Christmas is coming, snow is falling, the calendar is about to turn over and the hockey season is halfway done!
For many teams and many hockey players, this is the make or break time. The playoff push. The chance to achieve personal goals by the end of the year. The time of year when we show what we’re made of.
The problem for many hockey players and by extension their team, is they have been riding high on the hard work they did in the summer months to get stronger, faster and more powerful. Why is this a problem? Well the training effect they had worked so hard to achieve, are starting to wear off.
Hockey is a speed, power and skill game. Practice and games are taking care of the skill part (and most likely conditioning), but what about the speed and power? For that you need to be in the gym!
Speed/power training effects diminish in as little as 5 days in developmental athletes when not directly targeted.
The problem is many players and coaches will prioritize a third practice, or a skating session over time in the gym. Coach will claim the team looked tired during their 3 games in 4 days and order an extra bout of skating to improve their conditioning. Players will do bonus work on their shot because it has lost some zip.
All of these extras are trying to fix a problem using the wrong tool.
You’re more tired because you are working harder to win battles and races than you did at the beginning of the season since you’re power has decreased.
You didn’t forget how to shoot. Your shot doesn’t have zip on it because you are weaker!
How long does your training last?
The longest lasting training effect is aerobic, or often lumped into “conditioning.” This can stay trained for months before seeing significant drop. It is also the easiest quality to train with only 1-2 sessions 30 minutes of movement per week. This bucket is most likely being filled in practice and other activities.
Next is strength. Strength can last for 1-3 months depending on the athlete’s training age and level. Strength is huge for hockey players who spend significant time battling in front of the net, or on the boards. If you are stronger than the other player, you don’t have to work as hard and get less tired. This is why we usually see a drop in performance related to strength around the holidays, about 3 months from the start of the season.
Finally, the fastest to decrease in developmental athletes is speed/power. We aren’t talking months or weeks, but days! 5-7 days is enough to see a drop in power and speed output if it’s not DIRECTLY trained. Again, if your top speed drops by 2% then you are now working 2% harder to win a race, OR not winning the race. If your leg power decreases, you look like you have less POP in your stride, and appear more sluggish. These all can be interpreted as “conditioning” problems, but actually represent a lack of specific training stimulus.
How Should Hockey Players Train In-Season?
At Prototype Sports Performance we lean on our mantra of “Smart Hard Work > Dumb Hard Work.”
This mindset becomes even more important in-season for hockey players. The competing priorities of games, practices, school and life mean our gym time has to be used in the most effective and efficient way possible. The key is to chase stimulus, NOT fatigue.
In the strength and conditioning world we say “any idiot can make somebody tired.”
Endless high volume circuits, prowlers and assault bikes, might leave the players a sweaty mess that looks like good work to the untrained eye, or eager parents. Chances are however, they are being done at the expense of true power and speed training, which does not get expressed in a fatigued state.
So what’s the answer? Keep the main thing, the main thing; and don’t measure a training session by “how hard” it is, how much you sweat, or how sore you are.
In season you should aim for between 1-3 training sessions per week, preferably designed for you individually considering your needs, schedule and any injuries. Your sessions should contain a combination of mobility/stability, speed specific work, power development and base level strength.
How much of each and which modalities you use depends on the individual and your situation. So your best bet is to seek out a qualified strength and conditioning coach. If you are in the Oakville, Mississauga area we would love to sit down and have a conversation with you about how you can maximize your in-season training. You can contact us here and set up a free introduction.
