Playing a Game is Not Cardio Training

Don't get me wrong, playing hockey is tough.  During a game you are racing up and down the ice, fighting for the puck, taking and delivering some good clean hits.  Now I am going to make a distinction between playing a game and taking a few trips up the ice.  Some athletes will play 20+ hard minutes in a game – this is a workout.  Some athletes will put in a solid 54-minutes sitting on the bench – this is not a workout.  

Now to add insult to injury, not only did you see minimal ice time, you also did nothing to maintain your stamina for hockey.  You will need to do an in-season cardio workout if you want to earn more ice time.  There is good news though, often when hockey players talk of cardio training they envision themselves sitting on the bike for 40-60 minutes of mind numbing steady state training.  What I recommend is something more challenging, but also more beneficial and it will only take you about 10-minutes to complete.

High intensity is the key, if you are not going to be one of those players who coasts all over the ice, then you better not coast when you are doing your interval training.  Here are a few 10-minute intervals you can use during your season.

Jump Rope or Agility Ladder Intervals

You will always begin with a nice dynamic warm up including stretches for the ha mstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, groins and torso.  In these workouts I will also include some core and prehab training to get the most out of your active rest.

Repeat this pattern three times.  Remember to go at maximum speed during the sprint interval.  If you are doing this drill using the agility ladder, choose a basic pattern so you can get the speed.  If you use a skipping rope then perform a ‘running' skip with high knees to get your hip flexors and quads more involved.

Metabolic Strength Circuit

Metabolic strength workouts allow hockey players to train their energy system using different resistance exercises rather than a more traditional piece of cardio training equipment.  I like this form of training because it is challenging and fun.  It also incorporates the upper body and torso into the player's energy system training rather than just using their legs.  Think arms and the torso don't have anything to do with a hockey players cardio capacity, just take a look at two combatants after a hockey fight.  They are under a huge cardio load and it was not their legs doing the work!

If you do include this type of training, just do me a favor and don't confuse it with strength training.  This type of training will improve your fitness, but it will not give you huge gains in the strength department (unless you do not have much strength to start with).

Rest for 1-2 minutes at the end of each cycle, but do not rest between exercises.  Perform the exercises with a quick tempo, but use perfect form.  You will use 50% lighter weights than you would normally use to complete these exercises in a strength workout.  You should be getting at least 15 reps per30 second interval.  Repeat the cycle three times.

I hope you enjoy these in-season energy system workouts.  And by enjoy, I mean that I hope you hate them while you are doing them and love them once you finish.

Maria Mountain, MSc is a Fitness Coach and the owner or Revolution Conditioning in Ontario, Canada.  She works with Olympic, professional and amateur athletes who are committed to maximizing their performance while reducing the risk of injuries.  To learn more about training for hockey visit HockeyTrainingPro.com and register for her free 5-part hockey training course.  If you are a goalie looking to become more agile and reactive, then take a look at UltimateGoalieTraining.com.