working out for a rec player

[donkers 31]

Your average rec league player just needs to work on cardio.

[jds 20]

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.

I get the science. First, a disclaimer-I am not a physiologist or anything, but I have been interested in the topic for decades AND my neighbour and pickup teammate is a PhD who studies specifically muscle growth, maintenance and sarcopenia (true but mentioned more as a joke than a credential, and he probably gets annoyed with the questions about mitochondrial content of skeletal muscle when we are battling in the corners ). And the debate about the two types of hypertrophy and their value is still ongoing. I guess my point in my answer was to suggest that working hard is the answer. There is no easy fix. The fat burning zone that everyone pushes is popular because it is easier than higher intensity. As for lifting, I was not advocating bodybuilding-type workouts but just offering those who have to workout alone and don't have spotters or who are just starting and are nervous a solution to increasing strength and muscle mass with volume and lighter weights. Periodization is always important to allow for recovery in that. Simply work hard and rest hard. Keep it simple. I have gained more strength in my upper body by just doing pullups. I can't do that many, but I do them to failure. I am noticeably stronger but my arms are not sleeve busting by any stretch. There is a great deal of information in various men's magazines and fitness sites that can get confusing. Fitness is an industry where everyone is trying to sell their plan. Funny curled bars and contraptions are touted as the new way and many get suckered by the marketing especially if the routine is touted as easy. "Only 20 minutes a day, three days a week" is bullshit. Yes, it is better than nothing but you get out what you put in. That fitness model is not working out 60 minutes a week on the contraptaflex I can guarantee you that. Now the trend has been a return to the "old-school" approach. Take the kettlebell phenomenon. They are the weights that those strongmen with the handlebar moustaches used in those old photos. Gimmick. Charles Atlas- the guy who likely started the whole industry- was just selling isometric exercise. Simple principal. No need to send money. Move a load that is difficult to move and your muscles will adapt whether it is a kettlebell or a rock. The only benefit I can see from all the new fangled stuff is that it might entice someone to get exercising. Hopefully, they will learn that boxercise or kelltebells or TRX is all basically doing the same thing-stressing your muscles so that they adapt and get stronger to tackle the load the next time. By then the exercise will be a routine in their lives and they won't need the gimmicks to keep at it. The caveman diet is another example. The principals are all SIMPLE. Are bodies have not changed that much over the centuries-evolution takes a long, long time. Our brains have gotten ahead of our bodies. Most of our mechanical progress as humans has been for convenience sake- to make things easier. It's easier to drive to the store for a protein bar that you can eat while you continue to drive than it is to walk to the market for some fresh meat or eggs that still have to be prepared at home. That is why we are, at least in the West, generally largely out of shape. We actually have to add exercise to our day to counteract all the conveniences we have created that are making us less healthy ( note, I am not including medical advancements etc as "conveniences") Would I want to give up my car and choose to walk 20 miles to run errands that I have to carry back? No. But the point in this large rant (sorry, the fitness industry salesmanship is just a pet peeve) is to just be active. Tax your heart, lungs and muscles. Eat well. Rest well. Work hard and you will be healthier. Use the Ab-Rocket as a beach chair. Whew. Done.

[mjpisat 36]

That's a good post. I understand the whole concept of losing weight and also getting stronger.

I think what I was really getting at with the original post was geaed toward "hockey specific training"

I read about all these different workouts/exercises that will help you on ice with balance, first step etc. one legged squats, plyometrics etc etc.

What i was asking was that for the regular rec league player like me, will just skating 2-3 days a week (i only started a month ago so I'm stil learning to skate) and doing my normal lifting routine (consists of squats, deadlift, bench, barbell pendlay row, overhead shoulder press, pull ups, dips) be good enough? I'm guessing yes. Just by lifting, changing my diet and skating/exercise I've lost 16 lbs in three months.

[jds 20]

That's a good post. I understand the whole concept of losing weight and also getting stronger.

I think what I was really getting at with the original post was geaed toward "hockey specific training"

I read about all these different workouts/exercises that will help you on ice with balance, first step etc. one legged squats, plyometrics etc etc.

