I just had an amazing experience presenting on In-Season Strength and Conditioning for Hockey at the annual Roger Neilson’s coaches clinic. I was absolutely honored to be involved in this clinic. I met some really nice people who are involved. I hope to be a part of it again someday.
Some have been asking how my preparation is going for the RKC. I feel like it is going really well. I am progressing nicely with building up the necessary volume of snatches while my strength and technique is improving on my swings. However, what I have been struggling with is that my hands get pretty ripped up. Most of the time, I don’t even know it until I put the kettlebell down after the last rep on my last set. I think I now have figured it out though as I have been working with a pumice stone and an emery board to get my hands smoother.
As for HockeySC.com, we have had some great content added during the past week. The forum is busy as well with discussions on playoff training models, sled training, and having a strong stick on the ice.
Here is what was added last week:
Kevin Neeld added Youth Hockey Program. This is a good program that doesn’t require any equipment. I really like these programs because in reality, this is what youth coaches are faced with when designing programs for their players. You can really accomplish a lot with minimal space and equipment.
Last was Darryl Nelson’s Beginner Phase 2 Offseason. I really love the simplicity of Darryl’s programs. This is totally what young athletes need- a program with the intention of getting stronger at the basic lifts.
As a strength and conditioning coach in a team sport setting, I admit that I was hesitant about the Turkish Get-up when I first started to learn about it. I viewed it as an exercise that would be too difficult to implement in my coaching situation as it looked like an exercise that seemed too complicated to teach to a large group of athletes. (We have 23 players on our hockey team).
I first learned and practiced the Turkish Get-Up at a Perform Better 1 Day Seminar in Los Angeles a few years back. To say that I was humbled by an 8k kettlebell is an understatement. Dr. Mark Cheng was my instructor during the hands-on portion of the seminar. I was coached by him through all of the 7 steps of the Kalos Sthenos method. From my 5 minutes spent with Dr. Cheng, I realized that this was an exercise where proper form was critical. Dr. Cheng was critiquing my every move as I tried to do a Get Up successfully. This was the first time that I realized that our players needed to be doing the Get-Up. I felt that this was a total body exercise that would be beneficial for our team. What I really learned during my learning experience was that performing the Get Up with less than adequate technique really exposes issues such as weakness and tightness to some of the muscles that are involved.
Along with learning from Dr. Cheng at the seminar, another resource that I have found helpful in learning the Turkish Get-up is “Kettlebells From the Ground Up” by the previously mentioned Dr. Mark Cheng, with Gray Cook and Brett Jones. This is a great manual that outlines the 7 steps of the Get-Up in a specific way. One of the quotes from Dr. Cheng in the manual is “Get-Up is an all-purpose strength and stability exercise, as a corrective exercise, and as a movement screen”. I agree with him 100%. An all purpose strength and stability exercise that is a corrective exercise and a movement screen at the same time? This is an exercise that our players need to get really good at, just like any other exercise in our program.
In our off-season program, we have added our progressions for the Get-Up into our program twice per week. We will do a progression during each of the 3-week phases of the program as part of our workouts on days 1 and 3. We will start the off-season with phase 1 of the Get Up and we will be performing full Get-Ups by the end.
During the in-season phase, we do core circuits 2-3 times per week. These consist of 6-8 hip and abdominal exercises done twice in a circuit-like fashion. We have added the Get Up progressions to the core circuit. These are done in a progressive format over the course of the season in 5-6 week phases which start with the easiest version in phase 1. By the end of season, we are doing full Get Ups.
Along with the Turkish Get Up, we have been implementing kettlebells with other traditional exercises. Exercises such as Swings, 1-Leg Straight Leg Dead lifts, Goblet Squats, and Slideboard Split Squats have become parts of our program. I must say that although we use kettle bells as a tool, I am not certified by a kettlebell organization as I write this article. However, I am registered to attend the RKC in August of 2011 where I know I will benefit from more coaching. Most importantly, my athletes will benefit from me learning more about kettlebells as well. I feel that what I have learned from resources such as the “Kettlebells From the Ground Up” and other publications such as “Kettlebells From The Center” have given me enough confidence in implementing these lifts with my athletes.
In our situation, I felt it was necessary to break the Turkish Get-Up down into 4 steps instead of 7. This is what works for us in our situation.
Here is how we progress:
Phase 1-Get Up to Hand. We are really focusing on stabilizing with the lats and “packing” the shoulders down. We will also emphasize movement from the thoracic spine. We can really see lack of thoracic spine mobility during this phase, especially on one side compared to the other.
Phase 2-Get Up to Hip Extension. This is a phase that is beneficial from a screening perspective. With some hockey players having tight hip flexors and rectus femoris’, the inability to extend the hips is visible right away during this phase. From here we can identify those players who need some extra soft tissue work, stretching, or both to the hip flexors, rectus femoris, and TFLs. This part of the Get-Up, combined with all of the glute bridging and hip flexor lengthening that we do, is imperative for our guys in maintaining healthy hips.
Phase 3- Get Up to Kneeling Position. This phase requires coordination, balance, and stability all throughout the body.
Phase 4-Full Get Up. This is the last phase and the finish to the Get-Up. By now we have established a base and have progressed to this.
One of the key aspects of the Get Up is returning to the starting position during each phase. We must exhibit proper body control and eccentric strength to complete the movement.
From a practical perspective, over the course of the season, I have seen the progressions listed above help our players tremendously. When we started, the form during each phase didn’t look so good across the board. Now, as we have put all the parts together, our players have been figuring out strategies to be more efficient. For example, they have figured out that the movement is easier with a locked-out elbow versus a slightly bent elbow. Our guys now look really smooth performing the Get Up.
