How long can a NHL player survive in the league without training?

[robertmac43]

High-end elite talent would be able to keep up for a long time i imagine.

 

[Mattb124]

If you’re lifting heavy you absolutely still get sore, that’s silly talk. They’re also definitely not lifting the day of a game, so that daily thing is out the window anyways.

Again, that’s why I think it comes down to defining training.

I just listened to an excerpt from a Huberman Labs podcast, and he mentioned that doing higher weight/lower rep strength training results in a significant decrease in muscle soreness, which aligns with my personal experience.

 

[pezpunk]

this question has already been answered:

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/o/ovechal01.html

 

[God]

this question has already been answered:

Alex Ovechkin Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Title | Hockey-Reference.com

Checkout the latest stats of Alex Ovechkin. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, trade, draft and more on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

this guy was slamming back three beers at a high end japanese restaurant in van the day before playing the canucks. absolute legend.

 

[ijuka]

During the NHL seasons, your matches are your training. A player can't be doing weightlifting which might require a week of recovery when they need to play every two days.

During the offseason, they're expected to train, yes.

 

[HighLifeManIsHigh]

Dustin Byfuglien played at a high level for a long time and I don’t think that guy ever entered a gym in his life

 

[Jack Spider]

There's really something about missing your perfect morning routine. Went for a 13 km run on a monday night and I felt like an old man for the week,

 

[bigdog16]

Depends what you mean by “train”. The training they do in-season is moreso just maintenance; biking, plyos, very light weight training if any at all.

As many have said its a case by case basis but for the high end guys it would take a couple of seasons to really notice any difference in play.

 

[Rec T]

Age of the player also comes into it. Youthful energy really is a thing. Someone in their early-mid twenties will be able to go longer without much additional training/exercise. A vet in his mid thirties would probably fall off a cliff if all he did was go out on the ice & play.

That all presumes of course that the players in question had the skills/hands/iq to continue playing at the highest level while letting their body coast.

 

[abax44]

During the NHL seasons, your matches are your training. A player can't be doing weightlifting which might require a week of recovery when they need to play every two days.

During the offseason, they're expected to train, yes.

If you're taking a week to recover, you might be overtraining... just a little.

 

[Norwegianoiler]

For what it's worth, soccer player Ledley King played years for Tottenham in the English Premier League without training due to a chronic knee injury. He was still a very effective player and played at a very high level despite practically not partaking in practice at all, but merely exercised to alleviate pain.

Ledley King - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Jack Spider]

hah

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Kovalev made it 1300 games so....

 

[Golden_Jet]

Could go the rest of the season, but could not miss their summer training for the following season.

 

[HockeyVirus]

2) My understanding is that’s kinda the norm during the season? You bulk up during the offseason and build the body you want, then games and practice take so much outta you that there’s no other training. Would be tough to do any regular weight training with that schedule. No biking or cardio? I feel like you’d have to replace that with more skating during practice or somethin.

So muscles are actually an incredibly efficient thing. The latest literature suggests someone who lifts and trains regularly and stopped 100% would only be able to noticeably lose any muscle mass through lab tests (not visibly) after about 3 weeks. After about 3 months strength and size noticeably go down.

However the key is that muscle memory is scientifically a very real thing. The hard process is building the muscle cells, but when you stop lifting they don't go away. So someone who has trained their body to a high level, even a decade after not lifting and very quickly progress back to where they stopped, I am talking in 3 months of training.

Now in the context of hockey. The above assumes you go from training to couch potato. The players obviously are very much still using their muscles in season. My guess would be throughout the season, muscle loss on these athletes eating properly is almost undetectable outside of some medical scans.

When the offseason hits, they would be able to resume training and be hitting their top numbers within a month despite maybe not performing the lifts with frequency all year. So I believe atheletes would be able to maintain their levels so long as they put in the offseason work.

NOW: In the real world players do not simply stop lifting for a year. Instead, they often deload weights by 20% or more of their normal lifts. The main focus for athletes is limiting overall systemic fatigue. Pushing for PRs on offdays is not happening.

These deload sessions ensure minimal muscle loss throughout the season without adding too much to the overall total training volume. They also are not something super strict either, they happen when the opportunity is there during times of rest.

 

[TGWL]

Most aren't doing heavy weight training during the season if that's what you're asking. They do more of a lighter workout, and lose weight during the season. That's why the offseason is so important for some to gain at much muscle as possible, and work on balance to prepare to be in the best condition as for when the season starts. Typically through-out the season the workouts become lighter and less about just weight training.

Mackinnon is one of those players that probably needs train in the offseason to stay in peek performance shape. While others like Karlsson can lay back and just show up to camp without skipping a beat.

Spoiler: From a Strength and Conditioning coach.

