Creating a tailored strength and conditioning program is crucial for hockey athletes. Especially during the competitive season.

In this post, I’ll walk you through how I use Train Heroic to build an in-season training programme. And make it specific for hockey players.

This example will show you how to structure strength sessions. And how to incorporate mobility and conditioning. Ensuring the program matches the athlete's needs and the sport's demands.

Understanding the Context

When designing an in-season programme, it's essential to consider the athlete's current state. Plus, the demands of their sport.

For a hockey player entering the season, the focus should be on maintaining strength. And improving mobility, and enhancing conditioning without overloading the athlete. The goal is two strength sessions and two conditioning sessions each week. Making sure these can fit around hockey practices.

Session 1: Strength Training

Movement Prep

Each session begins with a movement prep segment. For a hockey player with limited hip mobility—a common issue—we start with a hip mobility circuit. This lasts around 5 minutes, including exercises for external and internal rotation. This prep work is essential for setting the tone of the session. And preparing the body for the more intense exercises that follow.

Main Strength Exercises

1. Paused Split Squats: In-season, the focus is on maintaining good form and range of motion. Split squats with a three-second pause at the bottom of each rep allow for deep hip flexion. Adductor loading, and glute engagement too. Crucial for improving mobility and strength without overloading the hips or lower back.

2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs): This exercise emphasises posterior chain development. And proper hip hinge mechanics. With the hockey player’s need for strong hamstrings and lower back, dumbbell RDLs tick the box. At a moderate weight (75-80% of max) with 8-12 reps per set.

Accessory Work

To address a history of ankle injuries, we include a calf and ankle superset:

- Multi-directional hops: These improve landing capacity and proprioception.

- Single-leg calf raises: Performed at 85-90% of max reps to ensure the athlete is building capacity.

Core Development

The session wraps up with a lateral trunk capacity circuit. This involves 200 reps of various exercises targeting the lateral trunk and hips. Which are often underdeveloped in athletes with lower back issues.

Session 2: Conditioning

Movement Prep

The conditioning day starts with a dynamic movement prep. Exercises like single-leg RDLs, walking quad stretches, and lunges prepare for the session.

Plyometric and Running Drills

After the movement prep, we move on to plyometric drills:

- A-skips: Focus on posture and technique over a 20-meter distance.

- Pogos: Emphasise short ground contact times to mimic the fast movements needed.

Intensive Conditioning

The core of this session is an intensive aerobic interval workout. For an athlete who is fast but struggles with repeat efforts. This session focuses on improving recovery between sprints. We do 20-second sprints followed by 20 seconds of rest. Repeated for two sets of 10 reps, with a 3-minute rest between sets. This helps boost the athlete's repeat sprint ability, which is crucial for hockey.

Cool Down

Finally, a 5-minute cool down focusing on recovery. This ensures the athlete transitions from the workout back to a resting state. Promoting muscle recovery and reducing soreness.

Conclusion

This programme provides a balanced approach to in-season training for hockey players. Integrating strength, mobility, and conditioning work that supports their performance. Using Train Heroic to build and track these sessions ensures the programme remains adaptable. And can tailors to the athlete's evolving needs.

For coaches looking to streamline their programming, Train Heroic offers a powerful platform. It enhances both the quality of your programs and the communication with your athletes.

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