Now, before I get to today’s post about in-season training for hockey goalies, let me tell you a bit about my trip to San Diego.  I told you a while ago that I would be heading to So Cal to meet up with my business mastermind group which is run by Bedros Keuilian and Craig Ballantyne.  Yes, I do have the best job ever, but yes, it is a business so just like playing hockey, having a good coach can make all the difference.

In addition to Bedros & Craig who always help point me in the right direction, the group is made up of some of the brightest fitness pros anywhere and what they are doing with their online businesses is truly inspiring.  You see, we all realize that we can stay in our studios, gyms or boot camps and help 40-60 people per week or we can step it up a notch and spread our reach all over the world by sharing our training systems online.

Everyone in the group has a mission – I will tell you more about my mission in a separate post but for today I want to tell you about what an impact my mentors have had not only on my business, but on my life.  It is like having someone shine a light on the path to success and all I have to do is follow it.  How simple is that?  Notice I said simple, not easy.  It is not easy, I have to do the work, but the reward at the end and the feeling of satisfaction makes it all worth it.  It also helps that Bedros & Craig always chose really cool places for our group meetings.  Usually we are in Las Vegas because it is pretty cheap to get there, stay there and eat there.  This time they gave us a special treat, we met up in San Diego.  We had two days of intense and informative meetings, then on the Saturday night, they treated us to a VIP party at Float in the Hard Rock Hotel which was very

Beer & chips were on the menu for the blackout.

cool, but also reminds me why I do not go out to night clubs anymore – too damn old and it keeps me up past my bedtime.

Paul & I stayed in San Diego for two days after the meeting for a little R&R after a very busy summer so that was awesome.  Here are the highlights of the trip…

• Arrived in San Diego just hours before a blackout that affected southern California, Arizona and parts of Mexico – we were in the dark fromabout 3:30pm until about 2:30am.  The Hard Rock Hotel did a great job of pulling out what food they could to feed us – some pre-made sandwiches, mixed nuts, mini chocolate bars and yes – chips.  So basically I had beer and chips for dinner – that is not on the nutrition plan, but it was fun!  Paul & I remember the big black out that spread from Ontario to New York that lasted almost two days a few years back -I was stranded in Toronto at a conference, so we stocked up.
• I finally got to cross something off my life list – I tried surfing and it was awesome.
  

  Living one of my dreams - learning to surf!

  I got up about three times and had a blast!  Thanks to Nick from PB Surf Shop on Pacific Beach – you did a great job helping us out.

• The final highlight was riding our long board skateboards from Pacific Beach back to Mission Beach along the ‘boardwalk’ – what a beautiful area – so much fun.

Okay, that is all for now on the vacation – time to get to work!

Maintaining in-season training for hockey goalies: Step 1

I know some of you did nothing this summer.  I know some of you are panicking right now because you are back on the ice and you see the other players in the locker room who have literally transformed their bodies over the summer and even worse, not only do they look better, but they are also faster, more agile and yes, even their shot is harder.

To some extent you guys are screwed and your best bet is to start doing some off-ice training right now.  Even if it is just this goalie specific in-season workout that I posted a few weeks ago – start today!

I also know that most of you did workout this summer and you are seeing and feeling the results on the ice.  It feels good doesn’t it?  I love getting emails like the one I got from a college player who is one of my Elite Goalie Strength & Conditioning members (sorry, this group is sold out right now).  He emailed me to say that he had to learn to be more patient with shooters now because he was so much faster getting across the crease.  Now that is a nice problem to have.

If you are smart, you should also be a little worried that you will lose some of the stability, speed and stamina you developed over the summer.  The best thing you can do right now is to get an accurate snapshot of where you are right now so you can see where you are holding your own and where you are losing ground as the season goes on.

The regular season is important, but let’s face it, you are all playing for the play-offs and that is when you need to be your best.  I am not naming any names, but we all see those goalies who are outstanding during the regular season, only to fizzle when it really counts.

So please complete this baseline evaluation to get an idea of where you are right now.  WARNING!  If you have crappy knees, hips, back, or all of the above and you have not moved off the sofa since the show Cheers dominated Thursday night TV – then I suggest that you take a pass on this.  If your workouts have included some strength training, plyometrics and sprints, then give it a try and if you are really serious, you will post your scores below.

Seriously, posting your scores will motivate you to either improve or maintain when it comes time to re-evaluate.  Here are the tests we are going to do today:

• Standing Long Jump (leg power)
• Push Ups (upper body strength & endurance)
• Repeated Core Plank (core stability & endurance)
• Single Leg Squat to Tap (leg strength & muscular endurance)

I have included a video of these tests for you below, but I would also like to include one more test for the truly brave (and only if you have been including sprints in your current routine).

The test is the 300 yard shuttle run and here is how it works.  You measure out 25 yards on a smooth surface with good footing.   Mark each end with a cone or a shoe or whatever.  Then you will run from one cone to the other and back six times.  So each trip from cone 1 è2è1 you will travel 50 yards, so six trips is 300 yards.

My junior players all get their time to 60 seconds – the pros are all below 60 seconds and if you are more of an ‘average joe’ then 70 seconds is a good goal for you.  Again, if you are not a runner, please do not even try this test, the last thing you need is to pull a muscle trying to prove how fit you are.

Enjoy gang – let me know how you do with it – post your scores below!
Cheers,

Maria