One of the most difficult things to do as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in professional hockey is plan in-season workouts. The regular season schedule starts in October and ends in April. There are 82 games on the schedule with half of them being played at home and the other half of them being played on the road. Also, back to back games are a normal occurrence in the NHL.

The challenge of designing in-season workouts is figuring out when we are going to get our lifts in. One thing do is lift immediately after games (this is in addition to sometimes lifting on practice days). These types of workouts will always take place when we play at home where we have an adequate facility. Is it the most optimal situation for continuing to build or, dare I say it, maintain strength? I would say probably not. Unfortunately, the demands of an NHL season are too strenuous to have our players make strength gains. Ultimately, I've learned that the NHL season is a hectic season to prepare workouts for.

Recently, I had a discussion with another NHL Strength and Conditioning Coach about in-season training. In his opinion, “if his guys have the energy left after games to go and lift, then they didn't really work hard in the game.” Therefore, his team does not workout after games. Instead, they will lift on practice days. I do not agree with this philosophy. Here's why. In the NHL season, practice takes place on the days in between games. For example, a team may play on a Monday night, practice Tuesday, and play again Wednesday night. This Strength and Conditioning Coach would have his players lift on Tuesday, the day before a game. In my opinion, Tuesday should be a rest day from the weight room giving us the opportunity to recover prior to Wednesday's game. The last thing I want is for our guys to feel tired or sore on game day. The most important thing that we want is for our players to be as fresh as possible when the puck drops.

When it comes to our in-season program, something is always better than nothing. What kind of workouts do we do? It depends on what part of the season we are in. At the beginning of the season, we may be in the weight room for a longer period of time. Our volume in terms of number of exercises, sets, and reps, is up. We are trying to hang on to the gains that our players made in the off-season for as long as we can. Exercises such as the DB Snatch, Front Squat, Bench Press, Weighted Pull Ups, and Straight Leg Deadlifts, are all implemented at the beginning of the season.
After about 2 months, we will then switch into more circuit-based workouts. These types of workouts consist of doing less volume but perform these exercises in a successive fashion to help our guys get in and out of the weight room as quickly as possible. Additionally, at this time we will discontinue double leg squatting for the rest of the season. This is to alleviate any low back stress during the course of the season. Instead, we will supplement more single-leg squatting. One of the most important aspects is making these workouts quick. Circuit based training allows our guys to get in and get out as quickly as possible.

Usually after the New Year, we will switch the program again to do some more body weight exercises. I have found that we always take an extended road trip (up to 2 weeks) at this time in the season where we don't get many workouts in due to inadequate facilities and schedule demands. When we return from one of these trips, I've found it difficult to administer higher intensity exercises (higher load on the bar), especially for the legs without inducing soreness. Here we will sometimes do body weight, dumbbells, and/or weight vests where the volume may be lower in sets, but maybe higher in reps. For example, exercises such as Pull Ups, Push Ups, Single Leg Squats, Slideboard Split Squats, or Kettlebell Swings will all be included. Usually 1-2 sets of 10 reps, and max number of reps for pushups and pull ups. Again, the importance is for our players to get in and work and then get out and recover.
I ask a lot of players when it comes to in-season training, especially after games. As the season goes on, the workouts may actually get easier as I tend to decrease the intensity. However, we will continue to lift all the way to the season's end. It is my belief that if we continue to train then we will be stronger than our opponent towards the end of the season and in the playoffs.

Here is an example of a 3-Day In-Season program that we will do later on in the season:

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3
(After 1st game of week)	(After 2nd game of week)	(After 3rd game of week)
DB Snatch- 3x5ea. Arm	DB Jumps- 2x10	-Circuit- x2 each
Pair with Hip Flexor Stretch	Pair with Squat Stretch
		Bosu Push Up- x15
-Circuit- x2 each	-Circuit- x2 each
Medicine Ball Slideboard	DB Incline Press- x8	1-Leg Box Squat- x10ea.
Split Squat- x10ea.
	Ball Leg Curl- x10	Wheel Roll Out- x12
Chin Up- x8
	Kettlebell Slideboard	Pull Up- x8
Bench Press- x8	Split Squat- x10ea.
		Weighted Supine Hip
Kettlebell 1-Leg SLDL- x8ea.	TRX Row- x15	Extension- x12
Cable Shoulder External	Kneeling Cable/Band	YTWL- x12ea.
Rotation- x10ea.	Push Away- x10ea.

 

[93gilmour93]

 

[MrKabukiman]

Laine and EP were my first thoughts. But even the lamest new school players are constantly in the gym.

Really Phil Kessel was the last of the old guard who got away with not taking fitness seriously

+1 on Phil Kessel. I remember when he skated with some AHL players last year, considering a comeback. He was gassed.

 

[miscs75]

Quite a few years. He’s the epitome of that guy who shows up, is naturally gifted and gives no F’s about anything.