Summer Training - Myths and Misconceptions

Summer is approaching fast and many players are starting to train hard for the upcoming season. We’ve seen and heard so many misconceptions about how to train, I decided to address some common mistakes and myths my colleagues and I have run into.

Athletes Who Train Too Much
Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but some young bucks still believe more is better. Remember this common sense rule: Stress quality over quantity. Too many young hockey players come to SST for the summer thinking they should work out two or more hours in a single session every day of the week. This may sound great on paper, but in reality the body isn’t meant to endure such treatment. Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer in two-a-day workouts, but those workouts should be short and intense. Workouts should be no longer than one hour in length with a second workout about 4-6 hours later.

Strengthen Weaknesses and Stretch Strengths
Why is it that everybody wants to bench press but very few people like to do chin ups or strengthen smaller muscle groups such as the rotator cuff? One common area that we often see needing attention is strong and tight pectoralis major muscle. Tight pecs can result in rounded shoulders and excessive internal rotation. A proper postural assessment will identify this problem. After recognition, the player should be prescribed exercises that will retract the shoulder blades and stretch the chest muscles. Think of training as similar to caring for a car. Tune it up and it will run more effectively. Fix the muscles that are limiting your gains and your functional strength will increase dramatically.

Don’t Be a Jack-of-All-Trades!
This is the kind of thing we hear from our hockey players: “The coaches want me to have quicker feet; I need to lose body fat; I need more strength; my VO2 max needs improvement, etc.” I hope you can see how this leads the player into a state of confusion. What some athletes try to do is improve all weaknesses at once. They work out a training program that may look good on paper, but in fact, does not fulfill the most important needs. Learn to prioritize. Work on your greatest weakness to eliminate that first. A good option is to choose “big bang for buck” exercises that can tackle a few problem areas at once. For example, here are some recommendations for the athlete mentioned above that had a long list of things to work on. By decreasing this person’s body fat his/her speed will increase, their relative strength (strength compared to body weight) will improve as well. By choosing strength exercises and taking shorter rest intervals their VO2 max will increase as well. After you have accomplished these goals move on to working on increasing overall strength and power.

Spending Too Much Time on Machines!
Too many players fall into the trap of using weight machines instead of opting for free weights. This is the center of a debate that has gone on for a long time. SST recommends limiting the use of machines in favor of incorporating more free weights and unstable device work. The results speak for themselves. Hockey is three dimensional so train in this manner. By limiting yourself to machines only the prime mover muscles are recruited while the stabilizing muscles remain under worked. Free weights help strengthen the stabilizing muscles by working in a three dimensional plane.

I never understand why some strength coaches would have an injury free player perform leg press as a testing procedure. If you spend time on your back during a game there is a definite problem with your game! As well, leg press does not strengthen the lower back region; instead, it places compression on the lumbar vertebrae. We prefer to have hockey athletes learn how to dead lift or squat properly so that they can use the resulting functional strength on the ice. Here’s a great idea. Get yourself a 500-pound truck tire and set up a tire-flipping program. Not only will your lower back and legs get strong but your grip will also be improved and you’ll benefit from the added component of energy system training, which will have you gasping for air!

We, at SST, wish everyone a great summer and remind you to concentrate on your training. Please check out our website www.sstcanada.com for more info about SST’s upcoming Functional Hockey Speed Training Camp. Learn how to become faster by dragging a sled, tire flipping, fire hose dragging, car dragging and much more! It’s an excellent workout and it’s fun!

Larry Jusdanis, SST Director