Off-Ice Training to Improve Lower Body Power
Off-Ice Hockey Training Exercises For On-Ice Speed
Nov 12, 2009
Unless you’re against skating faster, shooting harder, and owning the puck, it’s impossible for you to have too much lower body power. Developing lower body power for hockey, like any other physical attribute, necessitates that you follow a well-designed training progression.
Off-Ice Training for On-Ice Lower Body Power
Most movements in ice hockey are single-leg, in a horizontal direction, and in linear, lateral, and diagonal patterns. In order to maximize the on-ice transfer of your off-ice training, your lower body power training will need to reflect the on-ice power requirements. Simply, this means you’ll need to include single-leg jumping exercises in forward, lateral, and diagonal directions.
Two great exercises for developing lower body power are:
Lunge-to-Vertical Jump: Take a step forward and drop your back knee toward the ground into a lunge pattern. Right before your knee touches the ground, explode off your front leg into a vertical jump. Land with both feet next to each other about hip width apart with your hips back and chest up.
Lunge-to-Diagonal Bound: Step forward with your left leg and drop your right knee toward the ground into a lunge pattern and pull your left arm back. Right before your knee touches the ground, explode off your left leg diagonally, while simultaneously driving your left arm across your body. Stick the landing on your right leg with your hips back and chest up. Your right arm should be back and your left leg should recover so that your toes end up behind your right ankle. After regaining your balance, place your left foot down, then step forward with your right leg and repeat.
Lower Body Power Training Progression for Ice Hockey Players
Lower body power training should follow a 3-stage progression. The progression allows for slightly different aspects of power development while teaching proper jumping and landing technique.
Phase 1: Non-repetitive Jumping. Stick the landing on every jump. Stand up tall and “reset” before moving into the next jump.
Phase 2: Rebound Jumping. As soon as your feet/foot touches the ground from the jump, load your hips and immediately explode into the next jump. Stick your landing after the second jump.
Phase 3: Continuous Jumping. As soon as your feet/foot touches the ground from the jump, load your hips and immediately explode into the next jump. Continue jumping in this manner for the entire set.
All three phases of the progression allow you to develop explosive power that will translate into improved power on the ice. The first phase improves isolated maximal power efforts while allowing for feedback on jumping and landing form between each repetition. The second phase begins to transition proper landing technique into repetitive power efforts. This translates into more efficient direction changes on the ice. Phase three ties in rapid power development with lower body power endurance.
Improving your lower body power will improve your ability to move explosively on the ice. This can help translate into faster skating, more powerful shots, and the ability to take hits and protect the puck. The great news for hockey players everywhere is that the majority of lower body power exercises can be performed with no equipment at all. Whether it’s the off-season, pre-season, or in-season, your hockey training program should include well-designed lower body training exercises.
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