Mid-August just rolled around, which means that here at Endeavor, and for most hockey players training for the next season it’s the last stretch of the off-season. Different phases of an off-season plan focus on different goals. Early off-season usually focuses on recovery and regeneration and trying to undo most of the damage done during the season. The mid off-season, which is usually the phase most of players enjoy the most is the time to get big, fast and strong.
The late off-season phase focuses more on moving quicker (agility and transitional speed), work capacity and conditioning. The goal is to get guys in “game shape” as much as possible before they head back to camp. (On a side note, it’s interesting to see how the culture in hockey has changed in the last couple of decades, where players used to use the pre-season/training camp to “get in shape”. and now it’s the exact opposite; if you don’t show up to camp in the best shape of your life you don’t have many chances of making the team!)
What this means concretely from a program design standpoint is that:
- Your speed work is going to be comprised mostly of transitional sprints and drills
- Your conditioning volume is going to be much higher and as specific as possible to the game of hockey (energy system wise)
- The lifting part of your training is going to focus on work capacity, i.e. done mostly in circuit fashion.
So the lifting part of a lower body day (for a 4x/week program) might look something like this:
A1- KB swings 3 x 15
A2- Bunkie Side Plank (top leg only) 3 x 15sec/side
A3- 2-Way Skater 3 x (2 x 6)/side
A4- Split Squat Iso-Hold 3 x 30sec/side
A5- Stability Ball Knee Tucks 3 x 10
A6- 3-Way Split Stance Stability Ball Hold w/ Perturbation 3 x (3 x 10sec)/side
This is actually a circuit that comes from one of our late off-season program at Endeavor. The goal is really just to give an example of a lifting circuit might look like. The circuit concept would also apply for upper body days, just with different exercises.
Sign up for my newsletter to get more insights on program design and other training info! …and the best part, it’s FREE!!!
Everybody wants to reach their goal. Athletes, weekend warriors and soccer moms all want the same thing out of their workout time: reach their goal. We see many, many people eager to get started, all motivated and looking at the end goal and looking so determined nothing is going to get in the way. Or at least, they think so. And in the process, so many of them will fail, quit and make excuses for not succeeding. The ones that will actually get to their ultimate goal are very rare. And I’m not just talking about the overweight client who shows up at a commercial gym to loose weight. I’m also talking about high level athletes who want to make it to the pro level.
They all have one thing in common; they look hungry. It looks like they are so motivated that nothing is going to stop them. But more often than not, something happens in the process, something gets lost along the way. It’s hard to tell what it is, but they loose that fire in their eyes and all of a sudden, they don’t seem to want it that bad anymore. What is it?
Some others just never loose it…
Everyone really motivated to reach his/her goal has something in common. They look at the end goal, what it is they want to achieve. But way too many of them fail to look at the process, what it actually takes to get where they want to be. Too many people don’t realize the effort, the sacrifices and the will power it’s going to take to get where they want. The athlete doesn’t realize he will have to stay home on Friday nights instead of going out with the buddies and grab drinks. The overweight dad doesn’t realize that he’s going to have to skip on the dessert at his son’s birthday party. The busy mom who wants to get in shape doesn’t realize that she’s going to have to go the gym even if she’s exhausted after a long day at work and she’ll need to cook dinner when she gets home. I’m not saying that when dieting you can’t have a piece of cake once in a while or anything like that. These are just some examples to show you that way too many times, we don’t realize what it takes.
When you set yourself a goal and really want to reach it, the first thing you need to ask yourself is: “How bad do I want it?” And trust me, you need to want it BAD! There are a million things that will get in your way; you’re going to face obstacles, it’s not going to be an easy road and it might take much longer than you first expected. But in the end it’s going to be “how bad do you want it?” You need one thing: COMMIT. You need to make a commitment to yourself and to your goal and never let go until you reach it. There are many things along the way that can help you. Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who are going to support you in the process, for example, is one of those things. Planning/preparing your meals ahead, scheduling your training sessions in your agenda just like any other important meeting (that can’t be canceled!) are some other things you might need to do to reach your goal.
The commitment you make to yourself, and how you stick to it is what matters. And if I ever hear of another hockey player who’s trying to go pro, but is not willing to make the commitment to drive 40 minutes every day for his off-season training during the summer….sorry pal, you just don’t deserve it. And be sure that there will be a kid out there who makes this commitment.
You don’t always have a second chance to get where you want. How bad do you want it?