What i was asking was that for the regular rec league player like me, will just skating 2-3 days a week (i only started a month ago so I'm stil learning to skate) and doing my normal lifting routine (consists of squats, deadlift, bench, barbell pendlay row, overhead shoulder press, pull ups, dips) be good enough? I'm guessing yes. Just by lifting, changing my diet and skating/exercise I've lost 16 lbs in three months.

Yeah, sorry to hijack things. Sounds like you are on the right track. The best thing you can do to improve at hockey is to play hockey. All the strength programs for hockey players generally start with an assumption that the skill part has already been figured out. I might add some balance work-I did that when I was learning to skate and it seemed to help. Wobble boards, or standing on a BOSU ball either flat side up or dome side up on one leg will help with that a bit. Balance can actually be improved with training-it's not just purely genetic. When the balance drill becomes easy, do it with your eyes closed-that will add a whole new dimension to the difficulty.

[Law Goalie 147]

Hijack, perhaps: but if gunmen burst onto a 747 and yell "We're taking this plane to Cuba -- and on the way, we plan to entertain and enlighten you with a variety of lectures on physiology," I'm going to sit back and enjoy the ride. And ten beers.

Balance is absolutely trainable. Just don't, for the love of god, make the mistake of trying to train specific load-bearing movement on some kind of unstable surface in the belief that it'll make the exercise 'tougher.' I recently saw a guy load up the Smith machine and then set up two 'balance balls' to stand on while he did his pseudo-squats; the gym staff practically tackled him. Standing exercises are definitely better than seated ones, but putting yourself on a see-saw to do military presses is a recipe for injury unless you drop the weight AND have iota-perfect form.

If you really want to improve your balance, train simple reaction exercises - tossing a tennis ball to a partner, or off a wall, for instance - while on an unstable platform. Balance is as much about vision and proprioception as it is about core strength. Even starting with a simple game of catch on one partially-bent leg is harder than you'd think, as is trying to catch anything smaller than a beachball after turning a cartwheel. (There is some terrifying video of Tretiak from the early 70s where he's doing a variety of fairly astonishing agility exercises -- and catching pucks whipped at him from about ten feet away between movements.)

I'd also strongly suggest starting to skip rope or use a rowing ergometer as alternatives to stationary bikes and treadmills. The rowing stroke is maybe the best full-body movement you can train, and skipping rope is both superb for balance and a very good complement to hockey movements; they also both scale very smoothly in intensity. The only problem with the erg is that you really need someone who knows what they're doing to teach you how to do a proper stroke, or you will absolutely wreck yourself. Pretty much anyone can skip, though you will feel like a total buffoon for the first hour or so as you repeatedly, alternately trip yourself and whack yourself in the back of the head; much beyond that, you'll get proficient pretty quickly. Everyone else will appreciate the slapstick: wives especially.

[SydNap 25]

consists of squats, deadlift, bench, barbell pendlay row, overhead shoulder press, pull ups, dips) be good enough? I'm guessing yes. Just by lifting, changing my diet and skating/exercise I've lost 16 lbs in three months.

That's most of my "hockey specific" workout right there. I concentrate a little more on my legs (lunges, single-leg stuff, lateral stuff, and explosion), but you've got a good base right there. As you progress you'll want more, and I would then suggest to check out the exercises I listed. Good luck!

[bjlasota 0]

I’ve been looking around for ways to build my endurance and speed on the ice and have stumbled across HIIT. I put together a plan to do HIIT on a spin bike and I did that for a couple weeks. I went from a 20 second 100% 80 second 60% to a 35 sec 100% 60 sec 60% for 20-24 mins. I noticed a difference on the bike, but not on the ice. I was wondering if mocking my time on the ice and transferring that to the spin bike would work better. Kinda like an extreme HIIT if there is such a thing. I’m thinking of doing a 45 sec at 100%, then 1 min at about 40% my HR for about 1 hour. Anyone done this before?