I am looking forward to the Stanley Cup finals to start next Wednesday. The fan in me wants it to be a Boston vs. Vancouver matchup, but you can’t count out Tampa Bay. Game 7 in Boston Friday night should be a really good game.
We had a great week of content added to HockeySC.com:
David Lasnier added Hockey Off-Season Periodization. David has added some good articles to the site recently. He gives a good perspective on some periodization models in this article.
Next up was Mike Potenza’s Playoff Training Model. What I like about this article is that the Sharks know how to get it done in the playoffs. They have been to the western conference finals during the last 2 playoff seasons. This article obviously comes from legit hands on experience from Mike.
The video of the week is also from Mike and it is Roller-Static Stretching Combos. These are some really good easy to do but important stretches and rolls that can be done as part of warm up and post-workout. A New Look at Rotator Cuff Training is a really good piece from Kevin. Kevin gives some examples through video and explanation of some really good shoulder stability exercises. We have actually been doing more farmers walks, and kettlebell overhead and bottoms up walks.
I am beginning to think that some of the isolated rotator cuff exercises with bands and maybe even the YTWL’s are going to become a thing of the past in our program in favor of more work with the kettlebells.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Thanks for your support,
Sean, Mike, Anthony, Kevin, and Darryl
The 2-Arm/2-Leg Dumbbell SLDL is a great exercise that we use to strengthen the hip extension pattern. We will always have our athletes maintain a flat/almost arched back while we do this. We will progress to single arm/single leg version with a kettlebell.
I hope everyone is doing great. We have had some great contributions on HockeySC.com during the past week or so. We also continue to have some good discussions on the forum including threads on power skating, body checking, and sled progressions. Make sure you log on and check out the forum.
Here is what we have added during the past week:
Training For Speed by Darryl Nelson. Darryl explains the importance of developing speed properly for hockey. Like myself, Darryl preaches the development of acceleration over top-end speed. The game of hockey is all about acceleration as rarely do you a see a player achieve top-end speed. Darryl does a great job explaining the importance of acceleration.
The Hang Clean Breakdown and Other Olympic Lifts by Jaime Rodriguez. This is a good article on Olympic lifting and its substitutes. Jaime also does a great job breaking down a teaching progression for the clean. This is really good information for someone learning how to teach the clean. I love the hang clean and use it with my athletes and I have used these progressions as well.
Early Off-Season Program by Kevin Neeld. This is a good look at a 4-day program that Kevin is doing with his athletes. I like the focus on increasing range of motion and alignment while also building some hypertrophy.
ACL Rehab Phase 3 by myself. This is a continuation of program that worked for an athlete who rehabbed from an ACL tear a few years ago. It is important to note that this program was implemented by myself daily for 6 days per week for 2 hours per day. This was after the athlete spent a significant amount of time with a physical therapist. This is not a program that is to be implemented immediately after ACL reconstruction surgery.
Thanks for the continued support- Sean, Mike, Kevin, Darryl, and Anthony.
I love getting the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in the mail. There are always some interesting studies to go through. I was lucky this month as the May 2011 issue of the journal features a hockey study right at the beginning.
What I really liked about this study is that they looked at how pre-season testing results correlated to overall game performance over the course of a season. They didn’t just look at a single factor such as on-ice speed or slap shot velocity. The overall game performance was evaluated through the plus/minus rating and a coach’s perspective where they ranked the bottom 6 and the top 6 out of the total 24 subjects who were men’s division 1 players.
What the study showed was that leg press, chin ups, bench press, and repeat sprint performance correlated with game performance by the +/- score. What is interesting is that this study also showed that VO2 max and body composition results seem to not be predictors of playing performance.
The authors state, “Based on these findings, measures of strength and sprint ability appear to be significant predictors of hockey performance.” From a practical perspective, this shows more evidence and support for hockey players to get stronger and include repeated sprinting for conditioning (interval training).
This is a great posterior chain exercise that we do. The emphasis is keeping our hips extended by contracting the glutes. Then we will extend the legs, and the return. Try this instead of lying or seated leg curls.
I wanted to get this out before the weekend hits as tomorrow is a big day for the Skahan family.
As a hockey fan, I am really surprised at how the current playoff series’ are going. I would’ve never guessed 3 out of 4 of them could possibly be 4 game sweeps. There is some really good hockey being played on a nightly basis. Still tough to pick who will be in the finals.
On HockeySC.com, the forum currently features some discussions on summer seminars, ACL training, and a discussion on the Leg Circuit video. Don’t’ forget to check out the forum.
Here is what we have for new content at the site:
Off-Season Phase 2 by Darryl Nelson. Darryl shows phase 2 of his off-season program. Darryl’s templates and exercise selections are very similar to mine.
Mental Toughness Training for Hockey Players by Brijesh Patel. Brijesh is not only a great writer, but also a great coach. He does an outstanding job at Quinnipiac. This is a great read.
Slideboard Hamstring Curl Variations by Kevin Neeld. Kevin shows some good videos of how to progress the slideboard leg curl. Like Kevin, I love the slideboard leg curl. These are exercises that can be loaded with a little creativity.
Leg Circuit by myself. I added this to the hockey site a few days before I posted it to the blog.
Here is an example of a leg circuit that I use with hockey players. I learned about the leg circuit years ago from Vern Gambetta videos and from Mike Boyle. It is still a great tool for us today. I really like it because it really focuses on developing leg power, strength, and endurance- both bilaterally and unilaterally. It serves as a good transition from or conventional strength and power work to more circuit based work.
What I also like about the leg circuit is that it is a great tool for youth players. When I begin working with a youth team or individual, we will start with the leg circuit. I am always coaching proper form and technique with each aspect of the circuit.
When we have the ability to perform the leg circuit properly with body weight, we will then add resistance. We will progress to a weight vest or dumbbells and then progressd to a bar with added weight as necessary.
