The distance between minor hockey and the pros is usually expansive, but this spring when hockey was cancelled, we were all the same.
Women, men, girls, and boys from all over the world in every league imaginable were suddenly in the same boat: No hockey.
It was the same for everyone and I think that helped soften the blow a little. I know it did for my son who had his season cancelled the night before provincials. To him, it wasn’t fair, but when he found out that no one anywhere in the world was getting to play and the whole global hockey family were in it together, I think he felt compassion for others who were missing out on their goals and dreams for the year and he felt the unity of being a part of something bigger than just his team.
“No one gets to play?” he asked.
“No one,” I said.
“Even the Jets?”
“Even the Jets.”
The good news is we know hockey will start again. We don’t know when yet, but it will. So, until then, what do we do?
Well, since we’re all in the same boat, I’ll let you know what the Jets are doing. It’s simple, too: They are putting in work so when hockey comes back, they’ll be ready. You can do the same. In fact, here is how you can spend your summer training like a Jet.
Everyone always assumes it’s the pure talent that separates the pros from other players, but I can tell you after working with pro hockey players in our city for more than 10 years, its actually the things that require no talent that make the difference: eat right, sleep right, train right. That’s not talent. That’s just hard work.
Today’s professional hockey players devote more time to strength and conditioning than ever before. The result, of course, is that players have never been bigger, stronger, and faster. The Jets players know this well. Just watch a Jets game for a couple of minutes and you’ll see the speed, power, explosiveness, and relentless hustle that has become the physical trademark of the team.
So, do you want to train like Mark Scheifele or Josh Morrissey? Here are three ways to improve your strength and conditioning this summer:
Get stronger. Strength is the engine that makes all other athletic attributes go. Stuck at home this summer with no gym because of the quarantine? That’s ok, don’t get hung up on thinking strength is just about lifting heavy weights. The No. 1 tool we have in any sport is our own body. The best athletes move their body efficiently. Moving our body is our relative strength and it can be developed through body weight exercises that do not require any equipment. Focus on push up, pull up, plank, squat, and lunge variations. Get in plenty of unilateral lower body work, meaning one leg at a time, like single leg squat and lunge variations.
Get faster. If you want to be fast you must practice moving fast. The best way to get faster is to sprint and the easiest way to make your sprints effective is to race. Use different lengths from short sprints, 10-15 metres, to longer sprints, 100 metres and then, everything in between.
Work longer, recover faster. To be relentless like a Jet you must be able to work at a high level for an extended period of time and then recover fast so you can go out and do it again. Use different exercises such as running, biking, rowing and swimming. Start by using a 1:2 work/rest ratio meaning working as hard as you can for 30 seconds, rest for a minute and go again. As you progress push the length of work time up by five seconds and your rest time down five seconds until eventually we have flipped where we started and are now at a 2:1 work/rest ratio, meaning we are working for a minute and recovering in 30 seconds.
The Jets understand that the foods they eat fuel their performance on and off the ice. Here are three nutrition tips to follow this summer:
Stay hydrated. Being dehydrated has a negative effect on both our mental and physical performance. Despite fancy advertising for all the sports drinks, water is always your best choice. Aim for two-to-three litres per day plus 250 ml for every 15 minutes of intense exercise.
Eat whole foods. If you’ve ever been inside the Jets or Moose players’ lounge, you would not have found any processed or fast foods. Everything is healthy and whole foods, meaning it comes from natural sources.
Eat a variety of healthy foods. Likewise, in the players’ lounge you will also find foods from all the food groups and all the macro nutrient categories. Lots of fruits and vegetables, a variety of meats and nuts, dairy options such as milk and yogurt, healthy carbohydrate choices like oatmeal, rice, potatoes, and pastas. It is important to take in a wide variety of foods. Always be cautious of any diets that try to eliminate whole food groups or macro nutrients groups. You are an athlete and it is your business to perform at your best. These diets are not for you.
All the training we do is only as effective as our recovery. While part of our recovery comes from our nutrition the other extremely important part is our sleep. The Jets know this and make sleep a priority, so much so that it can influence how they plan their travel schedule, when they nap and even the types of mattresses they use on the road.
Here are three tips to get the most out of your sleep this summer:
Get the right amount of sleep. Aim for seven-to-eight hours each night. Your body performs certain processes while you sleep that help you heal, recover, and grow. For these processes to happen you must go through the sleep cycles which require you to be asleep for a certain amount of time.
Get the right quality. The quality of sleep is just as important as the amount of sleep you get. To ensure high quality sleep make sure the room is dark and quiet. This means not using any electronic devices within two hours of going to sleep. The type of light they emit, and at such a close proximity, throws off our body’s ability to enter our proper sleep cycle.
Nap right. The benefits of napping from a performance standpoint are immense. Most of us just do it at the wrong time and for too long. Do not feel you have to nap if you do not want to, but if you do, do it right. Nap as close as you can to the point — 12 hours from the mid-point of your nocturnal sleep cycle. So, if you slept for eight hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., the mid-point would be four hours in at 2 am. Twelve hours from 2 a.m. is 2 o’clock in the afternoon. That is your ideal time. Make sure the room is dark and quiet. Aim for 15-to-25 minutes as this will help refresh and boost your performance without leaving you tired and groggy.
