OFF ICE TRAINING PROGRAM
Program Goals
To improve athletic ability, performance and overall health and function of the athletes
bodies through improved strength, power, conditioning, mobility, flexibility and
structural balance.
Program Guidelines
The program will utilize and employ a variety of movements, methods and protocols to
insure safety and effectiveness.
Design of the program was done using the “Concurrent system” of periodization or the
“Multi lateral skill approach” Meaning that multiple strength skills and abilities will be
trained in the same workout and training blocks.
This method allows for the skills of strength, power, speed, muscle endurance and
hypertrophy to be trained and utilized together instead of on separate days or in different
training blocks where loss of, or deterioration of a skill or ability can occur.
We will utilize three main methods when determining sets and reps
The Max Effort Method
Focuses on strength gain by lifting heavy weights. Usually in the 1-5 rep range. This
stimulates the Central Nervous System (CNS) and puts great demand on both
intramuscular and inter-muscular coordination.
The Dynamic Effort Method
Employs lifting sub-maximal weights with the greatest speed possible. This
improves rate of force development and explosive force in the athlete. 3-5 reps
utilizing a variety of implements and body weight movements IE: Jumping, sled
drags, cleans, med ball tosses.
The Repeated Effort Method
Lifting Sub-maximal weights for mid range to high reps. This method is great for adding
muscle mass. A bigger muscle has a better capacity for strength. You can also focus on
muscular endurance with higher reps and little rest between sets, or using super sets.
Athletes will perform lower body compound movements mixed with upper body
push/pull movements and core work each training session.
An extensive warm-up will be performed before each workout to address muscle
imbalances, mobility, flexibility and to prime the athletes nervous system for the
demands of the training.
Athletes will also be given a handout on static stretching to be performed post workout
or on off days to improve recovery and flexibility. In addition athletes will be coached
on the importance of foam rolling and mobility work to improve performance, injury
resistance and overall recovery.
Program Outline
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PreHab/Mobility and Flexibility: Muscle Imbalances are a major cause of injury in many
athletes. This portion of the training session will take place at the beginning of the workout to
address common issues within the body.
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Dynamic Warm-up: The dynamic warm-up is carefully designed to prepare the athlete
for the upcoming training by increasing the core temperature of the body,
mobilizing and lubricating the major joints, loosening and preparing tight muscles that could
injure or inhibit performance, activating dormant or weak muscles and priming the nervous
system.
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Main Workout: The main workout will utilize free weights, odd/imbalanced objects,
machines and body weight mixed with lower and upper body multi-joint and primal
movements to train the skills of strength, power, speed, hypertrophy and conditioning.
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Conditioning/GPP (General physical preparedness): After the main workout the athletes
will perform a conditioning or GPP style circuit. This portion focuses on many athletes weak
areas and allows for general strength and conditioning skills to be worked. This portion will
also focus on the athletes core and grip. We will utilize solo and partner assisted body weight
drills mixed with loaded carries and sled work.
Considerations/issues and Areas of Focus
Hockey, like any other sport is very dynamic and requires an ability to perform many
skills and abilities, but it also has it's share of repetitive, static and dynamic
movements and positions that can lead to issues within the athletes body. A few
examples are skating, shooting and the static bent/hunched over position you see many
players in before the play starts and while setting up waiting to react.
Common injuries are to the MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) of the knee. The
shoulder joint takes a beating and is prone to dislocations. Back injuries, groin pulls,
tight immobile hips, tight hamstrings and hip flexors and weak feat coupled with tight
ankles are all potential issues that need consideration when designing, implementing or
participating in a strength and conditioning program.
Players also tend to have overly developed Vatus Lateralis (Outer Quadriceps) vs Vastus
Medialis (Inner Quadriceps) muscles from the repeated angle and movement involved in
skating. This issue extends to the Hamstrings as well with the Biceps Femoris (Outer
Hamstrings) being overly developed vs the other hamstring muscles. These imbalances
can lead to overuse injuries and even more serious ones.
We will address these issues with a focus on unilateral lower body training to focus the
development and balance of the Vastus Medialis of the Quadriceps. This improves
performance by strengthening the quads and improving stabilization of the knee joint,
which will decrease wear and tear and chance of injury.
We also employ balanced hamstring training to deal with the overly developed outer
musculature. We incorporate strengthening exercises that involve both knee flexion and
hip extension.
Both of these area will help with overall performance and knee health, which should be
of the up most importance.
Other considerations are the fact that skating only stresses the legs through a partial
range of motion, so we will employ a variety of full range lower body exercises to
combat this. This improves mobility, and helps to correct muscle imbalances.
The lats, core and grip are an important focus also. The lats are directly related to
shooting power and will be trained on multiple planes. The core training will focus on
isometric stabilization and rotation.
Other potential issues mentioned above will be addressed within the PreHab and WarmUp sections, in addition to the static stretching packet and coaching on foam rolling and
mobility drills.
