Hockey Training: Part 4

Hockey Strength Training & Conditioning

The final installment of our 4-part interview with Jason Ferrugia, CSCS, about training hockey players...this is gold, Jason, gold!


CB: And finally, what type of conditioning exercises?

JF:
Well, first off Craig, I should point out that hockey players need to be among the most well conditioned athletes in the world.

Anytime we look to design a conditioning program for a given sport we must look at the demands of the sport and aim to make drills we prescribe fairly “sport specific.” So we have to look at a typical shift in hockey in order to prescribe a proper conditioning program.

A typical shift will usually last 30-50 seconds. This is followed by a rest period of about 90-120 seconds, depending on how many lines the coach is running. Therefore we know that whatever method we use for conditioning the work to rest intervals should be 30-50 seconds “on,” and 90-120 seconds “off.”

As far as what methods to use I like sled dragging in all different directions, sprints, hill sprints, stadium stair running, car pushes, tire flips, sledgehammer swings, sandbag training, I will even use the stationary bike and of course, skating.

Although I think that during the early off season, hockey players should stay off the ice for at least a few weeks, as I mentioned earlier, in order to correct the imbalances that occur between the vastus medialis and lateralis from too much skating and just for a break in general from the same repeated stressor.

In the early part of the off season training I like to limit the amount of energy system work and instead focus on rehab, prehab and correcting imbalances developed throughout the season.

A lot of unilateral movements are used during this time and we focus on building muscle mass. Having said that let’s go over some of the most effective conditioning methods for hockey players.

Since a period lasts 15 minutes in high school and 20 minutes in college and the NHL we need our energy system workouts to last this long. Since the shifts last 30-50 seconds and the rest periods last 90-120 seconds, this gives us a wide variety to play with and I like to use as many different combos of work to rest times as possible.

Below are some sample workouts:

Sprints
Sprint- 30 seconds
Walk- 90 seconds
Repeat ten times

Stationary bike
Sprint- 60 seconds
Coast- 120 seconds
Repeat seven times

Track Medley
Sprint- 40 seconds
Rest- 100 seconds
Sprint stadium stairs- 40 seconds
Rest- 100 seconds
Bodyweight squats- 40 seconds
Rest – 100 seconds
Repeat three times


Strongman Medley 1
Tire flip- 30 seconds
Rest- 90 seconds
Car push- 40 seconds
Rest- 100 seconds
Sledgehammer swing- 50 seconds
Rest- 120 seconds
Repeat two more times

Strongman Medley 2
Backward sled drag- 30 seconds
Rest- 90 seconds
Wheelbarrow walk- 45 seconds
Rest- 105 seconds
Sandbag power clean from floor- 60 seconds
Rest- 120 seconds
Repeat two more times

Strongman Medley 3
Sprint- 30 seconds
Rest- 90 seconds
Tire flip- 30 seconds
Rest- 120 seconds
Rope row with 2.5-3 inch diameter rope- 30 seconds
Rest- 90 seconds
Repeat two more times

The last thing I would like to point out is that to improve your conditioning to where it needs to be, hockey players must have very low levels of bodyfat. Every pound of unneeded bodyfat is slowing you down and is just extra baggage to carry around on the ice.

A clean diet is just as important to your conditioning program as the actual conditioning methods are. So be sure to focus on lean protein, nuts, fruits and vegetables and drink a ton of water.

CB: Jason, thanks this is more information than anyone could ask for, given your incredibly busy schedule. Thank you so much.

Please visit Jason’s site for more info: http://j1strength.com/




Hockey training, strength and conditioning