Maximizing On-Ice Performance: Strength Training for Hockey Players

Hey and welcome to this fit mental fitness podcast today I'm talking about maximizing your performance, and especially with the strength training on under maintenance during the season. So, this is basically specifically for ice hockey players, but it's basically for any sport competitive sport, if you're doesn't matter if you are playing football, handball, basketball, you are runner and you want to incorporate strength training during the season. And I'm also talking about training principles for example, how to improve your speed how to make your shooting faster or whatever specific thing what you need to be doing in your sport so could be in a handball could be growing faster or in a eyes, okay, it's shooting faster, getting harder hits, and so there's a lot of topics for athletics so if you have any athletic friend or ice hockey player who you know that would benefit from this episode, I would really appreciate if you share this episode. So a little bit about myself. So my background I'm also I have been professionalized to be player was playing until I turn 30. Now I'm 41 so and past eight, nine years, I have been working as a fitness coach and this is ice hockey, especially something that is really close to my heart. I'm still refereeing myself in a top leagues here in Italy and Austria. But not as that it's not. It's still I'm still focusing on improving or performing on the ice and keeping it up with a younger younger players. This game is getting faster all the time. But these are basically principles what I wish I would learn already earlier and for me when I was playing, I wish most of the times I was very good at strength training during the summertime, but then when there was a hockey season, it always felt like that I barely never did it or when I did it, it was not very much and and when I was able to implement it, it my do my routine. I immediately recognized the difference. So why why this strength training and kind of working also during the season. It's so important. So for strength training part, it's It's basically your call when you're when you are if you are an athlete who is playing during the season, a lot of games and then most of the season it's basically only recovering and getting ready for two games or events and it's you don't have a lot of time to focus on improving your advice or or strength but what could make a huge difference and what made a big difference for me was to implement this one strength training so I was earlier I used to do it like especially in ice hockey when you use a lot of your legs. You are tired. It doesn't make too much sense to let's say if you have a games on Friday and Sunday to start doing Saturday, some kind of strength training as that is. That is the time when you need to be just focusing on recovery and improving your performance. But let's say that you play you play Friday, Sunday and then after Monday, Monday is your probably day off when you want to be resting. But then for example for me it was always Tuesday or Tuesday morning when I was implementing that one strength training per week. So why this is this is that it's so important like if you look your schedule to add it in some point of you're also during the season if you have obviously possibility if you play every other day, you probably don't have too much and possibilities to do it. But when you are kind of not even aiming to improve but just trying to maintain where you are. It makes such a big difference. That's how you are gaining strength. It's not only it's more about consistency for strength matters more consistency than doing it for a short period of time kind of perfectly so consistently even it's a lot less than usually just that one kind of training in a week. It helps you so much and it was for me when I was able to do it the whole season through like one kind of strength training. I will tell you a little bit more about details how to actually do it later, but it helped me like then when you start that kind of Offseason training, you don't start from you don't need to work so much to get where you are where you were like let's say usually as a hockey player. We were I wish the best tape in office obviously before you went on the ice and then it took a while after season. To get back to even close to that level where I ended up before season because I just I wasn't doing it the whole season. But when you are able to improve it like kind of aiming for to maintain what you are having. It makes such a big difference in any sport and especially in a highlight so so this is first of all, it's what it how it's helping you like goes first of all that if you want to maintain your muscle mass also during during the season that says for performance but for overall like athletic health. And it's it's it's you are also if you don't do it you are less likely to get injured. And and then like I said that that step from warping kind of from maintenance to starting to actually focus on improving your for example your speed or strength. It's so much easier when you are not starting from zero. And and also like when you are able to do it. It's it helps you to like for example with your body composition when you are maintaining your muscle mass and metabolic rate. You are getting so much more like kind of you can eat more like your metabolism is going to be higher when you are maintaining your muscle mass. And as if you are never doing it you are probably it's not going to be a lot but you are still like for me I personally I lost always some kind of muscle mass strength and it took like even you have that kind of muscle memory would help you to get back to pretty relatively quickly back to your old levels what you used to have, but let's say that for example in ice hockey, you have maybe four or five months of kind of offseason and if you broke first month to get back to level