As we approach the later portion of the in-season period we start to program more Overcoming Isometrics (attempting to move an immovable object) to fire up the nervous system and improve strength. Because the movement has no movement/economy centric contraction, we can confidently program them knowing we won’t see any residual muscular fatigue or soreness. … Continue reading Overcoming Iso’s With Hockey Players?

General things that we know 👉 when overuse/muscle tension increases the antagonist muscle(s) become shortened/inhibited. If a prime mover contracts, the antagonist relaxes. If a certain muscle group is overworked, it’s reasonable to think that the antagonist muscle group is underworked. How does this apply to 🏒 players❓Things we know due to the demands of … Continue reading Unbalanced Programming?

A couple times in the last month or so I’ve been asked what we do different with our in-season training compared to our off-season training. The reality is, besides weekly volume (we typically lift 2x a week in-season and 3-4x a week in the off-season), we don’t do much different at all. Our big rocks … Continue reading In-Season vs. Off-Season Training

Happy Monday! Here are a few thoughts bouncing around in my head after a week of reading, podcasts and other continuing ed. Enjoy! "May people see change as a threat. But the real threat is resisting change." - Tim Kight I really think our profession does a lot of things simply because it is the … Continue reading Monday Musings

Another week, another group of podcasts and articles to read and listen to that I have dived into. Like every other week, there was a ton of content out there both in written form and through podcasts. Enjoy! Podcasts Another really good week of podcasts. I think I've said this before, but if you are … Continue reading S&C Week in Review: 2/24

Another month, another post full of random thoughts that have been going through my head. Hope it sparks a little thought in people and you enjoy! Lot of debate lately on uni-lateral vs. bilateral lower body strength training. I lean towards uni-lateral but we also perform bilateral lifts. Its not an all or nothing, its … Continue reading Random Thoughts: February Edition

One thing we’ve tried to do this year is focus our daily training, trying to get our speed, plyo/jump, power and strength work all complementing one another each day that we train. It’s also really nice when you see great coaches like @dmcconnell29 doing something somewhat similar. What we are currently doing. Monday (Day 1): … Continue reading Complementary Training with Hockey Players

I posted about this same topic a little while back so I’ll keep it short and to the point ➡️ during the season hockey players perform a ton of rotational movements through actions like shooting or passing the puck. As much as I love rotational med ball work, doing more rotational work during this time … Continue reading Non-Rotational Med Ball Work with Hockey Players

Anyone that follows me know that I’ve talked a lot about speed and acceleration the last 6-8 months, but I think it’s incredibly important in developing hockey players. Strength coaches will spend time developing strength year round but won’t spend the time to develop speed which to me makes no sense...no one is ever TOO … Continue reading Continually Developing Speed and Acceleration in the Sport of Hockey

A few days back I touched on how we perform more sagittal plane (really non-frontal plane work to be specific) in-season to try to create more balance across the hips with all the skating that they do. But we also almost exclusively perform 1-Leg Lower Body work in-season for a couple reasons Spending too much … Continue reading Primarily 1-Leg Strength Work?