Congratulations to the Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawk’s fans our there, your team did it in fine form.  What a whirlwind of a season that was?  From start to finish I thought play-offs were awesome.  Great goaltending battles, great physical battles – just awesome!

In case you missed it, check out the first Hockey Training Pro All-Start Of The Month, Ondrej – we profiled him yesterday, you can see what makes Ondrej an All-Star HERE.

Now that the cup has been handed over,  I’m excited to see what happens in the draft and with the free agents out there.  Any thoughts on the Scrivens trade for Bernier?   Personally, I think it was probably a good move overall for the Leafs, but what do I know about it?

Okay, on to business…

Hockey Training EOTW #2 – Landmine Squat & Press

Many of you have never thought of using a barbell this way, but there are some great exercise variations you can do with the ‘landmine position’.

Exercises with the barbell held in this orientation are often called ‘landmine’ exercises because originally there was a metal plate that sat on the floor with a universal joint and a holder for the bar end.

It was quite expensive at the time and then a lot of us discovered that you could pretty much do the exact same thing just putting the end of the barbell where the floor and the wall meet with a very similar effect.  I now have a swivel that attaches to my power rack (it saves the wall from getting chewed up over time).

Muscles Targeted:

Glutes, Quads, Calves, Deltoids, Triceps, Abdominal Obliques

Technique:

• Hold the end of a barbell at the end of the collar
• Squat down to at least 90 degrees at the knee and position yourself so the end of the bar is approximately one fist width in front of your shoulder
• Maintain a neutral back position and stable torso as you drive your hips up and forward
• As you drive up generating momentum with the hips, engage your shoulder and arm to press the weight to an overhead position
• Pause momentarily and return back to the starting position by sitting back with your hips
• At the bottom position (start/finish) your heels should be flat on the floor

How Many Sets & Reps

This is an exercise that I typically program during a phase where we are trying to develop either max strength or power so it is usually programmed for 3-4 sets of 3-4 repetitions on each side.   Lift explosively from the ready position to the top, pause briefly at the top then squat down for a count of 1-2.

If we are emphasizing the torso stabilization we will pause at the bottom for 1-2 seconds before driving back up.  If the torso stabilization is good and we are emphasizing power production, the athlete will not pause at the bottom, they will explode straight back up.

Make sure you take the time to learn the proper form before loading it up with weight or following an explosive tempo.

When To Use The Landmine Squat And Press

As I mentioned above, this exercises is typically programed during the max strength or power phase.  It can be loaded up nicely so we use it as an option for push press or push jerk.  We classify it as an overhead press and I feel that it is a little easier on the shoulders than some of the other variations.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Maria