where you were you get you would get so much more advantage if you could get started where you ended up while you have been able to maintain what you had already before Before After last season. So so this is this is one of the things like that kind of for hockey players and for any other athletes is that just how to actually then implement it like and that is that is what I what I always find the hardest part like especially during the season, you know your focus is on somewhere else and you just want to perform at the best level and that but then if you didn't like it how you how you could be doing it like obviously depends on week by week. But let's say that you have easier week. One strength training is more than enough. So so this is this is and you don't need to do it a lot like let's say that in ideal cases, you broke maybe five to 10 sets per muscle group per week, but during the season if you're able to do even one or two sets per muscle group so for me it was always what I found worked best was like kind of doing sets the one set or two sets. Usually I did have two sets, but it could be just one set per muscle group. And what I recommend is using like you don't need to do like it has to be some kind of weight that it feels heavy, but you don't need to go close to your failure but just basically reminding your body that that you've got to you still need that strength and usually it gave me that feeling that you when you are when you are you have worked with your muscles like obviously even when you are tired, you are going to feel it in your performance especially not on the same day. But they after and even I was doing doing it in on game days. I if I didn't have time in the morning, I might be doing just the one set some explosive strength training so that I feel a lot better and lot stronger when I have actually when I have been doing it so so this is just the end. And I tested principles to how to actually implement it so you don't need to exhaust yourself during the season when focus is only on maintaining but says to go in to your whole body and doing one to two sets. Or I will say that one is probably two lists. But let's say the juice it's for each muscle group like exercises. It could be test that on like kind of specific exercises for your sports, or just the simple test full body workout 45 to 60 minutes or even less depending like how you are feeling but that was let's say that the I'm at the moment if I have a harder book, like games or something or I go hiking for weekend, Sunday's usually longer hike, I feel it in my legs on next day on Monday. So probably Monday. I don't want to work on my legs. I just let them recover. But then on Tuesday morning even it's still not fully recovered but that's the time for me when I hit my legs if I want to hit them because I know that later on I don't want to feel sore or or anything so this is just the ideal time is to do it like when you have you know that you have had maybe race day or you don't you know that you don't need to work like on Monday I could work still on my upper body even if my legs are tired. But then for the next week and I would work probably on on my legs on Tuesday when I'm still kind of having that kind of day off and then starting it but not making it like too much on the same day. As as this is this is strength training. It helps you to prevent that injuries. I mentioned it a little bit earlier. But when you have that it's not only it's strengthening your muscles. It's helping you those do with all kinds of connective tissues like it's the it's you can reduce the risk of common injuries like in ice hockey, it would be like a dose kind of like a chronic strain. So clean salaries are lower back pain. And this is something when you do consistently you have less pain and that that there are so many studies available what is how much how much well planned kind of strength training can decrease those likelihood of those kinds of injuries. And if you if you didn't get like that how how that strength training 10 Improve like all that. Oh, nice performance so so it's it's directly on, on better performance in your on the ice or in your sport. So if you work like I tell you a little bit later like about principles how to actually strength training for your specific sport and if you have like kind of what kind of opportunities if you don't have chance to go to gym how you can do it like with just with your bodyweight and, and but this is just that basically basically you have to find a balance kind of the between burping on that strength and also skills which are specified for your sports. And, and that is like for athletes. That string part is usually like everybody's excited to work. On their skills like for example ice hockey players, they like to shoot a lot. They like to do some skill drills. But then when it comes to strength training just like that, that's something what most of the people are not doing, but they are as they are skills which are kind of hand in hand going so you better you would see so much more benefits if you could implement only that one thing a little bit better. So like I said, this is this is a one time per week and need to now I tell you like like I said during the season. It's just one single workout. We'll do the thing to just to maintain it and feel and help you even improve your performance especially when you have a lot of games. But then you'd like what kind of exercises but I always recommend for athletes is to work like you could be doing some squats or you could be doing some like deadlifts you could be doing some bench presses or like some traditional strength exercises. Obviously those are the like kind of big three like compound exercises where you work many muscles at the same time. So if you have if you don't have too much time, I would say that those are the most beneficials but then when it comes to basically like or specific exercises, let's