Announcement
TRY THESE OVER THE HOLIDAYS OR ANY TIME YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO
With training camp and the start of the season just a few short weeks away, players still have time to develop the "first line fitness" they need to boost their on-ice hockey performance.
If you are going to be a great hockey player, you have to possess extraordinary skills and amazing game-sense. But you must also develop the fitness to be able to consistently showcase those skills in every practice and in every game all season long.
You could have the best one-on-one moves in the world, but if you are struggling to get down the ice at the end of your shifts, your effectiveness will be limited. If you have "fourth-line fitness", your "first-line skills" will only get you so far.
Ideally, players would be involved in an off-ice training program all summer long to build overtime-dominating fitness, battle-winning strength and game-breaking speed. But life and leisure get in the way, and all of a sudden, you find yourself a few weeks away from the start of the season and you are not in hockey shape.
It is physiologically impossible for young players to get stronger, faster or more powerful in only 4 weeks. The muscular and nervous systems simply cannot make significant changes in that amount of time.
However, the cardiovascular system can adapt much more quickly, which means that it is still possible for players to develop "first line fitness" in only a month.
Players of all ages can use conditioning circuits that combine short sprints and strength exercises to vastly improve their hockey-specific fitness in a relatively short period of time. These high-intensity circuits simulate a shift out on the ice by incorporating both the change of direction and change of body position that is inherent in the game of hockey.
Here is an example of a conditioning circuit that can be used with players during training camp or early in the season:
- Start with 10 push-ups.
- Sprint 20 meters as fast as possible.
- Perform 10 squat jumps.
- Sprint 20 meters back to the start.
- Perform another 10 push-ups.
- Sprint 20 meters.
- Perform 20 meters of walking lunges back to the start.
- Sprint 20 meters.
Perform one round of the circuit and then rest for 3 minutes. Repeat this sequence 3 or 4 more times and you will be well on your way to getting in shape for the in-season.
http://weisstechhockey.com/blog/21/drill-off-ice-hockey-agility-drill/
HAVE A LOOK AT HOW THE NHL PLAYERS TRAIN OFF ICE FOR EXAMPLE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFI36tDG7K0
