Before getting into whether the Heavy Bag is good or a gimmick for hockey training, I want to let you know that I have a special promotion on both Goalie Workout Club and Hockey Workout Club right now. The details are all on the info pages, but if four months of specific off-ice training for under $20 sounds good to you, then check it out.
These programs are not as intense as the Ultimate Goalie VIP or the new project for skaters that I am busy working on, but if you need to work on your strength, speed and stamina this off-season, but you do not have 1.5 hours to train on most days, then you should definitely check it out.
Hitting The Heavy Bag For Hockey Training
There are essential tools that we need to train any hockey player, in my opinion those are dumbbells, resistance bands or cables and a medicine ball. I mean if you are stranded on a desert island and can only take three items – those would be my three. I would also try to smuggle a TRX onto the island by stuffing it down my pants, but that would probably be pretty bulky so someone would likely find it 🙁
I would NOT be trying to smuggle a heavy bag onto the island…BUT I do have one in the gym, so check out the 3-minute video to see why I think the heavy bag is a ‘nice to have’ for hockey training, even for non-goons.
Not only is the heavy bag a staple tool for fighters of all sorts, but it is a great way work some upper body power, endurance and stability, not to mention the work of the hips and torso.
Even if a player is not a ‘fighter’, they still need to battle along the boards. The need to be willing to get in there and move guys off the puck – I see a transferability in the heavy bag work.
We typically work the heavy bag into either our metabolic circuits or into our ‘finishers’. Finishers come in when our players have completed their scheduled workout for the day and we give them a little 5-minute routine to put a little exclamation point on the workout. I will do a post on Hockey Training Finishers another day.
So is the heavy bag good or a gimmick – I like it – the players work hard on it and they have a huge smile on their face when they finish with it.
It is definitely not a ‘need to have’, it might not even be a ‘nice to have’, I might have to classify it as a ‘fun to have’ – but I definitely do not think it is just a gimmick.
Not to scare the fellas out there, but the only other demographic that loves hitting the heavy bag as much as the hockey players is the 40-something wives and Moms – they get this sinister grin – occasionally laughing hysterically as they punch and punch and punch and punch – – you get the idea, I usually have to pull them away from the bag as they continue to wildly grin, laugh and swing….
Have a great day gang – keep your dukes up!
Cheers,
M
PS – don’t forget to get four months of off-ice training for under $20 – SKATERS Click Here – – GOALIES Click Here.