say for ice hockey players, you have to always think like that. What kind of what kind of how is your play sports played by for example. Nice, okay. If you do just regular squats, obviously it's in some point, it's better than nothing. But I'll tell you example, when I used to play we did it was basically bodybuilding miracles. What we were doing says the big squats deadlifts and if you look now how training is and how it should be, it's kind of more specific for sports. So if you think like strength where you need it, for example, in ice, okay, you skate you are never on two legs almost barely never. So you use only one leg at a time. So also your strength training should be focusing on just single joint exercises like one like squats one like like lateral Lance's all kinds of variations, what kind of movements you are making on the ice, and then focusing on getting stronger on those movements. What do you need and it same kind of weight with the upper body if you even you do like benchpress is a great chest exercise, but you basically never need unless you are in ICP unless you are doing some cross check where you're supposed to get probably a penalty, but you don't use both hands at the same time. So you're at our focus on on kind of like a rotational movements what you are needing for shooting for for giving a hits. And at the same time, like kind of with the single arm exercises like rows, or you can do it with the dumbbell. So you have you kind of create that strength with you know, in a movements where you actually are going to need it. So this is these are just the principles and just think, how to think what kind of exercises you should be doing. And question what I often get this that how to improve your speed and how to become faster. And this is this is also us this is very good question and most of the people think they always it's immediately it says the Sprint's that they need to be faster runner. I used to think it that way too but if you think it like how to improve your sprint refuting thing, just an example for runners, like there are two type of runners like there are sprinters or there are marathon runners and sprinters they both even both are running and they want to probably improve their speed like obviously for sprinter. Their goal is to only run 100 meters or whatever as quickly as possible then then it's done. But for marathon runners, it might be end of the marathon, the last sprint would they have to make and but obviously they look totally different. marathon runners are very thin. They are they don't have a lot of muscles. So that is not beneficial for their sport as if you have muscles. You are not you have more weight. Running for longer becomes harder and sprinters as their job is to literally test to get that 100 meters as fast as possible. So for athletes who are not like obviously if you think like I'm thinking about that as a hockey player, or or any kind of most common theme sports like you don't have to month's benefit of having too much muscle mass so that's not the goal. But if you want to improve your speed, it's combination of having that being able to create maximum power, maximum power, so your maximum strength, so and so you need also obviously to be able to create that you need that strength and then it's also it's all about that explosiveness with those Sprint's but most of the people they are missing that kind of strength part and also when they are training, they are never training with the heavyweights because there are basically in a strength training there are basically three ways how to train it like so first of all, let's first is improving your maximum strength which means that you are lifting heavy so it's up to six repetitions, usually even five I've or less repetitions and you use as heavy weights that you are feeling that you can do more than those five or six repetitions. And the principle with this principle you have to have also longer press times. And it's exactly the same thing with with explosiveness. So you need to have like, I'm talking with experience i i verb I used to play myself I tell you know quick story about example, when I was in high school we were practicing like a hockey players usually they are we were like always kind of hard working guys and looking like other sports at all. We work a lot harder than others. But then when we were trying to improve for example, our speed and we had a in high school we had a athletes who were sprinters and they were practicing they had a deep one sprint then they were resting for let's say five minutes stretching, talking. And we were like whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Without basically any race that we are good to go until you do don't you are your apprentice getting little bit better you went for the next sprint and you did it. Obviously at the same time we did a lot more Sprint's than those, those sprinters. But then now when I understand that how actually wrong be verbose, obviously it was not obviously it's not for nothing, but we were working more on kind of endurance and not actually improving your speed because it's the same thing with the maximum strength. So to be able to create that maximum strength or speed your body needs to be relatively good recovered. So for maximum strength, that's why you need like if you see if you go to the gym and you see like some guys are or women using lot of heavy weights and they are sitting there watching their phone and you might think that they are actually just lazy, but actually when you are lifting heavy you need to have at least two minutes rest and usually it by it might be even longer. So up to three, five minutes between the sets. So it goes if you don't take that rest you are not able to use that heavy beats and then you are not you are getting more out of it as you take that enough rest between the sets. And it's same thing with the speed like I was always this was for me