A good strength and conditioning program should increase strength, power, speed, mobility, stability, address deficiencies, and correct imbalances. While this appears to be a tall order, it becomes significantly easier to check all these boxes if we include an adequate amount of single leg training in our program. Single leg training addresses all of those needs, and should be a foundational piece of your training program. Here is an example of what it looks like in the first phase of an off-season training program for a hockey player here at Focus Fitness:
A1 Single Leg Balance with Stick Shift x 30 seconds/side
A2 Mini Band Shuffle x 15 reps/side
A3 Single Leg Altitude Landing x 3 reps/side
- 30 seconds of rest between exercises
- 60 seconds of rest between sets
- complete 3 sets
B1 Single Leg Skater Squat x 6 reps/side
B2 Single Leg DB/KB RDL x 8 reps/side
- 30 seconds of rest between exercises
- 90 seconds of rest between sets
- complete 3 sets
C1 Single Leg TRX Cross Under Squat x 6 reps/side
C2 Single Leg Hip Lift (shoulders elevated) x 10 reps/side
- 30 seconds of rest between exercises
- 90 seconds of rest between sets
- complete 3 sets
D RFE Split Squat Iso Holds x 30 sec/side
- 2 minutes of rest between sets
- complete 3 sets
If these exercises or terminology are new to you, simply scan the QR code and you can watch a video on how to perform the exercises correctly. Remember to always include single leg work in your hockey strength training.
Until next time,
Strength, Courage, Hustle, Commitment
AJ Zeglen
This article was originally published in Game On – Manitoba’s hockey community magazine.
