Let’s party!! It just might be someone’s 44th birthday on Thursday 🙂 and that is why I get to go to Starbucks for a caramel macchiato on Thursday AND Friday this week. Don’t get me wrong, I am at Starbucks pretty much every day, but typically I only get my treat drink on Friday mornings during my weekly GSD session.
A Treat For You Too!
But I don’t want to be greedy and hoard all the treats myself, I want to share, so for today and today only – sorry no exceptions I am going to give you a birthday gift as well!
FOR SKATERS… when you buy my top selling off-ice hockey training program – the Hockey Training Blueprint I am going to give you both Hockey Speed Secrets and the Pro Hockey Workout Revealed for no charge at all ($197 value)! CLICK HERE FOR THIS DEAL.
FOR GOALIES… when you buy the top of the line Ultimate Goalie Training 3.0 I am going to give you TRX Training For Goalies PLUS the Bodyweight Training Guide for Goalies for FREE ($134 value)! CLICK HERE FOR THIS DEAL.
FOR EVERYONE… What the heck, let’s do this…For anyone who purchases ANY of my hockey training products today (today only) I will host a private LIVE Q&A webinar (in the next two weeks) just like my VIP members get, to answer ANY and ALL hockey training questions you have.
No question is too big or too small – if you ever wanted to have me give you personal advice on your training, here is your chance. My private consulting rate is $170 per hour – but keep your money – this is your birthday present from me. You will be able to listen to the replay at anytime, so don’t worry if you cannot attend the webinar live.
I will email the details to those of you who qualify and you will have a chance to submit your questions ahead of time. So happy birthday to us all – wooooooo!
EOTW: Off-Ice Hockey Speed Training Drill
You know the saying ‘speed kills’? Well it applies to hockey as well. If you have skill but no speed then it is going to be a battle for on-going success in hockey. You might be okay at the lower levels, where everyone is slow, but at more competitive levels you need the speed!
Today’s EOTW is a simple way that you can help transform your acceleration on the ice. Acceleration is what gives you that first step quickness that lets you win more races to the puck and makes you stand out as one of the first guys back on D when the puck gets turned over.
The Falling Start…
When you complete this Falling Start drill, I want you to focus on taking quick and powerful strides. If you watch a sprinter coming out of the blocks they do not take a full stride on their first step, they build their stride length over the first 4 strides or so, each stride gets longer and longer, but all strides are powerful.
I see a lot of players who take very quick short strides when they accelerate, but the strides stay short and there is very little power behind them. This is what I call the ‘Fred Flintstone’ (picture Fred winding up for bowling – if you remember The Flintstones).
Watch The VIDEO…
If you do not see the video in the player above, simply click on the link below…
http://youtu.be/8CwRW83mocA
So, put power into the ice, that is what will move your forward. Stay low, do not stand right up as soon as you take your first stride. Notice in the video how I keep my low position through the entire drill, but I get full extension on each push, no Fred Flintstones.
Also don’t forget to drive with your arms – there is a reason we use our arms when running and skating, the muscles of the upper body interact with the muscles of the torso to increase the force transfer into the ground or the ice.
So this drill helps you learn to put force into the ground quickly, which is how you get better acceleration. Is it the exact same mechanics as skating on the ice? Nope. But if you have more powerful legs on land, do you think you are going to have more powerful legs on the ice? Yep, thought so.
How many?
Do 8 reps over 5 meters, walking back for rest.
Please make sure you do a full dynamic warm up and some sprint build ups before you work on this acceleration drill.
A build up is where you start at an easy jogging pace and build up to 75%, 85%, 95% of your top speed over 30 meters. So you start at a job and by the time you get to the 30 meter mark you are hitting the target percentage. Then walk back.
WARNING! If you have not done any sprinting since high school gym class then please do not do this drill, the probability that you will tear your calf or hamstrings or quads. Even if you workout regularly, this is really different. Do not risk it please!
You can also do this drill on the ice, it is pretty much exactly the same technique, except it is even more specific to your skating stride. Add this to your on-ice practice twice per week and you will improve your acceleration.
Your speed does not need to limit your success on the ice. Not everyone can be as fast a skater as Marion Gaborik, but you can make yourself quicker next week than you are today by working on the right things. Here is just one of the many off-ice exercises that you can use to achieve that goal.
Cheers,
Maria
Your Complete On-Ice Speed Training System…
