how to get in shape for hockey

[Nose Face Killah]

i just don't know how to gain stamina. i've tried sprints but i just don't see an improvement. what should i do?

 

[Audi*]

I just started playing this season so take my advice with a grain of salt but...

Improving your skating is probably the best way. I find that i get tired quick because I don't skate as efficiently as people starting playing a hockey a long time ago.

I know some dudes who can literally stay on the ice an entire period when we have a short bench and not be gassed.. but i can barely go a full shift. I think it's all about the amount of effort you have to use to skate.

You can be the best sprinter on the ground.. (i'm a good cycler, long distance, short sprints, etc.) yet on the ice I feel it didn't translate much at all. when i'm cycling I can keep my heart rate high no problem and keep on truckin.. but on the ice. no chance, i may as well be a pylon.

So in short... become a better skater

 

[Hyzer]

i just don't know how to gain stamina. i've tried sprints but i just don't see an improvement. what should i do?

do HIIT with some endurance training mixed in.

HIIT is sprinting for a short time, then recovering. Usually it is something like 10s sprint, followed by 45s jog for beginners. This helps you gain your explosiveness and prepares your body for the periods where you exert yourself (super hard skating) then kind of rest where you glide around the ice.

also just running is useful for endurance wise, helps increase your amount of energy you have before you get tired and increases stamina

 

[mikitas donut]

HIIT is a great idea. I do this on bike and it helps a lot.

I just started playing this season so take my advice with a grain of salt but...

Improving your skating is probably the best way. I find that i get tired quick because I don't skate as efficiently as people starting playing a hockey a long time ago.

I know some dudes who can literally stay on the ice an entire period when we have a short bench and not be gassed.. but i can barely go a full shift. I think it's all about the amount of effort you have to use to skate.

You can be the best sprinter on the ground.. (i'm a good cycler, long distance, short sprints, etc.) yet on the ice I feel it didn't translate much at all. when i'm cycling I can keep my heart rate high no problem and keep on truckin.. but on the ice. no chance, i may as well be a pylon.

So in short... become a better skater

To add to this, having good positioning as well as good skating technique. I've played against fat guys that never seem tired because they skate well, are always in the right position and pick their moments to skate hard. Picking your moments is especially important in short-benched games. No use skating like a chicken with your head cut off and wasting energy. Skate hard, but with a purpose.

 

[#66]

Run.... Uphill if you can or for fun find a foot hockey game. I know skaters that look don on foot hockey but its great for getting in shape.

Plus the biggest thing... it forces you to move your feet and hands at the same time.

 

[Sitka]

This is how I train for my men's senior (competitive) team.

a) During the month's before the league starts, I focus on strength and power. This means lots of squats and lots of deadlifts. Ideally you should be squatting one and half times your body weight, and deadlifting twice your weight. If you don't currently do them, check out Starting Strength by Rippetoe.

b) About two months before the season starts, I start working on my anaerobic capacity. I generally do about 30 minutes of Fartlek training (think 1:00 minute of sprints followed by 2:00 minutes of slow jogging). I follow this up with about 1km of lunges (hammering your thighs over and over again).

c) Once a week, I do about an hour and a half of LSD training to work on my aerobic conditioning. I usually do this on a bike, keeping my heartrate at about 70% of it's maximum for the entire time.

Basically it works out like this:
Monday: Gym
Tuesday: Anaerobic
Wednesday: Gym
Thursday: Anaerobic
Friday: Gym
Saturday: Aerobic
Sunday: Rest

If I play hockey, I'll skip a non-lifting workout.

This is what works for me, but there probably is no science behind it.

 

[VaughanBender72]

i just don't know how to gain stamina. i've tried sprints but i just don't see an improvement. what should i do?

you need to start jogging. nothing will increase overall endurance the same way running does. try to jog 2km. if you can't jog the whole thing just walk 1 minute and run the other one. and keep doing this until you've reached 2km

 

[IDuck]

play A LOT...I know its not easy to just jump on the ice when ever but IMO the best way to get up to speed on the ice, (for me) is to skate as much as possible...running is ALWAYS good for cardio and you can do that whenever...I also try to just stay active, I play lots of tennis or any sport really, and ride my bike a ton...I would also agree that the better you get at skating the easier it is, as you start to learn "effortless" skating...being able to go from forward to backwards or side to side without stopping and starting, really helps to conserve your energy.

 

[theMajor]

my stationary bike has done more for my endurance than anything else

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Plyometrics.

Every day.

 

[Brunomics]

All great suggestions but make sure your eating right too. All the exercises in the world won't help that much if your still kicking back crappy foods everyday.

 

[Beezeral]

serious simple post. Play as much hockey as possible

 

[OnTheFly19]

my stationary bike has done more for my endurance than anything else

This. Get a bike and start going long distances. It will do wonder for your endurance and it's easy on the knees.

 

[leftwinger37]

Start with a six-pack of beer. Once you're throwing that back like it's nothing, move up to 12... then to 18... then to 24. If you're really looking to impress, go for 30; it will be obvious to your teammates all of extra effort you've been putting in during the off season.

