Hockey Running

I'm not really sure where or when the relationship between hockey players and stationary bikes began, but the fact is the bike shouldn't be the major form of off-ice conditioning during the summer. 

The summer should be a time where training not only strengthens your body to meet the demands of the sport but also training should undo the patterns that cause common injuries in the game. This article will discuss why running is a great tool to prevent injury and get your body into “sprint shape” for hockey. It will briefly discuss some interval workouts that mimic the format of the game that you can use to get into game shape before training camp or tryouts.

The simple posture of skating (knees bent, trunk flexed at the hips) shortens the hip flexors and could cause hip flexor pulls which lead into groin pain and strains. Because the hip flexors are such an injury prone area, because of tightness, our players dedicate a lot of time warming that area in a dynamic fashion before every skate.  When we get off the ice after a game or practice we make sure we stretch the hip area in static positions to help realign the muscle so it heals and returns back to its optimal functioning length.  If you think about the skating position (even a goalie's athletic position!) it's a flexed hip position that's anatomically similar to riding a bike. 

So if the skating posture tightens our hips and we stretch them to help the hip flexors recover and get back to functional length, why would we get on a bike and tighten the hips again? Coaches and athletes need to understand that the bike isn't always the answer, especially during the offseason. Proper warm-up, static stretching and the cyclical motion of running will open our hip flexor area and strengthen the hips, groin and glutes. This improvement in strength will lead to increased speed, better conditioning and reduce the number of injuries to the pelvic region. 

If you're going to run, it's best to make the format appropriate to the demands of your sport.  Interval running (sprint/rest/sprint/rest) is the best way to get into hockey shape.  Long slow distance running or biking will not prepare you in the same way interval running can for the conditioning demands of hockey.  

With our players in San Jose, we start our interval training progression very simple when we begin offseason training. Our running starts with 100m runs which we want to finish in 15 seconds. If you're not at the level of an NHL player, you can take 18 to 20 seconds to finish the run. When we finish that 100m run, we will rest until our heart rates drop 45 beats.  We will do this for eight reps and add one rep per week for four weeks. 

As the summer progresses, we will reduce the number of reps after four weeks because our distance will increase to 200m and 300m runs. Our rest interval of 45 beats of recovery will not change; it will remain the same throughout the summer.  You will find as you get better at conditioning it will take you a shorter period of time to lower your heart rate 45 beats.  Your rest interval becomes shorter because you are becoming more efficient in heart rate recovery.  We have two running workouts per week that follow the interval format and one slideboard training day which follows the interval format as well (eight reps for 20 seconds of work with 40 beasts of recovery). 

I spend a lot of time with our Sharks players warming up, foam rolling and stretching all the muscles of the hips before we run.  If you choose not to warm-up properly, you run the risk of injury because the cold, tight muscles of the hips aren't ready for the work they're about to perform.  Dedicate 15 minutes to dynamic flexibility as well as foam rolling the muscle tissue of the legs and hips and stretching the hip region before you run.  This will ensure optimal performance and reduction of injury.  

Your first thought when planning your offseason training regimen should be: What can I do now to reduce the risk of injury during the season? Knowing that the hip musculature region loses flexibility in all skaters (including goaltenders), a hockey player needs to include exercises that will return the hips to normal length so the potential for hip flexor pulls and groin strains is reduced. A good flexibility program needs to be prescribed as well as an interval based running program which will open the hip region and improve your conditioning for the demands of hockey.

Running doesn't cost anything and can be done on a track, or using the boundaries of a football or soccer field. Prepare smart and for the physical demands of your sport by running more than biking.