Welcome to episode 49 of Goalie Training Pro TV. Next week we’re having cake. You’re not gonna like what I have to tell you today. You’re not gonna like it.
Check out this video plus all the other episodes on YouTube here >> https://youtu.be/8ZzyQQAdVJc
I’m just gonna get it out there…. P90X is not goalie training. I said it. I feel better. I feel good.
I know that some of you LOVE it, which is totally cool. If you love it, keep doing it. Enjoy it. I’m not saying it is bad. It just isn’t the best training for a goalie.
So this all came up ’cause someone was asking in a forum about, “Hey, I’m thinking of trying one of Maria’s programs. Has anyone tried one? What did you think?” Lots of people were commenting. A few people were like, “Just do P90X. Just to Insanity.”
This used to be really bad. When I started working with goalies online eight years ago or nine years ago it was … that was just it. It’s really died down ’cause I think people are understanding a little more about it, but it’s still out there so I just wanted to address it straight on.
Again, if you love it, I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it. I’m not saying that you won’t see improvement, because you’ll see improvement from anything. It is a really challenging fitness program. If you improve your fitness, you’re gonna perform better on the ice or running maybe or whatever. It’s just not the best way for a goalie to train. That’s all, if we wanna reduce wear and tear and improve, specifically, our performance on the ice. That’s all.
Yes, I’ve bought it. I paid my hard earned money just so I could see exactly what it is ’cause I don’t wanna … just like those people who comment about my programs like, “Well, have you done my programs, too, so you have a fair comparison?”
So I bought it. I bought it probably five years ago. I’ve done the workouts. I’ve studied how it’s set up. And it’s funny because people are like, “Oh, and it’s got this muscle confusion principle.” It’s like, okay they didn’t invent that.” That’s just sort of called variation in training. They marketed it. They branded it well, but they didn’t sort of come up … it’s not a new concept.
To give you a little bit of background on where I’m positioned, maybe evaluated from, from a scientific perspective, I studied exercise physiology and kinesiology at university for six years. I have an honours undergraduate degree and a masters of science degree. I’m not telling you that to be like, “Oh, look at me,” but just to say … I’m looking at it from a scientific perspective.
Then we add on top of that that I’ve been earning my living training athletes, including Olympic champions and world champions and Stanley Cup champions and athletes performing at a really high level. I sort of have an understanding of how to train athletes to excel at their sport and how to get maximum return with minimum risk.
That’s really is the secret sauce.
We can do something that’s very, very hard and very extreme that will give you results, whether they’re exactly the results you need or want, that’s a different topic, but also at a high risk. My goal is to give you maximum return with a minimum risk.
Again, this is my perspective. If you love it, I’m not saying you can’t do it. If your primary goal is, “Hey, I wanna be the very best goalie I can be and I also wanna not add wear and tear to my hips and my back and my knees,” then I think probably there’s a better option. Whether it’s one of my programs or someone else’s program, that’s neither here nor there. It’s just there’s better options.
If we look at why, and I won’t get too into the nitty gritty, but number one, it isn’t periodized. It’s 90 days of workouts. That’s the 90. It’s the same workouts over and over. I think it’s maybe … I can’t remember now. I think it’s at least seven different workouts that you just kinda rotate through. On average, it’s around 50 minutes that it takes to do the workouts. I think the ‘Ab Ripper’ is just 15 minutes or something like that. You just rotate through all of those. It’s very hard. It’s a good fitness challenge. If you really like that, again, that’s perfect.
Like I said before, if you improve your fitness, that will help you on the ice. Even if you just started running, that’s gonna feel better. Even if you started doing some yoga where you haven’t been doing any stretching at all, you’re gonna feel better on the ice. Even if you go to the gym and just start doing the circuits, you’ll feel better on the ice. If you go to Cross Fit and start doing it, you’ll feel better on the ice.
But is it the best? Are you increasing wear and tear on your body?
If we look at the P90X program, it’s high volume, high intensity, which is what makes it so brutally hard, (and you’re gonna get mad and you’re gonna argue with me) but that is cardio training and muscle endurance training. That’s not training power and speed and explosiveness.
You, by and large, are not even going solid for two minutes. You’re a repeat sprinter. You’re gonna be like, “Well, what if my team’s on a penalty kill and blah blah blah?” Yes, so then we do some stamina workouts to sort of prepare you for that, but by and large, you earn your money by being explosive and then getting short rests and then being explosive then getting short rests. That’s where you earn your bread and butter.
Then, someone’s gonna say, “Oh, but they have a whole Plyo workout.” Yes, but the plyometrics are long duration plyometrics. When you use plyometrics for power, and again this is just basic exercise physiology, you’re only working for two to ten seconds. That’s how you’re developing your power. There just is too much volume, too little rest.
You have to slow down. You have to come back into that aerobic capacity, or that aerobic training zone because you can’t no matter how fit you are, how hard you try, you couldn’t Usain Bolt and be like, “Okay, you’re gonna sprint for … You’re gonna sprint full out for 90 seconds.” It’s important. He’ll get further than you or I would. He’d be around the corner, down the block, further away than we are, but he’s still just gonna run out of gas because your body … it doesn’t work that way. It’s not that the more fit you are you can then go at top speed for five minutes.
I’ll guarantee you that none of it was designed with a goalie in mind. Then if you look at some of the … like chataronga pushups and even just the wear and tear on the plyometrics, it’s just a lot of … and the Ab Ripper X. That’s a lot of load on your lumbar discs. There’s a lot of load on your hips.
Again, don’t get mad. I know it probably feels fine when you do it, but it’s adding little bits of wear and tear. It’s just a decision.
Do I wanna do this program because it’s a really good challenge and I really enjoy it and I feel great after I’ve done it? That’s awesome. Just because it’s extra wear and tear on your hips and knees and back doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. There are a lot of people that run marathons. I run marathons. That’s wear and tear on my hips, knees, and back, but I really wanted to do it. I enjoyed training for it and I did it.
If my sole focus was on being the best goalie I could be, then I have no business being out training for a marathon or doing P90X.
I hope that helps without sort of getting into the minutia of it. I know some of you won’t like it, but I still love you. Again, if you love it, do it. If it makes you feel great, do it. If your main focus is being the best goalie you can be, then I would look for something that is more sport specific, that has a periodization to it.
Our programs, every month we’re sort of building on the next. We have a focus. This is what we’re working on in this block. Then the next block it’s … so we start with sort of a movement phase. Then we move to a functional phase. Okay. Now we’re gonna stabilize and challenge those muscles. Then we go to a max strength phase. Then we go to a peak power phase. We weave in the speed and the stamina and the balance and the hip stability that you need.
Thinking of it, common sense, it’s like, “Okay. Yeah. I can see how that’s probably better.” Like anything, there’s good, better, best. I think the best is a program that’s designed for what you’re trying to do. Definitely good and better is doing something rather than nothing. If you enjoy it, that counts for a lot, too.
I hope we can still be friends. I know some of us will not be allowed to be friends anymore. That’s okay too. Like Billy Joel says, “So many faces in and out our life. Some will last. Some will just be now and then. Life is a story of hellos and goodbyes. I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again.” It happens…
That’s it. That’s your Goalie Training Pro TV. If you like it, give it a thumbs up. If it just sours anything ’cause I said P90X wasn’t good goalie training, then go ahead – give me the thumbs down. You can leave comments. That’s fine, too. Remember, I still love you.
See you.