Introduction
Off-season is the time of the hockey year when many hockey players are on their own. Your coach may have provided a training program for you to follow, but no one will be pushing you daily or looking over your shoulder. Your coach just expects you to train and stay in shape.
If you want to be a high-performance hockey player, you must train through the off-season. The off-season is the only season in which you have enough time to build a fitness base. Just as a house needs a foundation, you need a fitness foundation. Ultimately, you want speed, power, and quickness for high-performance hockey. You only get that combination by building on a foundation of aerobics, muscle strength, muscle endurance, and flexibility. For instance, to improve speed and quickness, you must repeatedly push the limits of the speed and quickness that you already have. You can’t do that unless you can recover sufficiently between repeats. Aerobic endurance gives you a recovery system. To improve power, you need a combination of strength and elasticity in muscles and joints, which come fr om muscle strength and flexibility training. Few actions in hockey are executed only once; most are repeated many times at high tempo, like the skating stride. These actions require muscle endurance. Therefore, a hockey player needs a fitness foundation in aerobics, muscle strength, muscle endurance, and flexibility. The off-season is the time to build that foundation.
To establish a good base, a hockey player must normally train each of these elements for 6 to 8 weeks, three to five times per week. But if you start with an unusually low aerobic capacity or if an injury has left muscles weak and joints with a poor range of motion, you may need as much as 12 weeks of base training. The off-season is your single best chance to eliminate the weakness of a former injury, like a chronic groin problem, or to neutralize a weakness in your performance, like slow acceleration. In the off-season you have the time to do the necessary catch-up.
Once you establish a good base in the four fitness elements, you gain more than just the ability to train harder to improve your speed, power, and quickness. Having a strong aerobic, muscle, and flexibility base reduces the risk of many types of injuries fr om both training and playing. Fatigue-related injuries, sprains, and strains are less likely to occur. If you do become injured, a strong aerobic, strength, and flexibility base usually facilitates recovery fr om injuries so that you can return to the game more quickly. Consider each of the base elements of training individually.
1 Ice Hockey Nutrition and Training
Take a behind-the-scenes peek at the work that goes into preparing skaters for a long, strenuous season, courtesy of the New York Islanders’ strength and conditioning coach.
Excess body fat isn’t an issue for most players in the National Hockey League (NHL). If you’ve ever watched a professional ice hockey game, especially a multiple-overtime playoff game, you can probably guess why. It takes a lot of energy to repeatedly skate up and down the rink as fast as you can, and extra baggage for that trip can be more costly than what some airlines charge.
Many casual or even dedicated fans may attribute such remarkable endurance merely to the superior athleticism of the players and, of course, some of the best athletes in the world play in the NHL. But no matter how talented an athlete may be, it takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get players ready for an 82-game schedule and, with any luck, a lengthy playoff run.
Jesse Demers, CSCS, is the strength and conditioning coach for the New York Islanders hockey team. His job is twofold: help the players train their bodies to withstand the wear and tear of a very long season—81/2 months fr om the first day of training camp to the last game of the Stanley Cup finals—and ensure they have enough energy to put out their maximum effort every game. As with most professional sports, preparation for a new season begins almost immediately after the previous season ends.
So what does that behind-the-scenes nutrition and training look like? Today’s Dietitian spoke with Demers to understand the approach he takes with the New York Islanders during the off-season and when it’s game time.
Getting Started
At the end of a season, Demers meets with each player to review areas for possible improvement. The suggestions can range from trying a different mental approach to training differently. Some players may need to get bigger, while others may need to get faster. Demers keeps a training book that details his assessment of what the team needs, and he points out areas on which he would like each player to focus. After that, the players head into their off-season. They can work out at the team’s facilities if and when they like, but regardless of wh ere players choose to train, Demers calls them weekly to check on their progress. These progress checks can be especially valuable for the Islanders’ young players.
“We’re a young team with a lot of draft picks and a lot of guys who are under 24 years old,” says Demers. “The typical thing when a kid’s drafted is he’s got to get bigger and he’s got to get stronger.” But it’s a fine line between finding a comfortable playing weight and sacrificing speed. “Sometimes you get guys [who]
2 What NHL Players do in the Off Season
With the conclusion of the 2009 NHL entry draft and the early July ‘free agent frenzy’ comes the inevitable debate over which franchises have set themselves up best for next season and beyond. One thing is for certain when wading through the mire of hockey forums, newspaper columns and TV postmortems: the NHL off season is in full swing. The summer is the part of the hockey season wh ere the General Managers make the headlines more often than the players do as they compete to acquire that missing piece or pieces they feel will put their team ahead of the pack next season. That National Hockey League players are truly a commodity is surely exemplified best in the off season.
