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Strength and Power for Hockey Performance

By Peter Twist, MSc, BPE, CSCS
President & CEO, Twist Conditioning Inc.
www.sportconditioning.ca
Conditioning Consultant and Exercise Physiologist, Vancouver Canucks

Today’s players are continually becoming bigger, stronger, faster, more agile with greater skills, forcing competitors to do the same. The world’s best athletes look to exploit everything within their control to gain a competitive edge.

If players hope to optimize their sport technique and game performance, they must first develop the physical tools that will allow them to benefit from the on-ice coaching they receive. Repetitive skill rehearsal in absence of the very physical tools that are drawn upon for skill execution will generate few results. The foundation for all components of player development is strength and power.

Players realize their true potential in skating, checking, shooting, speed, quickness, agility and other skills only if they have developed an athletic base of strength. Hockey players don't want to be big and slow – rather strong, fast and athletic is the goal.

The main Twist rule is to “train movement not muscles”. Adopt a more athletic style of lifting which involves full body multi joint exercises. Do not rely on weight stack machines or body building techniques – both build ‘big dumb muscles’ which look good but take away from athletic movement. Use dumbbells, Olympic bars, strength tubing, stability balls, medicine balls and balance boards and PowerSkaters. These will link your body parts together and help transfer power through the body. For chest, shoulder or back exercises, first load the legs, then transfer movement through a legs-hips-core-upper body sequence. Watch a Markus Naslund wrist shot and you will understand!

Add exercises that mimic hockey movement patterns. First target strength with controlled tempo lifts. Next focus on explosive power and initiating movement quickly. It is most important to strength train in a standing position. Include single leg and instability (balance) strength exercises. Your goal is to be strong on your skates, not strong lying down on a bench press! Train like an athlete and your efforts will transfer onto the ice and into your game!

For more information on hockey conditioning, visit www.sportconditioning.ca