The Sports Life
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Incorporating Training In Your Hockey Strategy
Training for any sport is a necessity. Even if your naturally good at any sport in particular, working on those acquired skills will make you even better. The sport of Hockey is no different. If you look at the best players in the world, you would be out of luck trying to find any of the "greats" that didn't incorporate some form of training into their routine. To put it simply, training is important. It's a must. It helps you improve, and the benefits can be tremendous.
The Importance of Flexibility
Flexibility may be one of the most overlooked aspects of physical preparation. For some, flexibility consists of nothing more than some half hearted stretches following their endurance, speed or strength session(s), giving little importance to this crucial aspect. This is something that shouldn't be overlooked. Don't leave this part out.
Working On Speed
If you want the power to move quickly and the stamina for sustained hard skating, you must condition the muscles and cardiovascular system to build strength, power, and endurance. While flexibility is an important aspect to your training routine, strength and power are equally important as the key for speed development. The Step-Up in particular is an excellent exercise as it targets the quad, glut-hamstring muscle groups that are key for speed development. Stick handling can also greatly improve your speed, in addition to timing, eye and stick coordination, precision, puck control, touch, feel and consistency when handling a puck or stick handling ball.
Working on Strength
Strength conditioning has increasingly become a central factor to one's hockey training routine. For most athletes, it is an essential component in their training program(s), and therefore should not be neglected. Incorporating exercises in your routine that help improve both core strength and postural stability are critical. Strengthening the abs in particular, which can be done using a medicine ball in addition to other methods, can greatly improve strength and explosiveness. When using weights in a strength conditioning program, it is recommended to start off with light weights, build some initial strength, and then work your way up. Increasing the strength of one's upper body will allow players to shoot with more power and pass over a greater range of distances. Most importantly though, sports demand that you work your whole body, and thus you should incorporate a whole-body workout, especially for improving core strength.
In all, the "practice routines" mentioned above are only a few ideas that can be applied to help improve your game of hockey. There are many articles you can find on the Internet that go in-depth about each aspect and more for your sport of choice, including hockey.
Regardless of what anyone tells you, training for your sport of choice is a necessity. Whether that's baseball, basketball, or even hockey. It doesn't matter what the sport is, training will help improve not only your skills, but of course, your overall game performance. One thing I must stress is that training shouldn't be looked at as something negative. Something that "has" to be done, but you don't really feel like doing. In reverse, it should be looked at as something that's positive, knowing that the effort you put in will be well worth it and most definitely pay off.
Make the "training routine" that you create for yourself a fun one. That's so important. In whatever you do, and it's not just limited to sports, you should look for the "fun in it." Get friends to join you and have them actually partake in the actual exercises or have them act as your coach, lending you some motivation. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and train. Good luck!
Jonathan Mancini is a "hockey veteran" with more than 15 years teaching, coaching, and performing in the industry. He uses an off-ice training system that helps develop his passing, hockey shooting and stick handling skills. You can learn more by visiting: http://www.tape-2-tape.com
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