Workout
Warm-up
As stated earlier the warm-up will be in two stages, A PreHab/Mobility portion
followed by a Dynamic warm-up portion. The warm-up is arguably the most
important aspect of the workout and will be treated with a ton of focus and
appropriate energy.
PreHab Mobility/Flexibility
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Lacrosse ball soft tissue work (Feet, calves, Tibialis anterior)
Shoulder Dislocations with a resistance band ( Shoulder flexibility)
Band pull-apart (Rhomboid and read delt activation)
Band Internal Rotation (Shoulders)
Fire Hydrants (Hips)
Bird Dogs (Low Back, Glutes, Core)
Dynamic Warm-up
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Bent knee iron cross (Low Back)
Rollover V-sit (Low back, Hamstrings, Groin)
Scorpions (Hip Flexor)
Mountain Climber Reaches (T-spine, Hamstrings, Groin)
Groiners (Grion)
Walking High Knee Tucks
High Knee Run
Walking Hurdlers Stretch
Butt Kick Run
Walking Figure Four Stretch
Straight leg march
Side Shuffle Twist
Deep Forward Lunge Walk
Phase 1
Phase 1 (2 weeks)
The first two weeks (or four workouts) will be performed will all of the athletes in
the same room and broken into groups. They will perform each section of the
training with a partner or other members of a small grouping.
The goal of Phase 1 is for the athletes to become accustomed to the movements and
exercises, learn proper form and the expectations of the coaching staff. It also serves to
build up their workload capacity and allow the coaches to assess their abilities,
weaknesses and strengths.
Phase 1 Workout A
Station 1: Loaded Box Squat (Dumbbell style Goblet hold) 8-12 Reps
Station 2: Sandbag Cleans 5-10 Reps
Station 3: Band Pull Aparts, overhand and underhand grips (AMRAP)
Station 4: Push ups – Sub-max Reps (Stop a few reps before failure)
Station 5: Farmers Walks – Predetermined weight and specific distance
Station 6: Four way Plank
Station 7: Burpees
Station 8: Lateral Sled Drag
Phase 1 Workout B
Station 1: Box Jumps 5 Reps
Station 2: Step-Back Lunges 20 Reps
Station 3: Rope Pull Sled Drag (Hand over Hand) 2 Lengths
Station 4: Band Pull Aparts (As many reps as possible) AMRAP
Station 5: Strongman Log Press 6-8 Reps
Station 6: Sandbag Carries (Shoulder, Zerchur, Bear hug)
Station 7: Skipping (Fast speed, high knees)
Station 8: Med-Ball Partner tosses
Phase 2
Phase 2 will consist of two different workouts (A and B) the coaches will split the
athletes up into two groups. Group 1 will perform Workout A on the first training session
of the week with Group 2 performing Workout B. The second training session of the
week will see the Groups switch and perform the other workout.
Breaking away from Phase 1 will allow the appropriate time and focus to be put into
the skills and abilities we are trying to develop, As well, the smaller groups will allow
the athletes to focus properly and the coaches to give the best possible attention to form
and effort.
Phase 2 will put more emphasis on the Max Effort Method and The Dynamic Effort
Method. The skills will be paired back to back in a Super-set fashion with dynamic
effort exercises taking place before the max effort lifts as well as directly after as well to
utilize the positive training effects that come with pairing these skills.
If an athlete displays an inability to perform an exercise safely or effectively due to a
weakness, imbalance or lack of coordination, They will be given an alternate or scaled
down version to allow for proper progression and to avoid injury.
Phase 2 Workout A (3-4 Sets)
1a) Power Skips (Unilateral Plyometrics) 10 Reps
1b) Trap bar Deadlift (Lower body Bilateral) 3-5 Reps
1c) Hurdle Jump (Bilateral Plyometrics) 3-5 Reps
1d) Upright Sled walking (Hamstrings) 10-15 Reps
2a) Sled Hand Over Hand Rope Pull (Back,Core) 2 Rope lengths
2b) Band Pull Apart (Upper back, Rear Delts) 10xOverhand, 10xUnderhand
2c) Strongman Log lift (Vertical Push) 6-8 Reps
2d) Plyo Push ups (Upper Body Plyometrics) 5 Reps
3) Group Conditioning/GPP
Phase 2 Workout B (3-4 Sets)
1a) Box Squat (Bilateral Plyometrics) 5 Reps
1b) Bulgarian Split Squats (Lower Body Unilateral) 10-12 Reps
1c) Split Jumps (Unilateral Plyometrics) 6 Reps
1d) Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl/Glute Bridge (Hamstrings, Glutes) 10-12 Reps
2a) Chin ups (Vertical Pull) 6-8 Reps
2b) Band Pull Apart (Upper Back, Rear Delts) 10xOverhand, 10xUnderhand
2c) Chain Loaded Push Ups (Horizontal Push) 10-12 Reps
2d) Dumbbell Clean and Press (Upper Body Dynamic Effort) 3-5 Reps
3) Group Conditioning/GPP