Welcome back to Goalie Training Pro TV. Got a question for you, do any of you ever get up using the wrong leg? You’re probably using your strong side, aren’t you? I’ve got an answer for you, as to why you have a strong side and a weak side, coming right up.
Check out this episode (and lots of others) over on YouTube here >> https://youtu.be/U7doczoRIRw
Hey, this is Maria here from goalietrainingpro.com, and after watching this video you’re going to know why you have one side that feels stronger or just more fluid than the other leg, and I’m going to give you a couple of ways that you can help turn that tide.
One of the best things I can hear from a goalie that I’ve trained in the Shutout Academy or Turning Pro Coaching is that they say, “I don’t even have to think about which leg I get up with anymore. It just feels automatic right now to pick the right leg.” That’s music to my ears and that’s what I’m trying to help you get.
Do me a favour, let’s do this together.
We’re just going to start by crossing our arms. So just cross your arms, look tough. Now what I want you to do is cross your arms the other way.
It feels weird, doesn’t it?
It’s kind of ingrained. You sort of have just a natural, embedded preference, probably a little bit like you’re right and left-handed. But here’s the good news, if you practiced for seven to ten days, you’d get so that crossing them the other way would feel pretty natural too.
The same thing goes on with your lower body, so we just need to practice so that you get more familiar with it, those motor patterns get more and more ingrained.
Here’s how you’re going to do that.
That’s one of the big reasons we spend lots of time working on single-leg exercises in the gym, because you might just be able to crush it out no problem with one leg and then really have trouble getting the strength or the stability or the control. Even when you’re doing your off-ice agility drills, let me show you exactly what I mean… you’ll visualize how the play’s developing, where are you moving. The puck shot comes from here, you maybe make a blocker, rebound it into the corner. So you’re going to follow your rebound and you’re going to come over this way.
So you’re going to think about it, and you’re going to think about your mechanics as well. Maybe this side feels really comfortable, this side always feels a little janky.
Well then, think about it.
Am I staying stable in my torso? Am I staying square in my shoulders? Am I getting the same kind of movement pattern, or am I putting this foot out here without even realizing it?
So pay attention to those little subtleties, both when you’re doing your strength training and your off-ice agility or stamina training.
Then, of course what really matters is what you’re doing on the ice. So for sure when you’re on the ice, even by yourself or with your goalie coach, and you’re goalie coach is going to make sure you look after it, so it’s probably more when you’re on your own. You’ve got to be really diligent about not just letting your body do what it wants to do or what it’s always done, but practicing those hard patterns.
It’s not just a matter of repetition, but repetition with quality. If you’re practicing sloppy reps, you’re going to develop a sloppy motor pattern. You have to slow it down, get it right, and then build up the speed and the volume.
Here’s a bonus tip. If you can, sometimes it’s a little tricky on the ice, so when you do your off-ice agility training or off-ice stamina training, just set up your iPhone, video yourself because sometimes what you think you’re doing, what it feels like you’re doing, it’s like, “Yeah, that feels the same,” but then when you see it it’s like, “Wow, my mechanics are really different.”
You don’t have to understand biomechanics and anatomy and physiology, but just so you can see, “Okay, that still doesn’t look quite as smooth. That’s a pattern that needs some more work.”
Do you feel like you have a strong side and weak side?
I want you to post in the comments below if you do, and if you do, which leg it is, and when you put which leg it is, tell me which leg you would kick a soccer ball with. (If I just rolled a soccer ball to you, which leg would you choose to boot it with?)
I have a theory on this and I want to see if it plays out. For me, well, I’m not going to tell you which leg feels strongest on me because I don’t want to taint it, but just say, “Yeah, I feel more comfortable if I’m recovering with my right leg. If you rolled a soccer ball to me I would boot it with my right leg.”
Or it might be the opposite, but yeah. Let me know so I can test out my little theory. We’ll do a little experiment.
That’ll help you even things out and realize that, yeah, you can make your weak side stronger just with diligent practice. If you know that being stronger, more stable, more mobile is going to help you stop more pucks on the ice, which it’s kind of no-brainer, duh, yeah, it’s going to help, but maybe you’re just not sure what exact exercise to do, what order to do them in, how many sets, how many reps, what the tempo should be, it’s a lot confusing.
I have a free six-week microprogram for you that you can download. I have one for sort of the young guns that are really still trying to make it to the next level, and then I have one for the serious beer league goalie as well. The link is right there in the previous sentence, you just click on that and away you go.
Again, it’s free, so that way there’s no excuses. You can just get started today.
Obviously, the more advanced training programs are going to deliver the better results, but you’ll be amazed at what a difference even this simple, basic program, it’s goalie specific, will make over the first six weeks.
And if you appreciate this tip, as I appreciate you taking the time to read it, because I know you want to stop more pucks, then make sure you like or subscribe.
This is Maria from GoalieTrainingProTV, goalietrainingpro.com. Thanks again for stopping by, I’ll catch you next time.