Everything from statistics to accolades to leadership abilities are measured to determine the market value of a hockey player. A contract is signed, fans argue over whether the General Manager signed the right player and come October the player begins the attempt to fulfill the promises made during those contract negotiations.
On Hockey Training: One question that is not asked often in the off season is: what are the players doing? While everybody knows that the players are training for the next season and hitting the links, quite often hockey fans do not fully understand what the life of a hockey player is like in the off season. With my off season training experience limited to a CIS off ice program I enlisted the help of Ryan Van Asten to get a feel for what an average summer for the players might look like. Van Asten is a strength and conditioning coach for Hockey Canada and has been getting the Canadian Olympic Women’s hockey team ready for the 2010 Vancouver games and also performed fitness testing for the Calgary Flames for two seasons
A few decades ago NHL training camps were the place wh ere hockey players got into shape for the season after a long relaxing summer. If a player were to do this today he would not make it past the first day of physical testing. If the player were lucky enough to make it past the first day, he would likely fatigue faster and get injured more easily. So what do the players do to prepare for a grueling training camp and an even more grueling eighty two regular season games with the possibility of a dozen or more playoff games? The first group of athletes I asked Ryan about were those players that are on teams that do not make the playoffs or are eliminated in the first round. For those players, their season is over in mid to late April at the latest. I asked Ryan what their off season would look like in the five months from May to September when training camp begins:
“Every player no matter when they finish needs to take some time off. This transition phase can be anywhere from 2-4 weeks. During this phase the athlete will perform static recovery and transition into active recovery. Rehab of injuries,
3 How NHL players rest, recover and rebuild over the summer
TORONTO — It is the end of summer and about a dozen National Hockey League players have just finished an hour-long skate. They are now spending the rest of a Friday morning in August tucked inside a windowless workout room at the back of St. Michael’s College Arena, sweating, shouting and slamming weights.
Two giant fans are set to the highest setting and a door leading outside is propped open, but the room, which is about the size of a master bedroom, is hot and sticky. With a mix of hip-hop and dance music echoing off the walls, it sounds like a nightclub. Players are even sipping on pink cocktails — full of protein and vitamins, of course.
“Character is what you do when you think nobody is watching,” is written in big, block letters on one of the walls. It is a slogan the players are putting into practice.
In one corner of the room, Montreal Canadiens forward Devante Smith-Pelly is doing jump squats. A few steps to the left and Washington Capitals winger Michael Latta is tacking on as much weight as he can handle for rep after slow rep of deep squats. Beside him, Anaheim Ducks forward Chris Stewart is standing on his tippy toes, while balancing a barbell on his shoulders.
Everyone else is either shouting encouragement or catching their breath, waiting for their turn.
“C’mon boys!” shouts BioSteel strength and conditioning coach Matt Nichol, a former football player and power lifter who could easily out-lift everyone in this room. “Don’t think! Work! Work as hard as you can!”
This is what most hockey fans picture when they imagine off-season training: players pumping iron, pushing themselves to exhaustion. Thanks to Gatorade and Under Armour, hockey players are portrayed in commercials as part-time strongmen; when they are not playing one of the most physically demanding sports, they spend their off-seasons flipping tires, swinging thick ropes and running with a parachute attached to their backs.
Tyler Anderson / National PostMatt Nichol works with a player following an on-ice training session at St. Michael's College in Toronto.
Matt Nichol likes to joke he was a “terrible skater” who played more road hockey than ice hockey. he stands in contrast to Gary Roberts who played 21 seasons in the NHL, scoring 910 points in more than 1,200 games.
So when Nichol was hired as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first proper strength and conditioning coach in 2001, he had some convincing to do.