For more insights on sports training and get instant access to my 3 FREE reports on speed training, shoulder pre-hab and soft-tissue work, don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter!!!
Kevin Neeld is definitely one of the smartest strength coaches I know; he has a lot of knowledge, he knows how to apply that knowledge and he really understands how to train athletes as he’s well aware of the demands and reality they’re facing from competing at a high level. Kevin is also an incredible person to talk to, and he is very generous of his time; he kindly accepted to contribute to my website and share his knowledge with you, my readers.
Knowing that groin injuries are growing at an alarming rate in the athletic population, especially in hockey players, I asked Kevin what 3 tips he would give to athletes trying to avoid groin injuries.
Enter Kevin:
“It’s a great topic and one that I think more athletes need to familiarize themselves with. I’ve written a lot about specific strategies on how both prevent and deal with these injuries, but over the last year I’ve discovered that there are a couple more basic messages that athletes need to understand first.
1) Take time off Most groin strains come about because of overuse, or probably more accurately, under recovery. The prevalence of groin strains amongst all athletes, but hockey players especially has drastically increased over the last 10 years. Not coincidentally, so has the emphasis on year-round sports participation and early specialization. It’s imperative that athletes play at least two sports WITH DISCTINCT OFF-SEASONS up through high school. Pairing up sports like hockey and baseball, football and lacrosse, or basketball and soccer allow athletes to benefit from the different movement strategies used in the two sports, force them to take a break from one sport while they pursue the other, and provide time for actual training (e.g. strength and conditioning) during the “third” part of the year.
Far better option for young hockey players during the summer instead of hockey summer leagues
Vladimir Issurin, world expert on block periodization and consultant to the Soviet and Israeli Olympic programs points out that we’ve replaced preparation time with competition time. No training and no rest is a recipe for groin strains.
2) Train Year-Round
This may seem counterintuitive based on the previous paragraph, but hear me out. Most groin strains come about as a result of a stiffness or an activation/strength imbalance across the hips. In the off-season, it’s important that athletes train to improve their overall athletic capacity (strength, speed, power, conditioning) to prepare for the demands of their sport. In-season athletes need to train to maintain (or continue to improve depending on the athlete) their athleticism. If athletes get weaker as the season goes on, then they will need to play at a higher percentage of their total capacity to maintain the same performance level as early in the season. Ultimately this means that athletes will have a diminished ability to perform at a high level at the end of the season, when perfect performance is most important. They also need to train in-season to REVERSE some of the undesired adaptations that result from playing their sport so much. As an example, as the season goes on some hockey players have a tendency to lose hip internal rotation ROM. An internal rotation deficit is associated with hip labral tears, and can put constant (and unnecessary) strain on the groin musculature.
The labrum is the ring of cartilage that surrounds the hip joint socket. It prevents the femural head from moving out place.
By focusing on maintaining strength and balance across the hips, we can help maximize performance and minimize injury risk.
3) Don’t be a hero in the 1st half of the season When athletes don’t prepare or prepare insufficiently for the start of a new season, it’s pretty common for a few to suffer slight groin “tweaks” during pre-season camps and early on in the season. This is simply the result of a huge increase in the volume of high velocity movement without adequate preparation. These injuries tend to go away in a couple weeks if they’re handled the right way. By “the right way” I mean by taking time off from anything that causes it pain, stretching the glutes, doing psoas activation work, and strengthening the adductors in a shortened position using exercises like the 2-Way Med Ball Crush.
Preferably done with a shirt on…
I’ve seen too many athletes, high on their own enthusiasm, fight through the pain/discomfort and keep playing. I know how difficult it is to take time away from your sport when 95% of your body feels great, but it’s a necessity. Groin “tweaks” become mild tears, which become sports hernias if unaddressed. The time to fight through pain is the playoffs, not the first half of the season. An extra week off could be the difference between your tweak healing stronger or laying the foundation for surgery in the future.”
Thanks Kevin for your words of wisdom! Make sure to check out Kevin’s website HERE.
People, especially young athletes, want to train like professionals. They want to do the same type of training their favorite athlete is doing. And why wouldn’t they? If they got to that level it’s got to be because of the way they train, right? Or maybe not…Let me give you a couple reasons why you might want to reconsider training like a pro athlete.