[SydNap 25]

Try some HIIT on the ice. Honestly, almost everyone here probably needs to work on power skating more than any other thing. Go to a publuc skate, open scrimmage, or stick and puck and work hard on skating...just do so in a HIIT fashion. Do a minute of hard skating, then "rest" for a minute or two by shooting some wristers or working your edges. You'll get all the cardio you want, and be a better skater as well...

[bjlasota 0]

Try some HIIT on the ice. Honestly, almost everyone here probably needs to work on power skating more than any other thing. Go to a publuc skate, open scrimmage, or stick and puck and work hard on skating...just do so in a HIIT fashion. Do a minute of hard skating, then "rest" for a minute or two by shooting some wristers or working your edges. You'll get all the cardio you want, and be a better skater as well...

This would be awesome if I had a rink close enough that I could go to. I drive 45 minutes to play hockey twice a week. My gyms right down the road from work. If I had ice close by, I'd be skating everyday. Some days for conditioning, some days for shooting, etc. I played a TON of pond hockey where I went to college. Skated every single day for at least 2-3 hours, sometimes more. I'll agree with ya there that the more skating you do, the better and better conditioned you get.

[SydNap 25]

Have access to a slideboar at the gym? If not, I have one at home and it's been a great investment. It's my preferred cardio, and I mix in HIIT on it, so long as my skates are spread out enough to avoid the same motion several days in a row. If my ice time gets bunched up, I mix in running and rowing, or elliptical if my body is hurting..

[GiancarloSFL 15]

If your not looking to spend most of your time reading workout and diet explanations. P90X and insanity workout dvd and diet plans pretty much give you a great base to start with just work through them as you can most people repeat the first month 2 or even 3 times before they move on to the second month. For what we do as beer leaguers it's more than enough, unless working out is either your profession or your hobby don't complicate it too much. You'll pick up the rest as you go.

[splitbtw 2]

I dropped 35 lbs this fall by cleaning up the diet and trying to do something active each day. I did and still do a lot of body weight circuits (bonus that you don't need a gym), jump roping and sprints. My goal was to try to simulate the start and stops of an actual game with shift lengths in mind. Every now and then I'll try to lift actual weights to get stronger quicker, but most of my body transformation and vastly improved skating came from body weight circuits and running sprints.

[splitbtw 2]

Here are some of the workouts I still do on the regular. My girlfriend is also able to do these as the focus is to push yourself when you can and go slower or rest if you have to. Each time you repeat the workout, challenge yourself to beat your last time or push a little further:

1. Find a park bench. Go until you finish.

Do what she says. It is really challenging and a nice all-around workout. If you can't do the decline push-ups, do regular push-ups until you can do the decline ones.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=qRdjtdXM-Wc&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqRdjtdXM-Wc

2. Find a hs or track with bleachers.

Warm-up and stretch

-Set a timer for 5 mins and run the stairs one step at a time. Walk if you have to but keep moving.

-Lower body circuit(do as many as you can in a minute each): squats, lunges of some sort, square jumps (jump forward, jump right, jump back, jump left).

Rest 1-2 mins

-run stairs/bleachers for 5 mins two stairs at a time if possible. Walk if you have to but keep moving.

-upper body circuit with a minute each of: push-ups, shoulder taps, dips (if possible, if not replace with another upper body exercise)

Rest 1-2 mins

-5 mins of stairs

-core circuit: plank, side plank (each side), another ab exercise such as nope bicycles or toe touches

Rest 1-2 mins

Jog a lap around the track

Take another lap and go hard on the two straigh always and real slow job on curves

Stretch

[MN old and slow 92]

my workout:

go to diner

order #2 eggs, bacon , hasbrowns

eat

watch TV

take a nap

watch the Bulldogs or Gophs on TV

play the late night Fruday game at MN made

round is indeed a shape so I am by definition in shape!

[Apes44 7]

What does this do?

- 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.

[IniNew 52]

What does this do?

Nothing notable. It's a homeopathic cure that is little more than a placebo.

The only things shown to reduce the effects of hunger across the boards are increased protein intake (satiating) and water.

[Quintin 16]

What does this do?

Cinnamon raises insulin sensitivity.

Naringenin in grapefruits, despite the fructose content, extends the fat burning half life of caffeine.

