Daily Training Tip #393

Running stairs is a great way to build explosive power and along with quickness. Also nice, because there is no gym membership! Stairs are everywhere.

Another Athlete of the Week!

I'm a hockey guy, always been. I help run the greatest hockey camp in the world, that has the greatest training program in the world. I work with thousands of hockey players during the summer and the season. But I've ALWAYS said, the key to training hockey players is to build athletes first.

For the past three (3) winter seasons, I've reached out to other athletes in the Brainerd Area. Along with the hockey teams, I've helped the basketball boys, football boys, track girls, tennis girls, softball girls, the kicksters and a couple of wrestlers. In terms of work ethic and determination, I've been impressed with all of them. But probably none greater than the group of girls I worked with this spring.

There was a group of 12 girls from three sports (softball, tennis and track) that paid one heck of price. Two (2) days a week, we met at my gym inside the hockey arena, at 6:45a before school started. I don't want to list the names of these girls, for fear of mispelling a name! But each of them had more improvements than I think I've ever seen throughout an entire group. It was a pleasure to work with them!

While reading the paper this morning, I read about another Brainerd Warrior Athlete of the Week.
http://brainerddispatch.com/sports/2011-04-27/warriors-athlete-week-anderson-lights-out-mound
Nikki Anderson was part of the "breakfast club" group that trained at the hockey arena this spring. There is ALWAYS a direct correlation between your training and your sport performance. Nikki was "lights out" in the gym and is now "lights out" on the field. Funny how this all works??

It doesn't matter what your sport is, but it does matter what your training is. You need to pay one heck of price in the gym to get the results that you want. You need to be an athlete first, then improve on your sport specific skills.

Daily Training Tip #392

Expanding a little on yesterday's DTT. In order to eat properly throughout the day, you need to get up a little earlier and prepare snacks to bring with you and eat throughout the day. Have enough vision to think ahead!

Daily Training Tip #391

This one's for you Josh!

Along with eating proper food selections, you need to eat enough calories throughout the entire day. Consume three (3) meals a day and three (3) healthy snacks inbetween each meal. The more calories you burn any given day, the more calories (or fuel) you need to replace back into your system.

Daily Training Tips #387/388/389/390

Sorry for the slow delay, I've been on the road since last Wednesday.

Don't forget about completing One-Legged Squats ON and OFF the ice. Remember, what you do on the ice you can mimick off the ice and viseversa.

Keep your heals flat when doing One-Legged exercises. Keeping your heals flat is very important in most situations, but really important in one-legged exercises.

Back Extension and Hypers are two good exercises to improve the strength in your lower back and hamstrings. These are two areas that are commonly overlooked in training hockey players.

Back Extensions and Hypers an be done in two different ways.  Slow and with added weight to build strength. Quick with no weight to build explosiveness.

Daily Training Tip #386

Test yourself often on certain aspects of your training. This helps show your improvements and assures your program is properly designed. Test your explosive power, strength, agility and anaerobic/aerobic levels.

The vertical jump test is a good, simple test you can complete to test your explosive power.

Daily Training Tip #385

Just like on the ice...Doing the 'little things' properly in the gym help seperate you from the rest of the pack.

There are lots of 'little things' you need to do in the gym; properly warming up, breathing properly, keeping your head up, keeping your heals down (on certain lifts), landing properly when jumping and properly alining your knees, are a few little things. Do the little things properly to help advnace your improvements and extend  your career.

Daily Training Tip #384

Complete workouts/exercises that engage multiple muscle groups at the samme time. This helps build better athleticism.

Ink on Two MHC Campers

A couple of nice articles on two MHC campers.

http://wbspenguins.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=795&Itemid=795

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11047/1125664-61.stm

Both Carl and Joe are first class people and first class players. Great to follow each of the successes!

Daily Training Tip #383

Add some sled pulls and sled pushes into your workout today. These are a great way to help build some more explosive power in your legs. Be creative in what you use for a sled. You probably already have something laying around your house you can use. You could pull a tire, a hockey bag, a bag of pucks, etc.

Daily Training Tip #382

No matter what your workout is today, make sure you are breathing properly during specific exercises. Breathing properly is another piece of the overall puzzle.

Daily Training Tip #381

Put some heavy chains on your bars during your workout today. This is a tool that will help you gain a little more explosiveness.

Congratulations to UMD and Drew Olson!

Congratulations to the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on winning the 2011 National Championship.

http://brainerddispatch.com/sports/2011-04-11/former-warrior-had-%E2%80%98-absolute-blast%E2%80%99

Drew along with Keegan Flaherty and Joe Basaraba are all MHC Campers. Drew, however, has spent ten (10) weeks training at MHC for the last twelve (12) summers. Drew pays one heck of a price and deserves every accomplish he has achieved and will achieve.

(National Champion, Drew Olson, Dancing on the MHC ladder)

Daily Training Tip #380

Performing a daily long jump and a daily vertical jump will help improve your on-ice skating.

Watch Carl Sneep in the above video. Watch how softly he lands. You can't hear him hit the ground at all. Carl is 6'3", 220. If a man of his size can land softly, so can you! Landing softly is just as important as the take off.

Daily Training Tip #379

Continue improving on your technique during all of your off-ice exercises. By perfecting your technique and form, you limit the risk of injuries.

Congratulations Vanny!

I'd like to personally congratulate longtime MHC Camper Vanny Charleson and his team on winning the National 12U Teir 1 Tournament last weekend. Below is an article on Vanny and the team and also a video.

http://youth1.com/hockey-headlines/new-jersey-colonials-win-tier-i-12u-national-championship.html

http://vimeo.com/channels/98colonials

We look forward to working with Vanny, his brother and some of their teammates in Nisswa this summer!

Daily Training Tip #378

Researchers are finding citrus fruits help refuce chronic inflammation...another good benefit of fruits!

A great post workout meal; orange, cherries and choclate milk!

Daily Training Tip #377

Being able to adapt to any and all situations on the rink is something all great players are able to do. All great players are also able to adapt to any and all situations off the ice in the gym.

Daily Training Tip #376

Your career is to short to skip a workout and give that advantage to someone else!

Daily Training Tip #375

Isometric exercises followed by explosive movements are a way to make your workouts more advanced and more hockey specific.

Try holding a wall sit for 30 seconds and then explosively jump up into the air. Repeat this four (4) more times before stopping. This can be done with wall sits, squats, split squats, one leg squats, etc. Lots of ways to improve your game!

Daily Training Tip #374

Make sure to include some isometric movements into your workout today.

Isometric muscle actions occur when the tension in the cross-bridge equals the resistance to shortening and the muscle length remains relatively constant. Or when the athlete holds and pauses during a lift. Example; hold your squat at your deepest point for 30 seconds. This makes your workouts more dynamic!

Daily Training Tip #373

Add a balance board to your workout today. Try squatting on top of a balance board! This helps improve many aspects of your athletic ability and improves the intensity of your workouts.