personally I struggled the most with the speed exercises to having the enough rest because I was stimulated by the headlines to dress the two or three minutes between the sets if I do just some one sprint or or 1015 books jumps how why I should be resting three minutes. But if I don't go to you are even I wouldn't be able to do it. It's not I'm not working on my maximum strength. So if I if I you could you can try this if you want that if you do just some like long champ like as far as you can go. You don't feel the difference, but I see it every time when we do some tests and you don't take obviously it says the one time but you are not if you don't take enough rest you rest like let's say 30 seconds. You are not going to get even close to that same as far as with the thirst one, unless you rest at least that three minutes in between because your body is not able to fall, provide that all created same explosiveness and same force and that's why if you want to increase your maximum speed, you have to take that longer rest in between and that was something what I what I struggled personally was I was kind of chasing the feeling to being tired or feeling that I have done the workout goes when you are up on maximum strength or maximum speed. It's not that suit not feel that you are exhausted. Like especially with the maximum strength. It's often like that during the workout you feel that you are doing kind of to less and you should be doing a lot more because you don't get that same kind of feeling. When you are working like a heart and without almost any rest and you feel like it now you have done something and when you do maximum strength workout, you don't feel that exhausted during the exercise but I'll trust me after workout you will feel it and you will get a lot more out of it when you are able to use those heavier weights or you are able to actually perform those speed exercises with the maximum effort. So this is basically how to improve your maximum strength. It's it's obviously you could be using specific exercises. What I like to use especially for ice hockey players like doing like because there is a two different like you could be calling goes You are usually you are able to go down like kind of it's called eccentric phase. When you are going let's say squats you are going down because that you can always use a little bit more weight as that is always stronger, but then to come up you are not able to use the same power or same strength and for maximum strength like that I always try to go that try to go slowly down like that extended face and then as fast as quickly as you can up so that concentric phase should be some explosive. And it's not that you don't need to go. If you're an athlete, you don't need to go up to that you know you can't make it any more that you you have to be more focused on that fast but you can display you can when you go down that takes in the face, you can increase the total volume or total time under tension while you are slowing down when you go down and that during that extended face or obviously it's it could be going up depending on exercise too. Bad. Just as many people are not familiar with those kinds of fitness phases eccentric and concentric concentric phases. So I try to use more like a kind of language that everybody understands. So this is basically principle of improving your speed. So it's combination about being able to create that force to maximum strength and then that explosiveness which could be exams and important with this is that rest time in between. So you need to have I would say two to five minute rest between the sets. And in most cases I use always something like maybe three minutes as that is something in between, but it could be longer Sodor I would not recommend maybe some cases depending on exercises if you're if you're two minutes, but then never under that coach if you even you feel like you are able to do it you are not working anymore force maximum strength so it but you are working more kind of conditioning or endurance. And this is test the principles and thinking if you choose exercises, you can always always think about what kind of movements you need, for example, like okay, it could be one single leg, Bulgarian squats, single leg like lateral lunges, or kind of movements or reverse lunges, what you would be what you are kind of similar exercises what you are doing but especially if you do maximum strength, let's say five repetitions or three repetitions, you would be doing sets the also do like squats for example for legs or bench presses as as if you do this. It's a lot harder to do with some dumbbells or you don't often have possibility to use enough heavy weights. So then, then, about that speed part. It could be like usually those exercises like kind of Hawaii, let's say during the season obviously you could be doing little bit of both as this is studied. That is a maintenance phase. And you don't you can't repair your eyes too much. But it could be just one let's say examples of leg strength improving your speed could be it's as the three four sets of three to five repetitions like exercises like squats, Bulgarian split squats, and then after do it some kind of explosive things like skating jumps, box jumps. kettlebell swings are something where you are really like kind of going fast and usually those repetitions be able to be not more I would not recommend to do more than 15 but that says that it's it's a weekly fast adaptation for that what your cause your body will always remember that what you do in the end so so you will increase that your strength now. So then, about principles of for offseason if your goal is to improve your let's say speed how to do it or or overall athletic performance. So this is something like what I what I kind of I never paradise, my workouts when I was playing myself I wish I learned it faster. But now most often you have many goals and this is not only