[IniNew 52]

Cinnamon raises insulin sensitivity.

Naringenin in grapefruits, despite the fructose content, extends the fat burning half life of caffeine.

Citation needed.

Edit: Here, I did it for.

A few caveats of the study, though.

Improvements are noted to have taken place after 40 days of daily dosage. Was only tested on subjects with Type 2 diabetes. And the ringer--in the last couple lines of the abstract:

For both supplemental Cr and cinnamon not all studies have reported beneficial effects...

For information concerning Grapefuits and "fat burning half life" of caffeine. Again, nothing has been conclusive. Examine.com covers this exact interaction.

[Quintin 16]

Cheers for posting the citation(s) up. Hands are tied with shopping.

Additionally, naringenin has several positive effects with post workout nutrition by keeping blood glucose levels low, prevent insulin resistance and increase glucose uptake.
Dat dere citation

You a DH'er?

Citation needed.

Edit: Here, I did it for.

A few caveats of the study, though.

Improvements are noted to have taken place after 40 days of daily dosage. Was only tested on subjects with Type 2 diabetes. And the ringer--in the last couple lines of the abstract:

For information concerning Grapefuits and "fat burning half life" of caffeine. Again, nothing has been conclusive. Examine.com covers this exact interaction.

[IniNew 52]

Not sure what DH is--more of a Reddit fitness junkie. /r/fitness, weightroom, bodybuilding with a dose of /fit/.

[hampshirepuck 2]

Here are some of the workouts I still do on the regular. My girlfriend is also able to do these as the focus is to push yourself when you can and go slower or rest if you have to. Each time you repeat the workout, challenge yourself to beat your last time or push a little further:

1. Find a park bench. Go until you finish.

Do what she says. It is really challenging and a nice all-around workout. If you can't do the decline push-ups, do regular push-ups until you can do the decline ones.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=qRdjtdXM-Wc&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqRdjtdXM-Wc

2. Find a hs or track with bleachers.

Warm-up and stretch

-Set a timer for 5 mins and run the stairs one step at a time. Walk if you have to but keep moving.

-Lower body circuit(do as many as you can in a minute each): squats, lunges of some sort, square jumps (jump forward, jump right, jump back, jump left).

Rest 1-2 mins

-run stairs/bleachers for 5 mins two stairs at a time if possible. Walk if you have to but keep moving.

-upper body circuit with a minute each of: push-ups, shoulder taps, dips (if possible, if not replace with another upper body exercise)

Rest 1-2 mins

-5 mins of stairs

-core circuit: plank, side plank (each side), another ab exercise such as nope bicycles or toe touches

Rest 1-2 mins

Jog a lap around the track

Take another lap and go hard on the two straigh always and real slow job on curves

Stretch

I really like this work out, I am going to try it out sometime soon

[flyguy1 1]

I had a question I wanted to add a figure it would be best to add it to this thread.

I play once a week and we only have 2 lines so going out every other shift gets pretty taxing...by the end of the 2nd period I'm usually dead. I normally workout and do strength training but I'm trying to keep it basic. What would be the best thing to do to keep my legs by the 3rd period?

I know anaerobic exercises should be targeted but since we're in the middle of winter and only going to workout in a gym, what should I do? Stationary bike hard for 1 min, rest 1 min and repeat? For how long, 1.5hrs? How long should i do anaerobic 'cycles'? I'm also thinking about making a slideboard and using that, would that help doing the same, 1 min hard, rest 1 min and repeat? For how long?

I just want to keep it basic and have strength late in games like it seems everyone else has but me.

[SydNap 25]

How often do you get to skate other than that 1 game/week? Do you play the same night every week?

[flyguy1 1]

Unfortunately I only have time to play once a week, that's my only skate I get in. The day changes from week to week but I always make sure I'm not fatigued from any off ice training for when I have a game.

[CommodoreColt 19]

I'm starting to train martial arts (aikido, specifically) because I find individual workout routines incredibly boring and tend not to stick to them. I'll report back with how it's going in my rec leagues/pick-up hockey in a few months.