DriBlades

[VegasHockey 1280]

Has anyone seen these in person? I find them interesting, but wonder if there is merit to performing dryland training in hockey skates. I would think it would raise the risk of injury. 

https://driblades.com/product/driblades

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by PBH

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

These seem like a solution to a problem that never existed.

[puckpilot 312]

I've taken the blades out of some old skates and tried some movements while standing on the holder where I supinate/pronate and straighten my ankles. Don't know the merits of it, but it did feel like it was working the muscles around my lower legs. I never felt like I was going to injure myself, but I made sure to stand on a rubber surface so there was less risk of slipping and there was enough room for me to just let go and fall.

This product is actually something I've thought about trying to make myself. But that price, uggg. It's more than a lot of high end steel. Fifty bucks, I'd give it a go, but at $180, no way. 

[BenBreeg 493]

The thing about training is there is GPP, General Physical Preparedness, all the way to SPP, Specific Sport Preparedness.  Every exercise doesn't have to be, nor should it be SPP.  There is a lot that goes into program design and exercise selection for athletes.  Risk/reward is one.  You can't have a high ratio of risk:reward and expect to have your athletes available for what matter, the sport itself.  Most people don't have the technique to perform the bigger lifts correctly, now you are adding instability into the equation?  Every exercise doesn't have to be everything.  It is about applying load in a way that helps achieve your goals.  If you are doing a heavy, bilateral lift like a squat or TB deadlift, you are probably using it in your program to build overall maximal strength.  Doing it on skates takes away from that.  Unilateral work allows you to load the limb with less weight, which can be used for introducing a greater stability component and managing the load on the limb vs. spine (this was the impetus for Mike Boyle going to so much unilateral work).  Then you can do on-ice work which is very specific in translating all of that previous work into skating.  There is no shortcut.

[OldCY 94]

For 140$ I’d rather buy wet blades. 

[start_today 770]

3 hours ago, BenBreeg said:

The thing about training is there is GPP, General Physical Preparedness, all the way to SPP, Specific Sport Preparedness.  Every exercise doesn't have to be, nor should it be SPP.  There is a lot that goes into program design and exercise selection for athletes.  Risk/reward is one.  You can't have a high ratio of risk:reward and expect to have your athletes available for what matter, the sport itself.  Most people don't have the technique to perform the bigger lifts correctly, now you are adding instability into the equation?  Every exercise doesn't have to be everything.  It is about applying load in a way that helps achieve your goals.  If you are doing a heavy, bilateral lift like a squat or TB deadlift, you are probably using it in your program to build overall maximal strength.  Doing it on skates takes away from that.  Unilateral work allows you to load the limb with less weight, which can be used for introducing a greater stability component and managing the load on the limb vs. spine (this was the impetus for Mike Boyle going to so much unilateral work).  Then you can do on-ice work which is very specific in translating all of that previous work into skating.  There is no shortcut.

Yeah, there’s so much info about the health and sports “career” benefits of being a multi-sport athlete. Lacrosse, baseball, ballet, track, tennis, lawn darts, whatever. 

This feels like it’s going the opposite direction, and pigeonholing everything into hyper specific movements and actions related to one sport. 

[krisdrum 233]

I know a long standing strength conditioning guy in the show and another who does a lot of work with D1 guys and some strong prospects (and pros in another sport).  I can ask, but I can't imagine either one of them would find much merit in these.  Heck, I mentioned Gel STX to them a few years ago and they basically laughed me out of the place.  @BenBreeg hit the nail on the head.

Heck, one of the guys tells a story of a D1 hockey coach tossing the incoming recruits a basketball on day one of practice and saying "go for it".  The guys who couldn't play pick-up didn't make the team.  Obviously there are hockey specific skills, but there is a lot you can take from general athleticism.

Edited August 23, 2022 by krisdrum

[BenBreeg 493]

51 minutes ago, krisdrum said:

I know a long standing strength conditioning guy in the show and another who does a lot of work with D1 guys and some strong prospects (and pros in another sport).  I can ask, but I can't imagine either one of them would find much merit in these.  Heck, I mentioned Gel STX to them a few years ago and they basically laughed me out of the place.  @BenBreeg hit the nail on the head.

Heck, one of the guys tells a story of a D1 hockey coach tossing the incoming recruits a basketball on day one of practice and saying "go for it".  The guys who couldn't play pick-up didn't make the team.  Obviously there are hockey specific skills, but there is a lot you can take from general athleticism.

Think about it, it may not seem obvious but the S&C coach's #1 priority has to be keeping guys on the field/ice.  If you are explaining to coaches why guys are hurt or banged up from the weight room, you aren't going to be working for long.  

Check out The Hockey Strength podcast, tons of NHL and NCAA S&C coaches on there talking about their experiences and approaches.  Yeah, they are 100% always open to learning and trying new things, but managing workload, stress, etc. is always in the equation.  Guys like Joe DeFranco and Jim Wendler hardly ever squat or do straight bar deadlifts with their guys, either because they are training vets who are so beat up from years of playing and training, or because they learned new things.  Wendler coaches HS kids now.  He said he switched them to TB deadlifts, and when they would periodically test their squats, they were going up.  So he is increasing whole body strength in a way that doesn't have the risk of a traditional back squat.  This is coming from a guy who was an adherent to Westside, so that tells you how open minded you need to be.

[caveman27 208]

11 hours ago, shoot_the_goalie said:

These seem like a solution to a problem that never existed.