“Coaches would look at me and say, ‘You can’t even skate, how would you know?’” says Nichol, a founder of BioSteel sports supplements, whose background
4 The effect of physical preparation on aerobic and anaerobic fitness in ice hockey
Off-ice conditioning, which is a part of ice hockey team training, develops motor preconditions that determine performance capacity of the players. Preparation period training focuses on the development of limiting motor abilities and forming of a broad motor basis. Off-ice conditioning contains exercises that focus on the development of speed, speed strength, strength, strength endurance, endurance and coordination abilities. Based upon the physiological profiles of ice hockey players it is possible to confirm the importance of aerobic endurance, anaerobic performance, strength endurance, flexibility and skating speed. Regarding the special training preparation phase, the age of juvenile youth is in professional sports characterized as a demanding phase, both mentally and physically. It is this period when the performance is greatly emphasized and the training is as demanding as that of adults.
The aim of the research was to verify the effect of controlled conditioning on both functional and performance-related parameters of aerobic and anaerobic abilities of selected ice hockey players during preparation and pre-season period. The observed group consisted of 9 youth ice hockey players of P. H. K. Presov hockey club, averaging 15.66 ±0.5 years of age. The players trained regularly 5 times a week, with a training unit lasting 75 to 105 minutes. The training process during the preparation period lasted for 9 weeks and had a character of
general off-ice training. Pre-season period lasted for 6 weeks, and the training process had a character of a specific on-ice preparation, supplemented with a few training units off the ice. During this period the players played 11 pre-season matches. The aerobic abilities were tested by the laboratory spiroergometric test on a bicycle ergometer to volitional exhaustion and also by field-based running Beep test. Maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) was a parameter monitored in both tests. The anaerobic ability testing was carried out by means of the 30- second Wingate test, using a bicycle ergometer Monark 894E. Peak power (PP.kg-1) and average power (AP.kg-1) were the parameters monitored this time. The training intensity during the preparation and pre-season period was monitored by the Polar heart rate monitors. Based upon the recorded pulse rates we were able to better specify the training zones of players during the preparation training period. We used the median and quartile range, and the collected data were processed via non-parametric statistics of Wilcoxon test for dependent samples. The collected data are presented in relative values, calculated relative to kilogram body mass.
Aerobic capacity is measured by maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max). Ice hockey players should be at about 50 - 70 ml/kg.min-1 [1]. Optimal VO2max values should be around 60 ml/kg.min-1, with the top level players reaching 65 ml/kg.min-1 [3]. Due to the specific kinetic character and muscle group
Conclusion
The aim for off-season preparation is to grab the lead in strength and conditioning.
Just as the style of training, the game itself, and the athletes have changed, so too has the schedule. Players at all levels face a heavier game schedule. Counting exhibition games, regular-season games, and possible playoff games, the NHL schedule includes over 100 games a year. The offseason is almost a month shorter than basketball's, 11/2 months shorter than baseball's, and less than half that of football's. Many minor hockey players endure a high volume of games and then add a separate spring league to secure more high-caliber games. Overall, down time away from hockey is shrinking. The margin for error is smaller. When training begins, taking the right steps is critical.
The off-season begins by building a base of aerobic fitness and strength. Upcoming high-intensity anaerobic conditioning, speed development, muscular endurance and power, and on-ice activity will rely on a solid aerobic and strength base. Strength and aerobic fitness are trained concurrently with the style outlined in chapters 4 and 5, which feeds strength and drives upper-end fitness levels.
But if the season ends by March, as it will for many college teams, or in April, as it will for many other levels, players can enjoy a full-recovery postseason, a full 6-week phase II off-season, and still be left with a phase I off-season that is more than 6 weeks long. Players who need to add mass and can net out a longer phase I off-season would begin with a full schedule of strength training but lim it aerobic conditioning to twice per week. The player who has the luxury of a long off-season can work first on building his strength base and gaining lean muscle mass. Then he can build strength and aerobic base together over the last 6 weeks of the off-season. Initially, and aerobic base together over the last 6 weeks of the off-season. Initially, expending all effort on strength training will maximize strength and mass gains. Then, limiting the heavy aerobic period to 6 weeks of higher speed intermittent aerobic workouts will build the important aerobic base while keeping physical changes more specific to the demands of hockey.
During the off-season, players should stretch daily to complement full-range-of-motion strength training and improve their flexibility for on-ice speed, quickness, and agility, potential strength imbalances and technique flaws that can be worked on to enhance future high-intensity drill technique and skill execution.
In the off-season workout the exercise curriculum uses a chest-back, push-pull lift with complementing core stabilization. Movement skill acquisition is targeted at this stage of the off-season, which also provides a well-rounded warm-up.
