If you take away all of a goalies muscle and connective tissue, what you have is a skeleton with some guts wearing goalie pads. Can that bag of bones stop a puck? No way, there would be no way to move in the crease or do a spectacular glove save. So let’s add the muscles back to your arms and legs so you can move. Would that be any better?
Nope, not at all – the muscles acting alone on the arms and legs would pretty much pull the skeleton to pieces. So the next layer we need is the core. Now we can move as a functional unit. Check out the video below to learn more about three of my favourite off-ice core training exercises for goalies.
You may also want to check out Rick Kaselj’s latest Exercises for Injuries blog where he asks me about the top two mistakes trainer makes when working with hockey players. Rick is a great guy (he kind of reminds me of the travel show guy Rick Steves) who is an expert in preventing and rehabbing injuries. I am going to try and interview him for his ideas on hip injuries in goalies. Stay tuned.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Maria