I agree with you. There are a lot of dryland exercises that work the muscles that these Dri-blades are activating. I'm not saying Dri-blades don't work as they claim to. But, if you are already have access to a gym, there are machines and equipment that can activate muscles that you use in skating. 

The only plus I see is doing dryland shooting/puck handling drills and not having to have a shorter stick than what you use on ice.

[Vet88 674]

Why would you use these over a set of old blunt steel and a rubber mat? I have trained off ice in skates using blunt blades, there is merit in this but it's a hard sell at $139. yikes.

[caveman27 208]

35 minutes ago, Vet88 said:

Why would you use these over a set of old blunt steel and a rubber mat? I have trained off ice in skates using blunt blades, there is merit in this but it's a hard sell at $139. yikes.

$119 for the abductor weighted slide device seems a bit steep.

[clarkiestooth 235]

Most gyms have a sign at the door when you walk in: Proper Footwear Required.  Don't think these qualify. I watched the Frankenstein exercise clip on their site. At about 50 seconds, the guy slips several times on the hard surface. I'm all for new ideas, just not stupid ones. 

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

This was the laugh I didn’t know I needed today. 

[Vet88 674]

If they came with a clip / slide on rubber strip for the bottom of the blade so you could wear your skates around the house regardless of what flooring you had (no slipping or marking of the floor) then I think it's a valid product. The ability to wear your skates at home as an off ice exercise to improve your balance and alignment over the blade is something that would benefit a lot of skaters. 

[VegasHockey 1280]

3 hours ago, Vet88 said:

If they came with a clip / slide on rubber strip for the bottom of the blade so you could wear your skates around the house regardless of what flooring you had (no slipping or marking of the floor) then I think it's a valid product. The ability to wear your skates at home as an off ice exercise to improve your balance and alignment over the blade is something that would benefit a lot of skaters. 

Maybe they need to make them out of some type of sturdy polymer. Maybe they can use Sporopollenin? 

[Vet88 674]

1 hour ago, PBH said:

Maybe they need to make them out of some type of sturdy polymer. Maybe they can use Sporopollenin? 

They look extruded, one could do a lot with a 3D printer in either polymer or metal or a mix.... 

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

On 8/23/2022 at 12:04 PM, BenBreeg said:

Think about it, it may not seem obvious but the S&C coach's #1 priority has to be keeping guys on the field/ice.  If you are explaining to coaches why guys are hurt or banged up from the weight room, you aren't going to be working for long.  

Check out The Hockey Strength podcast, tons of NHL and NCAA S&C coaches on there talking about their experiences and approaches.  Yeah, they are 100% always open to learning and trying new things, but managing workload, stress, etc. is always in the equation.  Guys like Joe DeFranco and Jim Wendler hardly ever squat or do straight bar deadlifts with their guys, either because they are training vets who are so beat up from years of playing and training, or because they learned new things.  Wendler coaches HS kids now.  He said he switched them to TB deadlifts, and when they would periodically test their squats, they were going up.  So he is increasing whole body strength in a way that doesn't have the risk of a traditional back squat.  This is coming from a guy who was an adherent to Westside, so that tells you how open minded you need to be.

Correct, the name of the game is usually long-term health and pre-hab to avoid injury.  Funny you mentioned Joe DeFranco, I used to go to his gym to train with my friend who maintained a large portion of the clients when Joe relocated.  And yes, never bench pressed anything, a lot of functional strength work, weighted body work.  Seen lots of NFL, NBA, MLB with successful and long careers come through that gym.  The occasional NHLer.  Always have to be learning and evolving.

[BenBreeg 493]

1 hour ago, MyBoxersSayJoe said:

Correct, the name of the game is usually long-term health and pre-hab to avoid injury.  Funny you mentioned Joe DeFranco, I used to go to his gym to train with my friend who maintained a large portion of the clients when Joe relocated.  And yes, never bench pressed anything, a lot of functional strength work, weighted body work.  Seen lots of NFL, NBA, MLB with successful and long careers come through that gym.  The occasional NHLer.  Always have to be learning and evolving.

Not to derail but Joe D just did a podcast where he revisited an article he wrote 18 years ago.  Some things still held true, some things he does differently now.  I've been following Louie Simmons (RIP) and Westside stuff since I was in college.  I came home one day and my brother told me he just got off the phone with Louie.  45 minutes the guy spent on the phone with my brother, who was like 19 or something at the time, after he just cold called him.  The guy was all about sharing knowledge.  Check out the Westside vs. The World documentary if you haven't already.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 133]

@BenBreeg I don't know if I'd call it a derailment hehe.  It's diving deeper into what methods can work better for athletes.  I may have seen the doc, but I'll double check.  Sometimes it takes an injury to find a better way to do things, which I think was a pretty large motivator for DeFranco.  My friend had Hischier and Siegenthaler for a little bit when they came back to the U.S. pre-season last year.  They did a podcast with Nico during that time.  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mike-and-brooker-show/id1510678873?i=1000533850720  It's interesting.   The listens are sadly much higher on the athletes, than on the top-end trainers and innovators that train the athletes themselves. DeFranco was episode 57.  If you want a laugh, check out Chris Hogan #40

[BenBreeg 493]

Speaking of the injury thing, here is a great book around that, Gift of Injury.  Stuart McGill is a leading expert on backs, I do his Big 3 every day to try to keep my lower back under control.  Brian Carroll squatted 1306 after a back injury when working with McGill.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Injury-Stuart-McGill-Brian-Carroll/dp/0973501863