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Single Leg Balance Training

By Peter Twist, MSc BPE CSCS SCS PTS

On the ice you are reliant on balancing on one leg over 80 % of the time, and accomplish this feat on a thin blade on slippery ice. Players need balance during all kinds of body positions. Certainly balance is important during forwards and backwards skating, but it becomes critical during direction changes, cornering and cross overs. Changing directions, body mechanics, skill integration and positioning is a continual sequence of events. And each one is completely unpredictable, as events on the ice change suddenly.

Dynamic balance is the common bond to performance, and is an important foundation that all other training builds from.

To add to the challenge, your most important feats of strength and balance will be required in unstable, combative situations such as withstanding a check while driving to the net, or cycling in the corner and protecting the puck under tight check. Completing single leg balance exercises such as the 1 leg jump and land, sticking the landing with whole body stability, helps link balance and power in a deep single leg position.

Ready Position

Balance training helps you ‘tune up’ your body, ensuring you have equal strength and reactivity on both sides of the body. If a defenceman is gliding backwards but has 60% of her weight on the right leg, if she must open up to transition to forwards in order to angle off a forward skating to her right, the d-man must first shift weight to her left leg to load up the leg she needs to push off of. This produces a critical delay which translates into losing key 1-on-1 battles. Balance training on an Extreme Balance Board equals out weight distribution ensuring both legs are equal in their readiness and abilities. A quick drop to tuck hold on the Extreme Balance board focuses on stopping strength and dropping into a balanced ready position.

The exciting part is that balance is both highly trainable and a lot of fun – especially for athletes, because the exercises draw upon a lot of athleticism. Most athletes find them a stimulating challenge. Your body contains receptors and mini brains to report on your body’s position, letting your brain know what each arm and leg is doing. When body parts change position, the information is detected and sent to the brain, which acts like a computer to determine what movement is needed to select a more advantageous body position.

Your perfect point of balance is your perfect point of power. The key to single leg balance is being able to transfer your center of gravity overtop your base of support – which may be only one leg. This would require perfect positioning. You don’t want to have to think this through on the ice – it needs to be automatic. Dynamic single leg exercises on the Bosu Balance Trainer provide a controlled challenge for single leg drills. We like two hockey specific independent leg drills. The first is a 1 leg jump and switch exercise, jumping atop a Bosu from L to R legs, landing in a partial squat. The second is a lateral loading, jumping from one Bosu to another, pushing off the L leg, landing and balancing on the R, hold 3 seconds, then push off back in the opposite direction to land on the L leg. This replicates the angles of push needed on the ice during stride mechanics and lateral movement.

You should perform several balance exercises in a row so you also work on balance under fatigue, when you do not think as clearly and coordination is impeded. Cycling through several balance exercises before resting is a great way to improve balance, leg endurance and coordination under fatigue. Begin with 3 sets of 10 reps followed by 30 seconds rest between sets. Over several work out days, progressively decrease the rest time between sets until you can complete the 4 exercises with no rest. At this point, rest 1 minute then repeat the 4 exercise superset. Build up to 4 supersets, with no rest between exercises, 1 minute rest between superset cycles.

Always focus first on “sticking” your landing in a deep position before powering off another rep. Allow a 3 second hold phase, fighting to retain balance. This is a key phase to improve balance and also has safety rationale.

The ability to control the body and re-gain control after contact is a huge edge. Ultimately, better balance provides more confidence to attack drills and exercises, gaining more from them, knowing there is greater body control. Players will get more aggressive on skill drills, jumping into them with more speed, with the practiced ability to retain their balance and assurance they can recover if they get off-balance. The single leg balance drills best transfer to the ice, improving joint reactivity and durability for injury prevention and fine tuned performance for greater success and enjoyment in games.

Peter Twist
Twist Conditioning Inc
www.sportconditioning.ca