for athletes. This is for every people. Basically it is like you might have different goals like to get stronger, improve your endurance, improve your speed, improve your athletic performance, or like several different goals. And the problem is that if you kind of try to do everything at the same time, you are not getting you it's they are so counteractive recent polls like improving your endurance, improving your speed or improving your maximum strength like they are they are not you are not going to you can get all those results. But the most optimal way is that because let's say that your goal is to improve your endurance and your maximum your speed. So, how to improve your endurance so you are doing like a lot of higher volumes. Like repetitions like strength endurance, you work around 50 repetitions, 1520 repetitions, or movements and then improving your strength maximum strength. It's like up to five six repetitions maximum and you are not if you try to do them at the same time. It's your body doesn't know what you are actually trying to improve. So here comes barrier and says what is the most important than that? There is something in one of my programs. What I have in my apps is called Fit meter performance. And I'm sharing these principles says that what I'm using so first month is like for example improving your speed. It could be or it could it could be depending on obviously of your offseason it could be three weeks or two to three weeks focusing just on maximum strength. So you are you are really trying to building that maximum strength. And then for the next three weeks, you focus for example on building like that strength with you like for your specific sport, like for example like okay, it would be creating like kind of all kinds of movements, shorting, escaping from shorting that kind of like a moldy, moldy planter or strength, how to call it like for example with examples that you get the point is like, for example, lunch reverse lands with some kind of shooting so that you are skating and shooting like so that kind of exercises, or doing one leg deadlifts or one leg cleans. So this kind of light that you use your whole body to create that strength. So that's how this is kind of or using like some rotational lunches or or focusing on just the movements what you are meaning like a rotational core strength for ice hockey players for shooting or for hitting and explosive like this is this is basically often the second phase what could be another trade we extend for next week when you have kind of created that foundation that you're you are improving your maximum strength. You are improving that overall strength in all kinds of movements what you are going to need, the next phase would be the focusing on that kind of explosive strength adaptation. So that's the time when you do then kind of like those focusing on those jumps, explosive exercises, or or snap C's or that kind of like really quick strength exercises. And this is also another Facebook you could be doing like depending obviously again of your offseason, but when not to three weeks and then let's say that month four would be 10 to focusing on strength, strength, durability or endurance and that is tablespoon TimesTen to do those kinds of exercises with for example some syrup with circuits with with interval sprints or you could be doing some kind of strength training like with just with the time like squats for 40 seconds, pull ups 30 seconds, push ups for 45 seconds, that kind of served with this often what I use, for example in my programs, and then in addition, some kind of interval training for 1515 minutes where you are doing 32nd sprints and then having a kind of rest in between and repeating it for six to 10 times. So you get your heartbeat up. You have that kind of that strength endurance where you work as fast as you can for short periods of time for and this kind of this type of periodization for your workouts. You can get all results so you are getting all your goals, different goals, but you don't do it. You don't focus on trying to do them. Like all at the same time. So it goes if you try to do at the same time and you focus on testing one day maximum strength next day you are doing interval training next day something else so this way you put the focus and your buddy knows that Okay, now we are actually improving our maximum strength. Now we are focusing on endurance because those are very competitive signals to your body. That's why it's a lot lot better to focus only on one thing at a time. So this is just a little bit of background what to how to actually build your strength training programs, how to where to focus it on during the season, after season. And obviously like during the season or during the maintenance phase you could be focusing on for example, just one thing, not trying to kind of trying to do everything or just simply focusing on maintaining your muscles and that could be just one workout per week, that obviously that could be focusing on. For example if your goal is to improve your shooting then it would be focusing on on one thing and obviously during the season if you if it's not affecting to your performance, you could be adding these principles like what I just said for offseason but for example for one thing, for example for your upper body strength if you feel like that, that's not affecting for your performance, you could be focusing on improving your shooting muscles by this way. So this is all about like I could do so many examples but as this is very individual depending on your goals, but this is how you are actually what kind of like hopefully understanding like posting those extra programs how to create that is so much individual and like I said I have in my membership coaching principles, how to do it, how to actually do it, what type of exercises and then if you need a specific thing, these exercises for your specific situation then it's