Let us make the most of our time while we’re waiting for hockey to return. Spend your summer training like a Jet by being great at the things that require no talent so that when hockey starts again, you’ll be ready.
Strength, Courage, Hustle, Commitment
This article was originally published in the Game On magazine – Manitoba’s hockey community magazine.
Social media is constantly presenting new avenues for people to connect, and that’s even truer now as we face the realities of physical distancing and spending a lot more time at home. As people strive to fill their time, many have turned to online strength and conditioning coaching and videos. One great place to find strength and conditioning videos is right from Focus Fitness. Check out the Focus Fitness YouTube page for daily videos to keep you fit in your own home.
Beyond Focus Fitness, there are is a lot of strength and conditioning content out there. Like anything in life – and online – there is always bad with the good and readers need to be cautious of inaccurate and untrustworthy information. The good news is there are also some absolutely amazing and credible people sharing their knowledge online as well. Here are, in my opinion, three strength coaches that you would benefit from following:
Eric Cressey
At some point we all have an “aha moment”, when someone flicks the switch and the light bulb goes on in your head, and suddenly everything makes sense. For me, this moment came almost 10 years ago while I was reading an e-book called The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual by Eric Cressey. He is known as both the “baseball” and the “shoulder” guy and while he is the industry leader in both these fields, his knowledge reaches far beyond that. He is extremely generous with the information he shares and everything he says will make you better. You can sign up for his free e-newsletter at ericcressey.com and follow him on Twitter @EricCressey and on Instagram ericcresey. I strongly suggest you do all three.
Jim Smith
Jim Smith is one half of the force behind Diesel Strength and Conditioning along with Joe DeFranco. Smith’s free e-newsletter is my favourite read every week. He includes beneficial strength and conditioning information that is often accompanied by videos and pairs it with valuable life lessons. His delivery is always on point and the positive way you are left feeling after reading his work will have you ready to crush everything you do that day, both in and out of the gym. Check out the blog on dieselsc.com, sign up for his e-newsletter, and follow him on Twitter @dieselstrength and on Instagram smittydiesel.
Jason Ferruggia
Jason Ferruggia is the man behind the Renegade Army. Ferruggia’s mix of knowledge on training, business, life, and old school hip hop are top-notch. His website jasonferruggia.com will direct you to all the gems that he has to offer including his blog, newsletter, Twitter, Instagram and my personal favourite, his podcast appropriately named Renegade Radio. It’s one of the best podcasts I’ve ever heard and covers everything from training, business, life, and music with incredible guests that will give you knowledge to improve your life.
Exercise is powerful. For starters, there are the obvious physical benefits. Increased strength, bone density, cardiovascular capabilities, and energy can be achieved all while significantly decreasing the likelihood of numerous negative health conditions.
But the true power of exercise is found in its positive effect on our mental health and well-being.
Not to sound to overly dramatic here, but I believe working out saves my life on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong – I love my life, I have plenty to be grateful for. This statement is not negative, it’s positive. No matter what is going on in my life at any given time, when I complete the daily challenge of exercising, I feel better.
There is plenty of scientific evidence to tell us why this is so. Just google “mental benefits of exercise” and you will read about how physical activity reduces stress and anxiety, and how it can be a useful tool to combat depression and PTSD. Exercise does this by igniting changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. Exercise also releases endorphins – powerful chemicals in your brain that basically make you feel good. If I’m in a great mood, it gets better. If I’m going through a tough time, it gets better. Anything in between – you guessed it, it gets better.
But as anyone in the gym can tell you, it goes beyond the science. There is something that happens when you commit. Something powerful. I have had the privilege to work with many great people who have all experienced moments of significant adversity in their life. Time and time again I see exercise play a major role in helping them work through it.
Like most great things in life, it’s not easy but it is simple. Its not easy putting forth the effort each day to exercise. The conditions are sometimes not perfect, but it is simple: commit, work, feel better.
I know many people are going through a tough time right now. Schedules are off, our structure has been altered, stress is at an all time high and we are faced with the potential reality of having a new normal. I know this can be scary, but I promise you this: exercise and you will feel better. When you feel better you will be a better version of yourself. When you are a better version of yourself you have a positive effect on those around you. People need that, especially at a time like this.
There is a sign that is written above our door when you walk into Focus Fitness. It reads: I know we cannot be together in the gym right now – that’s ok. The door is figurative, but it is there. Step through it, feel better.
Focus Fitness has been committed to providing free exercise content to everyone in need. You can follow along through all our social media channels: Instagram: @focusfitnesstn, Facebook: @Focus Fitness TN, Twitter: @FocusFitnessTN , YouTube: Focus Fitness TN. Please share with anyone you know who you think could benefit. This is our way of helping people in the best way we know how.
