3-Ways Hockey Goalie Training Differs from Skater’s Off-Ice Training

In the strength and conditioning world, some coaches love controversy. I don’t have much use for it, but here is where some view me as a little controversial because I firmly believe that the dryland training for a hockey goalie should be different than the training done by the skaters.

So let me start by saying that you can disagree with me and that is fine, we can still be friends. I will also say that a goalie is an athlete first, so the first job is to create an injury resistant athlete. But beyond that I have some different ideas about how hockey goalies should workout away from the ice.

I am highlighting three ways hockey goalie training differs (or should differ) from a skaters training program and the three elements that need to be considered are…

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Goalie Training Q&A + Pugs…

All I can say is that mother nature has given us a cornucopia of weather this winter (good word eh?). Saturday it was about -10C when Paul and I were out running in the morning, yesterday was another lovely winter day and today it is pouring rain with a predicted high of +9C! What the huh?! Had a pretty quite weekend – watched my clients Virtue and Moir win the National Championships in Ice Dance the other day, so that was great fun. Next they are off to the Four Continents Championship and then World Championships, so still lots of season left for them.

Anyway, today I am hitting you with some goalie training Q&A. I am going to hit the following topics in this video….

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The Heirarchy of Goalie Training

Guess I got too much sleep last night because this post, this report over delivers a little on goalie training program design. I am not going to try and sell you on goalie training. I am not going to justify why you can kiss your potential good by if you do not do some goalie training away from the ice. If you are serious about your craft, it is already a part of your routine and I have already written dozens of articles about the key exercises that need to be a part of any successful off ice goalie training program.

My purpose today is to establish the hierarchy of goalie training. What do I mean by hierarchy of goalie training? Well, let me tell you…

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Grainy video from Vegas & multiplanar flexibility

Okay, so this is going to be a super short post today. Somehow it takes about a week to catch up from missing one day in the gym last week – not sure how that works exactly, but it is what it is. Anyway, when I was in Vegas I was talking to my friend Rick Kaselj of ExercisesForInjuries.com and we were talking about groins….well, you know what I mean, we were talking about groin injuries in hockey players. Anyway we were talking about how so many players use uniplanar stretching techniques when what they really need is multiplanar stretching.

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Gut check time…

As I shared with you a few weeks ago – I have some big business goals and I know they are not going to happen on their own. This made me think of the exercise in commitment we did in the late fall – remember, the one where I asked you to make a commitment to do what it takes to become a better goalie?

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Dryland Strength Exercises for Goalies using the TRX

One of my favourite tools to use whether I am travelling or in the gym is the TRX, which allows you to do what is called suspension training. Unlike some of the other things you read about – this one is not a fad. The TRX has several benefits including…

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Goalie Specific Off-Ice Training vs. Pop Culture

I get this question in several versions a few times per month – or I get arguments from certain members on some message boards telling me (based on their experience) how CrossFit or those videos you can by in the “As Seen On TV” stores are the best, most insane, awesomest ways for a goalie to train. PERIOD. Much of this stems from this CrossFit video I posted a few weeks ago that is scary! And by scary, I mean SCARY!!

Now, I can appreciate that some of you may just love doing CrossFit or the Rippem Shred’em 560Z workout. I am not here to debate your preferences. I have run 3 marathons and some would argue that this is not healthy for the body. Heck…you guys stand in front of hard rubber pucks that people fire at your head – not really the best for your health maybe. So if you love it – then love it…but please do not call it goalie specific training. It is fitness training – extreme fitness training at that, but it is not goalie specific training.

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Lifting weights will not kill your flexibility.

I had quite a bit of feedback on the Crossfit video I posted the other day – I could not agree more. Seeing things like this truly hurt my soul (and I am not trying to be funny here). It must be like a surgeon seeing a video of someone operating with a butter knife. I firmly believe that my first job as a strength and conditioning coach is the same as a doctors – ‘first, do no harm’. I am going to do a full post on that in a few days – I will answer your questions about my thoughts on CrossFit and the ever popular P90X, so stay tuned. In today’s post I am going to dispel the goalie strength training myth that lifting heavy weights will reduce your flexibility.

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The Top 5 Goalie Training Trends for 2012

So with the advent of a new year it seems natural to look back on the year that was and to look forward to the year ahead. On Monday I took a glimpse back at the top goalie training posts from 2011 and today I am going to share what I think will be some of the top training trends for 2012 and my personal goals for the year – I am pretty sure I will get the beer drinking one, but the 225lbs lifting goal will be tough!

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Top 5 Goalie Training Posts of 2011

So in keeping with the spirit of 80’s TV hit Solid Gold here are the top 5 blog posts from www.GoalieTrainingPro.com for 2011 – these are the ones you went to most often to help take your game to the next level. These posts tell you how to be quicker, how to train at home, what exercises are essential for every goalie and even how to lose all of your fitness if that is what you are after.

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