1. Athletes generally don’t know more than you do. Athletes are people just like everyone else, and because they are professional athletes doesn’t mean they know everything there is to know about training or anything else. Granted, they have tremendous skills and physical abilities to perform and they have a lot more training experience than the Average Joe. But the fact is, they are no experts in human anatomy or physiology and they chose to train in certain ways because they have been told (or convinced) by some trainer or coach that it was the best way to do things. And the fact of the matter is that, the trainer/coach in question could be a very knowledgeable one and he might really get it; but it’s also highly possible that on their way to the top, the athlete in question met a meathead trainer who’s a better salesman than he is a trainer and the athlete could’ve fallen for it. Bottom line is, some train smart and some others don’t, but it’s definiltely not because they are professionals that they actually do things right.
2. Don’t confuse what an athlete has been doing in the past versus what he’s doing now. What I mean by that is that athletes might not train the same way or with the same trainers/coaches their whole life; what they did to bring them to the top might be totally different than what they’re doing as an established pro athlete. Many D-1 Colleges have very good strength and conditioning programs that help their athletes get faster and stronger. After spending 4 years in college busting your ass and gaining strength in a good training system will do wonders for you when you turn pro. And when you get there you might do something totally different, but as long as you train you’ll be able to maintain most of those gains.
Whatever Darrelle Revis is doing right now in his training, he gained a lot of strength during his time at the University of Pittsburgh, who’s recognized for his good strength and conditioning program.
3. Money. The sad truth is, because an athlete endorses a training or fitness related product doesn’t mean he actually uses it. Big companies pay big money to have sports icons endorsing their product; it’s called marketing. It doesn’t mean the athlete swears by it nor that he uses it at all.
Did you know that T.O. actually have shares in that bands’ company?
I’m sure Sidney Crosby never even tried a pair of Zigtech…otherwise he would’ve realized how much they suck
4. Pro athletes need more rest. With all the stress, the injuries, and the incredible amount of practices and games pro athletes face on a yearly basis, they might actually need more rest than training. Of course, it all depends on the sport they play, and the length of their season; every sport faces different demands and require different amount of rest. But take into consideration that the pro level (in most sports) is the level where the volume of training (including practices, games, and strength training) is at its highest. So in order to recover, athletes may need more time off. All of this means that what some athletes are doing for their training might be geared more toward recovery rather than actually be geared toward making more gains. Some may train less or take more weeks off during the off-season. Understand that they face different things on a daily basis, and what might be optimal for them, might not be for you.
All in all, make sure what you do in your training is geared toward reaching your goals, but that it is also adapted to your situation, your strengths and weaknesses, your injuries and your schedule…in short, it should be individualized to YOUR needs.
Last week, I had one of our intern ask me a very tough question: “If you had to pick the best book ever that should be a must read, which one would it be?” ….or something like that. The truth is, with my French-Canadian origins I have a hard time remembering exact quotes when it is in English. Nevertheless, even if I think this a great question because we’re all looking for the best resources out there to better ourself at what we, this is still a very hard question to answer. The reason is simple: there is just so many books and other resources out there, and a lot of them are filled with great information…
Then, I thought a little more and two books stood out in my head. Not necessarily because they’re the two best books of all time nor because everybody in the strength and conditioning business swears by it. These two books came up first because I consider they were the two most influencial so far in my career and they have strongly shaped the way I think about training and exercise in general.
The first one, Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes by Shirley Sahrmann, despite being a physical therapy book can teach you a lot when it comes to functional anatomy and how muscles works synergistically. Sahrmann discusses a variety of concepts that directly apply to training; for example, when you pull a muscle, you should look for a weak synergist that forces the injured muscle to compensate. You will also learn to identify faulty movement patterns that could prevent a lot of injuries in your athletes. The goal is not for the strength coaches and trainers out there to improvise themselves as physical therapists and try to treat injuries themselves. This book should rather help you identify faulty movement patterns in your athletes and help correct them before injuries happen. I feel this book is one of the most valuable tool for any trainer and strength coach working with athletes.
My second one, The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual by Eric Cressey, was truly an eye-opener to me the first time I read it a few years ago. This book made me realize how off-the-track so many of the coaches and trainers out there (me included at the time) are with their off-season training programs. You’ll learn why training for maximum strength is so important during the off-season, the difference between spring and static proficient athletes and how you should train them differently, why athletes should minimize their specific sport practice during the off-season and you’ll get a 16 weeks of sample programming. The off-season is the most important part of any athlete’s training and it could be the decisive factor that will make them reach the next level or not; that is why I feel this book should be a must-read for every strength coaches and trainers out there.
As I said earlier, there are just so many good resources out there and you shouldn’t limit yourself to one or two; that is why I have put a complete resource page together, make sure to check it out.