Some of the most influential people that children, young adults and even adults will have in their lives are coaches. Regardless of your title in the gym – trainer, fitness leader, strength specialist or whatever else it may be – always remember that above anything else, you are a coach.
As a coach, you have a platform – people are listening to you. You have a responsibility to provide as much value and to make as much impact as you can with that platform. It does not matter how big or small you think your platform is, or if you are working with young kids, pros, a team or an individual, the responsibility is the same.
I was very fortunate to have some great strength and conditioning coaches that helped me in many ways over the years. They were teachers, motivators, and confidants. They added value to my day every day I worked with them and I am still appreciative.
I have now had the experience of being a strength and conditioning coach for over 15 years. Here are some things I have learned that can also help you to make a difference in the athletes you work with.
Say “Hi”. Acknowledge and greet every single person that walks through the gym doors. It doesn’t matter how busy you are. You always have a second to say “hi”, shake a hand or wave from across the gym. It doesn’t matter whether someone has been coming to the gym for years or it’s their first day; acknowledging people sets the stage for a positive experience every time they walk in.
Body Language. Your body language matters. Be engaged, stand with good posture, exude energy, and position yourself at optimal angles to coach. Small details, maybe; but these details matter. You are in a gym, it’s a physical place and athletes are visual learners. What you do physically can be even more important in some cases than what you say.
Always Get Better. Your job is to consistently coach people through the process of becoming better every day. Walk the walk. Lead by example and do something to get better every day. Train hard, read, ask questions, eat well, take courses, watch videos, practice. Every time you do something to make yourself better, you add value to what you can share and coach people through.
Never Think You Know Everything. Never, ever do this. If you do not know something, simply indicate you don’t and commit to finding out. Hustle for the answer, read, make phone calls or whatever you have to do, and then get back to them with what you learn. People will appreciate the effort much more than you making something up. The second you think you know everything is the exact same second that you stop getting better. When you stop getting better you limit the value you can bring.
One thing you will notice is that none of these actions require any talent. They require effort. Coaching is not a talent thing, it’s an effort thing. Accept the responsibility, put in the effort, use your platform, make a difference.
As another off-season begins, it’s an exciting time to grow both physically and mentally in order to put yourself in a better position for the next season.
Because of this excitement it can sometimes be easy to think more is better. In fact, athletes will bury themselves under mountains of work and grind through marathon sessions in the gym and on the ice only to feel beat up and run down by the time they start training camp.
This is problematic considering we want the exact opposite to be true. We want to feel like we are peaking at the start of camp. Yes, we want to work hard in the off-season, but we also want to work intelligently. Every exercise and movement should have a purpose: To further develop our athletic attributes.
There is a misconception that if you don’t leave the gym half dead, dragging yourself home, it means you didn’t work hard enough or make constructive use of your time. Some trainers and strength coaches buy into this philosophy just to make their clients happy. When compounded over multiple off-seasons this training style quickly becomes counterproductive and leaves many broken-down, tired athletes in its wake.
Always remember this: Off season training should be about quality over quantity.
The hockey season is already a grind and the off season is already very short. We want to actively recover from the rigours of the season and progress into the next year. This can be done at the same time with well thought-out, smart programming.
My suggestion is to take a little time off, away from the ice – and away from skating — at the beginning of the off-season with more focus on mobility and base movements. This will give your body some time to recover while we put it in a position to be able to train again at a high quality level. We call this phase the primer phase as its priming our body to be able to train at the level we want. Here’s a good primer program:
Mobility: A high frequency sport like hockey has many repetitive movements that cause tightness and imbalances. These should be addressed through mobility work. We want to be able to move without restriction in order to get the most out of our training.
Aerobic: You need a proper aerobic base to be able to train, even in the weight room when we’re doing strength work. If we can’t recover between sets by having an efficient aerobic system, we are entering each set at a deficit and not getting the most out of it or hitting our full potential.
Base Strength Movements: A proper execution of the five basic movements (push, pull, hinge, squat, and carry) should be introduced at the appropriate progressions. This is our foundation. You cannot build an athlete on a poor foundation. It is only a matter of time before it becomes exposed and things fall apart. Tempo training should also be worked in with special attention to the eccentric loading of these movements in order to help with regaining strength — and strengthening tendons to get them ready for the intense strength and power work to follow in the training progressions.
Accessory Work: Smart accessory work can directly help to correct imbalances, improve mobility, aid in injury prevention and will complement the basic movements. It doesn’t have to be rocket science, just simple and well thought out. Hockey is a contact sport with lots of shoulder injuries so rotator cuff work should be programmed in as it helps with injury prevention, shooting, and assisting in the basic movements. This is an example of something simple, but effective.
Remember off season training is about quality not quantity. It should have you feeling at your best when camp starts. When it comes to training it’s not always about how much but rather how well. Enjoy your off season, work hard, and if you need help come see us.
Until next time,
Strength, Courage, Hustle, Commitment
AJ Zeglen, Focus Fitness Manager & Head Strength Coach
