Only one more week until the start of the regular season and our first Hockey Night in Canada. Can’t wait! I have been enjoying the pre-season games so far but I am ready for the real thing. Do you think the Leafs will make the play-offs this year? I am going on record right now to say I think they WILL make the play-offs! Are you with me (or against me?). Leave a comment to let me know your thoughts.
I find the pre-season fascinating for a few reasons 1) I have to anxiously wait to see how the athletes I train over the summer are doing at their pro camps and 2) there are always lots of tweaks and strains that pop up and this always gets me thinking about the ‘why’. The one that sticks in my head most recently is Luongo’s groin ‘tweak’. I immediately thought back to an article about how Luongo became passionate about road biking this off-season and how he logged 1800km on the bike to help him drop 8lbs of weight. I can’t help but think…hmmmmmmm!
Think about the position of Luongo’s adductors (groins) when he is sitting on his road bike. His legs are side by side right? This means he is training those muscles in a shortened position rather than a lengthened position the way he needs to rely on them when he is on the ice. Add to that the fact that cycling (in particular road cycling) keeps his back in a rounded position (a stressful position for the discs in the lower back) – time will tell if this has had a negative impact. If he misses some games for back pain later in the season, I will again think about the impact of spending time on the bike.
If you want to know how you can help train your adductors the way a goalie uses them on the ice, check out the video below for two simple groin injury reduction exercises that you can add to your workout routine.
I know it can be hard to know what training will pay off on the ice. There is a lot of misinformation out there. If you are desperate to become the goalie you know you can be you may want to check out the pro-style Ultimate Goalie Training system if you are looking to advance your competitive hockey career. If you feel that you don’t have the time to train like a pro then the Rapid Response Goalie Training system is exactly right for you – train at home, workouts last 20-40 minutes and you decide whether you workout 2, 3 or 4 times per week!
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Maria
PS – don’t forget to comment below if you think the Leafs will make the play-offs or not! Your chance to send some cheap shots my way if you are a non-believer!