Sports Hockey

Hockey is a game of power, speed, balance and puck control, but moreover, it is a game of mental and physical toughness. To compete effectively in such a physically demanding sport, hockey players need to be in the best possible shape. All of the Chelsea Piers BlueStreak programs use patented Athletic Republic protocols that generate measurable results. Many of the world’s top professional and elite athletes have benefited from these programs.

Now you can train like a pro. Our Acceleration program will increase your acceleration, speed and agility – all critical for being at the top of your game – but our hockey-specific Acceleration and Skills program is ideal for the serious athlete intent on gaining an edge in every aspect of the game. Between skills drills on our synthetic ice and skating on our skating treadmill, a hockey player spends 60% of his or her time in our Acceleration and Skills program in skates.

Below is a detailed overview of our hockey-based programs:

Objectives

Components of Hockey Training

Dynamic Warm-up/Cool-down

• Dynamic warm-up consists of activities to increase heart rate, blood flow, muscle temperature, and breathing rate. Warming up allows muscles to stretch more easily and joints to move more easily, thereby preventing pulling muscles, including hamstring and quadriceps.
• Cooling down ensures athletes relax their muscles and reduce next-day soreness.

Speed Training

• Players skate on the skating treadmill using their own skates. The Athletic Republic skating treadmill can reach speeds of 16 miles an hour and an incline grade of 32 degrees.
• Players are taught proper stride mechanics at high speeds. Stride efficiency and power make a faster, quicker skater.
• Players also learn visually by seeing themselves in a mirror and by using Dartfish video motion analysis – something skaters cannot get on the ice.

Strength Training

• Hockey is a fast-paced game of finesse where the strongest players come out on top. Stronger players are faster and not as easily knocked off the puck. A sound weight-training program promotes stability and reduces the risk of injury.
• Strength training emphasizes lower body power in particular, with the development of hockey-specific gains to the hip region and explosive single-legged power.
• Hockey players utilize bodyweight, free-weights, medicine balls, and circuits on state-of-the-art FreeMotion machines to strengthen muscles, joints and connective tissues.
• Exercises are biomechanically specific to hockey, including muscle movements used in shooting, passing and goaltending.

Cardiovascular/Endurance Training

• Typically, the body takes anywhere from five to seven minutes to reach a comfortable cardiovascular output after the rise in heart rate. Because a hockey game lasts over an hour, with high-intensity, full-ice sprints, the body works in both the anaerobic and aerobic modes throughout the game.
• Cardiovascular and endurance training at Chelsea Piers BlueStreak includes short interval/high intensity sprinting sequences on our skating treadmill. By using the same energy systems and tactical movements utilized in a regulation hockey game, athletes become fitter and faster.

Plyometric Training

• Plyometric training is a very effective form of power training ideally suited to hockey. Hockey players perform specific plyometric drills for increased motor performance (coordination), explosive power, vertical jump height, lateral power and rotation, and landing strength.
• Plyometrics combines elements of both speed and strength in single movement patterns that include the Athletic Republic PlyoPress, cord technology, longitudinal and vertical jumps, box jumps, and medicine ball drills for upper body and middle body torso power.

Flexibility

• Hockey specific flexibility stretching exercises including static stretching, isometric stretching, and active isolated stretching (AIS). Improved flexibility helps to prevent injuries in assuring the muscles and tendons work together properly.

Dynamic Balance

• Hockey is a game that is constantly being played off-balance. Hockey players perform a series of balance-specific exercises to strengthen their stabilizing muscles and allow for better muscular synergy and joint control.
• Training routines include unstable and stable lifts, dynamic balance movements with the Bosu ball, and a variety of off-balance workouts.

Agility

• In an average hockey shift, a player changes direction 50-60 times. In order to improve agility skills, athletes learn a variety of agility drills, including advanced ground based agility patterns and a speed agility ladder.
• Ground-based agility patterns are conducted on our indoor Field Turf, 400M track, sand pit and wood courts.

Core Stabilization Training

• Core stabilization is essential for proper posture, balance and stabilization. Functional exercises focus on spinal stabilization and increased proprioception (the ability to read and respond to changing conditions) during sports activities.
• Core training consists of dynamic, multi-joint exercises that use free weights, medicine balls and FreeMotion circuit training.

Skill Development

(This component is part of the Acceleration & Skills program.)

• Skill Development workouts include various drills that focus on stick handling, shooting, off-balance accuracy, soft hands, passing, toe drags, dekes, shooting technique and power, obstacle stick handling, puck control, and goalie skills.
• Impress your coach this upcoming season with improved stick handling, better overall command on the puck and greater puck awareness so you can control the tempo of the game.