What a week I have had – it started early last Wednesday when I hopped a plane for Saskatoon – you have to fly to Calgary first and then back to Saskatoon. From the airport I picked up my rental car and made the drive over to the Rutherford Rink to meet up with Gilles Bouvier of Elite Goaltending, Brad Posehn and Josh Saulnier of JB Performance and a few dozen dedicated goalies.
We had some great outdoor training sessions with the goalies under a beautiful sunny Saskatoon sky. From there I tagged along with Brad and Josh to work individually with some of their goalies who will be heading to their WHL/NCAA teams shortly. It was awesome to work with these outstanding young coaches who have such a passion for strength and conditioning.
When my time in Sasky was over it was back on a plane to Toronto, then a bus downtown where I picked up my registration package for the Can Fit Pro conference, which is a huge fitness conference that is held every summer. When I was there I had the chance to re-connect with my very first mentor in the strength and conditioning world, Coach Peter Twist – it was awesome to see him.
Then Monday morning I hopped the subway and then walked a few kms to meet up with Kevin Weekes (yeah THAT Kevin Weekes) to chat about his I Have No 5 Hole apparel line. I had never met him before, not gonna lie – I was nervous 🙂 But once I met him, it was clear that I did not need to be. I am sure I have never met anyone who has more love for the game of hockey – this guy walks the walk. You will see me wearing more I Have No 5 Hole gear in my videos, etc. because I strongly believe in what Kevin is doing with the brand.
Basically, he is using “No 5 Hole” as a metaphor. Just like a goalie, we all have a vulnerability that we are trying to diminish as we strive to become the person we want to be. So it is not just a fun goalie t-shirt – – it is a way of life that I think applies to all athletes, to all people really. Make sense?
After meeting Kevin it was back to the subway (he was nice enough to give me a ride back to the station), then hopped a train and was back in the gym for the 3:30pm varsity group sessions – whew!
EOTW: Reverse Lunge To Overhead Reach
If you do not see the video in the player above, simply click on this link to see it:
http://youtu.be/_UE-268fJoE
Why? I love this exercise for training the posterior chain – calves, hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae. It is also a nice dynamic balance exercise as you will see and feel when you try it. The posterior chain is what you use anytime you are pushing or striding on the ice so you can immediately see how this is an important functional unit to train.
How Heavy? This is not meant to be a heavy exercise, use a medium resistance band and make sure that you can hold your tall finish position with good balance and good alignment.
How Many Reps? Start with 2-3 sets of 6 on each leg, holding for 3 seconds at the top.
Happy Training!
Cheers,
M
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