all about individualizing those exercises what you are needing. So then a little bit that's what I what I wanted to talk still before ending up this is is Porto shooting. So for upper body strength. So this is again like I already mentioned it, i It's all about those principles, things like thinking choosing those exercises, what kind of exercises you need. And then like for ice hockey for example or many sports like things like what kind of movements you are needing and then finding some kind of resistance. Obviously it could be using some dance it could be using some gables it could be using some weights or ball or or it doesn't matter some that there is some kind of resistance and then principles like obviously for example core strength. It's all about like what is very important and often people are not doing it enough is kind of like if you think that where your core is like obviously you need that explosiveness for to use your core. But most of the most of the time your core the job of the core is just to hold your body together so you are not you are not like an often you use it let's say that you are using you are doing some squats. You are already using your core. But so then you don't necessarily need so much that Kolberg but then obviously exercises like planks, which are each symmetric exercises that you are holding your body without trying to that it's kind of resisting that strength. So planks, side planks, then those kinds of like a pillow pillow of how to shape tallow for things like where you are holding a cable you don't move your body you are just trying to hold that exercise. So or you might be moving your hands just from front to outside of your chest back says holding your core so that it's changing little bit that point but pal off press is the exercise I just got the name what was out most of the people are calling in so So these kinds of exercises are improving your core strength and what is that actually that function of core is holding and keeping your body together and then when you are already you have put that kind of exercise extending it like your specific sport, what kind of movements you need because as you see if you look at internet you see some lot of AP exercises which are then basically just some grantees or or something but what kind of movements you are making. So so this is this comes that kind of specificity PCs and for your sports that both kind of movements you are making on the ice or what your goal is if it's improving your shooting or or hitting. So it's all kinds of rotational movements and also those asymmetric holes. So this is just the principles for how to improve for example, upper body, your shooting and what kind of things you could be doing. Then it's it's lasting. What I wanted to talk is a little bit about finding that kind of balance on that oni skills training with off ice training and conditioning. So think it think it like that you if you like I said you gotta have ideally you have both of them, but they need like a look, your training schedule, what kind of opportunities you have, if you let's say that if I know that I'm I'm an ice hockey player, I work on my skills like I have just my hand skill. I probably don't want to do really hard upper body workout, but if I know that, or after games, I don't want to if I want to my legs to recover I probably don't want to do heavy squats on the very next day when they should be recovering. So it's all all about finding balance, when to do what to do. And as a principle, just one thing like don't think that you have to work out lipo the gym three times a week. If during the season, you make it as a priority to do it. Two sets per muscle group per week. So it doesn't matter how you divide it. You could be doing two sets for legs on Tuesday two sets for test back on Wednesday two sets for golf and Okay, bicep triceps, that kind of shoulders exercises on so on the next day so think that it's it's if you get those two sets per week, per muscle group, you are on a maintenance phase and how you are going to divide it like I divide my workouts they are because of scheduling. I might be doing two days two sets in the morning 10 minutes, two sets or not another 1015 minutes in afternoon next day again, so I try to keep it doing it. All the time little bit what is possible and not sustain it. I gotta find a perfect time to do everything and even some weeks. I miss it. It doesn't it's not that big deal because there is still that consistency is there and and it's not about perfection. So that was episode. Obviously what helps you what I wanted to mention last week episode was all about nutrition and recovery in strength training and that I have full episode about nutrition. That's my previous podcast episode so check that out. If you post that is Resting, resting that nutrition part that makes such a big difference that I can't emphasize it too much. I personally didn't take care of it too much. And now when I do and I'm even I'm not to battle it anymore. I feel so much different than I did more out of my workout. So i i gotta say that at this point when I was younger, I love to work harder, hard, but now I have I get better results by working smarter. And when I take care of nutrition, take care of rest and all that kind of things while still being able to enjoy life. So so that nutrition part it makes such a big difference. So you could be practicing perfectly if your nutrition and rest is not where it should be. You are not going to see results but you will see if you kind of get everything not perfectly, but even a little bit better and improving. So that was the episode for today. If you have any questions, feel free to email me Turo at fit me turo.com or shoot me a DM in my instagram at personal trainer. Turo and I hope you enjoyed the episode. If you did, please share it with one of your friends or in your Instagram story. So thank you for listening talk to you soon.