This is one of the most important questions a hockey player or parent should ask. What does it mean to train for hockey? Does that mean doing a lot of push-ups or doing bicep curls in the weight room? Not really. Those are okay exercises, but they are not hockey specific. Hockey specific exercises are almost always conducted from the 90 degree angle position. That is, the thigh and the calf make a right angle at the knee. Below is a one-legged squat hold. It's a simple position. A lot of times I'll extend my other leg forward. If you are a parent, see if you can do this. Better yet, see if your son or daughter can do this. For most, they can't do it correctly. Their knees will extend right over their toes because they have never done anything that resembles true hockey training (or they're too young and simply haven't developed the strength yet)
Hockey specific training consists of two main types of training: 1) explosive plyometrics and 2) skating form training. In the first, we start in a squat position (most of the time) and explode up in the air. We are working on training those fast twitch explosive muscle fibers. Getting low and exploding - that's huge in hockey. An exercise that is good for skating for training is above, the one-legged squat hold. I use tons of variations of squats, lunges, etc to help teach athletes to get into the 90 degree angle, into what I call "the pocket" when squatting. Would you rather get checked from a squat or standing straight up? Will you jump high from a squat or from standing straight up? Do you skate faster from a squat position or when you are upright? It's simple right? Everyone knows the answers to these questions. The low athlete always wins....
