Hockey Workouts – Exploiting Your Explosiveness
One topic that’s really been “en vogue” in hockey recently is explosiveness.
What, exactly, is “explosiveness”, besides a sexy 4-syllable word created by the media? Think of it as acceleration. How quickly are you able to get those first 4-5 strides off? How powerful are those first 4-5 strides? How effective are you at stopping on a dime and changing direction?
Thankfully, explosiveness is not entirely inherited; it can be developed. And if you commit to doing the following hockey workout with regularity (3 times per week would be optimal), you will, quite simply, see favorable results in both your explosiveness and your overall skating power.
Try the following routine on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s, for one month’s time. If those three days absolutely cannot work for you, feel free to switch them up, but make sure that there’s at least one day’s rest between workouts. To start, you’ll need nothing more than an open space, likely outdoors. Steps:
- Start with 12 Standard Push-Ups, feet together, hands shoulder-width apart. Emphasis is on quality rather than speed.
- Sprint 25 Metres, as fast as you can, explode to your feet after the 12th push-up from step one.
- Do 12 Squat Jumps, keep your back straight, chest up, squat down, and jump on your way up while raising both arms over your head.
- Sprint 25 Metres, right back to where you started.
- 12 More Standard Push-Ups, identical to step one.
- Sprint 25 Metres, back to where you came from.
- Perform 25 Metres of Walking-Lunges Back to the Start, quality again emphasized over speed.
- Sprint 25 Metres, to the virtual finish line.
- Repeat Circuit 3 Times (hate me now, thank me later).
This is one of the very most effective hockey workouts out there for explosiveness and power. And the best part? It’s very practical; no equipment is needed, you don’t have to find your way to a gym, you don’t need to do it with a partner (although that surely may assist for motivational purposes), etc.
I’ll just offer two pieces of advice as I leave you with this valuable conditioning circuit:
- If at all possible, perform this conditioning circuit in the very early morning, before you start to get ready for school or work. When it’s done first thing in the morning, right after you roll out of bed, it’s done, and you know that you’ve done your work for the day. There are also many studies which have been performed outlining the benefits of cardiovascular activity in the early morning hours, including increased fat-loss and an accelerated metabolism for the rest of the day. These are good. The morning is your friend.
- As Nike says – Just Do It! Honestly! I know that it’ll be painful the first few times, you’ll just need to remember that each time you do it, it’ll be easier, easier, easier. After one month of doing this workout loyally 3 times per week, the benefits that will accrue to your ability as a hockey player will be very apparent. Decide on this as a routine, commit to doing it, and succeed as a hockey player. That’s it!
Jack Lypka is an avid hockey fan with a strong background in finding ways to become a more efficient, effective player through advanced hockey workouts.