 

[ice_nine]

You could try inline skating, I imagine the muscles it uses are pretty similar, if not exactly the same. Combine it with HIIT (as mentioned earlier in the thread), and you'll probably be in quite good shape coming into the season.

 

[Nose Face Killah]

Start with a six-pack of beer. Once you're throwing that back like it's nothing, move up to 12... then to 18... then to 24. If you're really looking to impress, go for 30; it will be obvious to your teammates all of extra effort you've been putting in during the off season.

maybe, but i'm not dany heatley.

 

[Claudi27]

my stamina improved vastly by just skating home from work, 6.6km slightly downwards ride that takes like 40 minutes twice a week, when you get used to that, you suddenly realize you have much more endurance. Think it's just getting your body used to a 40 minute, good rythm skating with stops here and there, wich resembles game scenario.

 

[Jacob]

I hate it and I'm terrible at it but jogging/running tends to help my on-ice stamina.

 

[Mikwammichi]

To back up what a few said - you want strong legs and glutes. So, squats/deadlifts etc, proper diet, and plyometrics. Also a strong core so you're not losing energy swaying around and struggling to maintain right posture.

Sprinting is a sport in itself and while useful for training, needs an auxiliary exercise - squats - to get those muscles faster and stronger and injury-resistant.

You don't even need to bulk up like crazy before you see performance results. Squats, deadlifts, KB TGU. Set a benchmark like pistol squat, then with weights... or a certain height/reps of box jumps. Real cycling with proper posture helps me a lot.

Of course better skating technique doesn't waste as much energy, so working on technique can save your energy too.

 

[4thline]

serious simple post. Play as much hockey as possible

To back up what a few said - you want strong legs and glutes. So, squats/deadlifts etc, proper diet, and plyometrics. Also a strong core so you're not losing energy swaying around and struggling to maintain right posture.

Sprinting is a sport in itself and while useful for training, needs an auxiliary exercise - squats - to get those muscles faster and stronger and injury-resistant.

You don't even need to bulk up like crazy before you see performance results. Squats, deadlifts, KB TGU. Set a benchmark like pistol squat, then with weights... or a certain height/reps of box jumps. Real cycling with proper posture helps me a lot.

Of course better skating technique doesn't waste as much energy, so working on technique can save your energy too.

Best answers.

Jogging/bike and other cardio are good for building up an aerobic base, HIIT to start working on that anaerobic, but skating is such a different movement that no amount of running will ever completely prepare you.

 

[Montgomery81]

I've never been in better shape on the ice as when I did the original Insanity with Shaun T in the offseason. I could really feel the explosion in my starts, and the quick rest periods on the bench. I would recommend that to anyone.

For daily work, I usually run between 3.5 to 4 miles about 4 times per week, but I try to incorporate some sprint work simulating a shift on the ice, approximately 45 seconds of near-max sprinting, then back off to jogging/running for two minutes, then repeat until I've ran over 3 miles.

 

[sanityplease]

Take power skating lessons & make sure that your blades have the proper ROH & profile for your size.

 

[BogsDiamond]

do HIIT with some endurance training mixed in.

HIIT is sprinting for a short time, then recovering. Usually it is something like 10s sprint, followed by 45s jog for beginners. This helps you gain your explosiveness and prepares your body for the periods where you exert yourself (super hard skating) then kind of rest where you glide around the ice.

also just running is useful for endurance wise, helps increase your amount of energy you have before you get tired and increases stamina

Great advice.
To the OP, to make it even simpler, you could find a track and simply sprint 100m, then walk 100m, then sprint, walk, etc for 8 total sets.

If you can't find a place to sprint, you can sub with some stationary bike.
Tabata (form of HITT) says to sprint 20s, rest 10s, and do for 8 sets.

This really works. When I had access to a stationary bike, I'd finish my workouts with this 3x a week and it started to pay off.
I'd have a lot more energy during my shifts, but where it really helped was recovery time between shifts.

Another thing I loved was sled pushes.
I didn't have a sled, but I was lucky in that the gym I attended had a full-sized basketball court.
I'd wrap a 45lb plate in a towel and push it across the floor. I'd then rest 40s and repeat a total of 8 times.
As I grew stronger, I'd add weight and eventually went to 10 sets.

The burn you get in your quads is incredible. I think I grew nearly 2" on my quads in less than 3 months. Incredible gains for someone like me who is naturally skinny.
And the best part is, it helps build muscle and endurance without taxing the knees.

 

[ecemleafs]

i just don't know how to gain stamina. i've tried sprints but i just don't see an improvement. what should i do?

earlier in the week only 13 skaters showed up for pickup and my team only had 1 player on bench. a 15 minute shift and skating with pretty much no stoppages for about an hour was exhausting. played this morning and dont really feel tired after playing 1.5 hours (with line changes this time). essentially having a bag skate early in the week already significantly improved my stamina.

 

[Hyzer]

i just don't know how to gain stamina. i've tried sprints but i just don't see an improvement. what should i do?

run 5k a day. move up to 6k a day next week. 7k next week. so on and so on.


that is easy way to increase your energy stores and stamina to last longer on the ice. doing HIIT is still probably the best way as it works on your endurance during explosiveness rather than just 50% energy exertion.

best of luck