miles) at my 5k target pace, and one day of speedwork (usually sprint/walk segments on the local high school track) every week. since i have started this routine, my running is a lot better than when i previously just tried to run 3 or 4 miles every other day. I assume when i hit the ice ill see the dividends of that.

in terms of strength training, i feel throughout my time playing hockey that functional and lower weight strength training improves my hockey game more. I do mostly body weight and resistance band training, bought an iron gym pullup bar for 25 bucks, gonna buy a kettlebell, and i have the hockey players special, a cutoff wooden shaft with a rope and weight that i roll up and down for wrist strength. Too much weight and muscle might be good if your a bruiser, but you really want to go for reps and endurance if your a rec league player, as your not as likely to be lining someone up anytime soon.

[iceNsteel 0]

I don't really believe in the concept of "weight loss" as it stands: loosing a set number of pounds on a scale. It's really about reshaping the body and fitness, it's very possible to drop clothing sizes and gain weight on the scale. Muscle is a dense tissue that occupies a lot less space than fat, allowing a person to take up far less space in a room but have a higher dry weight.

If you want to train very specifically for hockey you should be doing interval training to the near exclusion of any form of steady state cardio. Weight lifting should be heavy, low reps, and lower body focused. Of course, a lot of us in the beer leaguer category also take part in other sports, so I'd recommend a more rounded fitness program than something too hockey specific. Bodybuilding.com is an excellent resource for workout ideas, diet tips, and the like.

[chk hrd 164]

The most important work out for Rec Hockey is beer and bar food ingestion. It is very embarassing when you need to use a nipple to drink a beer and everyone else is a few ahead of you. You also need to be able to keep up with eating wings or fingers. It's really bad form to complain that your stomach hurts because you ate to much or it was to spicy.

I recommend 12 ounce curls, both right and left handed.

[jds 20]

The most important work out for Rec Hockey is beer and bar food ingestion. It is very embarassing when you need to use a nipple to drink a beer and everyone else is a few ahead of you. You also need to be able to keep up with eating wings or fingers. It's really bad form to complain that your stomach hurts because you ate to much or it was to spicy.

I recommend 12 ounce curls, both right and left handed.

Lol.

[mjpisat 36]

The most important work out for Rec Hockey is beer and bar food ingestion. It is very embarassing when you need to use a nipple to drink a beer and everyone else is a few ahead of you. You also need to be able to keep up with eating wings or fingers. It's really bad form to complain that your stomach hurts because you ate to much or it was to spicy.

I recommend 12 ounce curls, both right and left handed.

Too many wings and beer is how I got to 208 lbs. at only 5'8 and is the reason why I started playing in the first place. I can still hang.

What is foam roll?

If you're serious

1- Foam roll before and foam roll after. You have a better chance of getting micro tears in your muscles (which over time will get bigger) if you just skate around 2 laps and "stretch". Foam rolling loosens up your muscles before and loosen up after and will reduce your chance of injury and will aid in your warm up stretching

2-If you want to lose your gut and work on your cardio, I'd say just run treadmill/stationary bike

3-Strength will make you stronger but at the same time bigger since stronger muscles mean bigger muscles.

4-Depending on how happy you are with your current shape, you may also want to do some endurance training so you dont be so physically tired during/after the game

5-Putting the right foods in your body and eating the right portion sizes before games will also help (don't eat a huge steak, potatoes an hour before you leave.) Hydrating properly BEFORE the game will help a lot during your game.

6-People really under estimate eating/hydrating after the game

EDIT: 7- Training for flexibility will also help you prevent injury as well as help reactions during games...pro players programs include lots of flexibility training along with strength training.

Just my 2 cent from working in/around the game closely for the past 4 years.

[ibeck 38]

What is foam roll?

Scroll down, they come in different lengths and widths. (insert that's what she said joke)

Edit: Forgot link

http://www.golf-fitness-and-training-tips.com/foamroller.html

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Scroll down, they come in different lengths and widths. (insert that's what she said joke)

Edit: Forgot link

http://www.golf-fitn...foamroller.html

Oh god, that just looks glorious. Just laying flat on my back on the floor, I get that "back wants to crack but just not quite" feeling. A foam roll would be amazing, I bet.

[ibeck 38]

A foam roll would be amazing, I bet.

They work really well. I use them before and after my gym workouts and if I injure myself during hockey.

[ktang 34]

HIIT might be better for shedding fat for some people.

[Quintin 16]

McMaster University study recently showed that it is working to fatigue/failure that is key to muscle hypertrophy and not necessarily the load.Heavy weights to fatigue work for sure. But for some that are leery or nervous about such large weights, the same benefits can be had with lighter loads and more volume to the same fatigue/failure level. In other words, both work.

As far as the cardio, it is true that the low intensity aerobic activity burns a higher percentage of fat calories but it is a higher percentage of a smaller number. A low intensity walk that burns 100 calories and uses 85% fat as fule will burn 85 calories of fat a while moderate run, although only using fat for 50% of total fuel needs could burn 500 calories which would yield 250 calories of fat. The other factor is that if you burn mostly fat during a workout, carbohydrate stores remain relatively full so any calories you consume in the hours after the exercise aren't needed to top off carbohydrate stores and, thus will be stored as fat. Whereas, the higher intensity (60-70% max HR) exercise uses more glycogen the resulting post-exercise calories will go more to topping that off with fewer calories left to store as fat since they ended up going to glycogen stores. My point in this is that there is no easy fix. Simple lifts to fatigue, moderate aerobic activity where you are just unable to carry on a conversation and sensible diet works. Easy aerobic activity is pushed because of the fat-burning zone misnomer and it is easier to sell to people that you don't have to leave your comfort level to workout. True, though that if you are at full-bore intensity all the time, you will overtrain, get injured, sick and likely regress.

Wholeheartedly agree. However...

In the case of hypertrophy; both do work - but when you take into account the difference in sarcoplasmic vs. myofibrillar hypertrophy - it's apples and oranges.

Anyone that is nervous/afraid/shy/worried of lifting heavy should throw that monkey off their back.

In lifting heavy weights, typically for a 1-5RM, is to stress & trigger your muscular structure as well as your neuromuscular system. Barbell lifts are the epitome of strength training, because it demands the most out of just that to allow for adaptation. When coupled with the appropriate high volume/weakness assistance work (drop-sets, DB lifts), this allows for maximising strength as well as muscular tissue growth.

Training to lift heavy builds self-efficacy and confidence. When one switches the goal orientation of looking good/getting swole with the ability of getting stronger, this will have a larger impact on their emotional well-being than training for size ever will.

Increases in muscular strength is known to decrease aging (more specifically - sarcopenia: the aging disease related to decreased muscle mass and linked to obesity, heart diseases, osteoporosis, diabetes & heart disease). Constant forms of resistance training will slow sarcopenia - but lifting heavy achieves this more efficiently than high volume/'bodybuilding' style training. A study from the University of Pittsburgh has shown that greater muscle strength was linked with a lower mortality risk in the elderly - while muscle size was not.