The Back Squat has long been a staple of off-ice hockey training, used by goalies and skaters alike.
I know some of you goalies out there LOVE your squats… so some of you are not going to be happy with this news, but stay with me for a second here.
I am not saying you can’t squat AT ALL… I just need you to walk away from the Back Squat and here’s exactly why.
And don’t worry, I’m also going to give you some great alternatives that will help motivated goalies like you move better and feel better on the ice, while saving your body so you can play hockey for years and years to come.
And I know that there are going to be hockey goalies who still use it in their training, some of you probably will; and your justification will be that “I do them all the time and my back doesn’t hurt”. I just want you to appreciate that disc injuries (like hip impingement) are overuse injuries, they feel fine… until they DON’T feel fine.
And once it doesn’t feel fine, then you are probably in a pretty deep hole, so if there is a way that you can get more benefit on the ice AND reduce the wear and tear on your body with your goalie training, then why wouldn’t you take that option?
Happy training.
Cheers,
Maria
PS – for what it’s worth, I also train other athletes, some of whom have won Olympic medals and THEY don’t back squat either – you can still build amazing strength and power without back squatting.