Can you point to your ITB?
For a variety of reasons – weakness in the lateral hip muscles can be a big contributor – this connective tissue band can get very tight and even painful. Some hockey players will just feel a stiffness, while others may feel pain on the outside of the thigh or knee which can get worse with activity.
Insoles for Hockey Skates and Plantar Fascitis
When I was in Vegas I caught up with my friend Rick Kaselj of www.exercisesforinjuries.com (he really is my friend – I’m not just pulling the internet line on you saying that he is my friend yet I have never met him kind of thing) and we were talking about plantar fascitis which is an irritation of the connective tissue on the bottom of your foot (I will do a post about it later) and I got to asking him his opinion of custom footbed for skates – lots of you might already be in custom molded skates already – over the counter inserts and finally custom orthotics.
Have a drink – stop more pucks.
Now I know the beer league boys read the headline and thought – “Yes! I knew it all along!” But let me set you straight – I mean a drink of water or sport drink – not your favourite barley beverage. Today I want to chat about how dehydration can slow you down and impair your motor control. This will all happen before you even feel thirsty.
For goalies who need to unlock more quickness on the ice.
I do not give on ice tips very often, but this one applies to both on-ice and off-ice agility training for goalies. Start your agility drills from different positions, don’t always start from your perfect, square ready position.
This is why hockey goalies need upper body training.
I was working with a 17-year old goalie the other day who stopped in the middle of the workout, turned to me and said, “Why do I need to do any upper body exercises? I am a goalie!”
Well that stopped me in my tracks for two reasons:
1. It was the first time I ever came across a 17 year old male who did not want to do upper body training.
2. On the surface it makes some sense – but once you understand how the body works it makes no sense.
Hockey trainers – are you letting muscle imbalances create injuries?
My colleague Rick Kaselj has put together a very comprehensive guide for you outlining exactly how muscle imbalances can create injuries and what you can do to reverse these effects and either prevent an injury or help a client come back after their injury.
What stretch should you do when you get injured?
One of the most common questions I get from goalies goes like this, “I pulled my groin yesterday – what stretch should I do to make it better?” or “I have a pain in my back what stretch should I do to fix it?”
Maybe there is a stretch that will fix it, but maybe not! Maybe it does not need a stretch at all, maybe it needs more strength and stability. Maybe the pain in your back is actually coming from your tight hip or your old shoulder injury. Maybe your hamstring strain is a function of poor core stability. You need to get help from an experienced sport physiotherapist to establish the underlying cause of the injury, then you can follow a targeted step-by-step path to loosen the tight structures if necessary and strengthen the weak structures if necessary.
Action steps to better goaltending.
Here is your step-by-step guide to help hockey goaltenders set goals that lead to success.
How much is too much? Training guidelines for young hockey players.
I had a post on this topic a few months ago, but I continue to get more questions about it, so today I want to share my philosophy on training…
Head’s up!
I just wanted to give you a head’s up to let you know that over the next 7-10 days I will be doing some upgrading on the Hockey Training Blog. …