Daily Training Tip #472

Put yourself in position to make your coaches' decision easy! During the tryout process, you already know that the coaching staff is going to pick the best players for their team. Well, make sure you are the best and coaches' decision becomes easy!

Daily Training Tip #471

A lot of the off-ice training you participate in, is geared towards injury prevention. However, injuries sometimes do occur. When injuries occur, you need to adhear to the rehab process. The doctors and trainers know what they are doing. They tell you the rehab process because it works for your specific injury. By not rehabing properly, you won't heal properly.

Daily Training Tip #470

As experienced yesterday, working hard is fun! We had a great circuit outside yesterday with a lot of smiles and laughs. If you don't have fun working out, you might want to change careers.

Daily Training Tip #469

I read an article yesterday on how important it is to play other sports because "playing other sports prevents overuse." I completely agree that athletes should play multiple sports, but not to prevent overuse. If your training is correct, overuse will never happen.


Off-ice training does so much for your career. I can't say it enough, you determine how far your career go!

Daily Training Tip #468

You need to invest your biggest amount of time catching your dream!


We all have dreams, but those dreams don't mean anything until you pay a heck of a price to achieve that dream. You need to lift, jump, sprint and skate on a regular basis. When working, do more than just going through the motions. There is a difference between hard work and working hard. Work hard and achieve your dream.

Daily Training Tip #467

Incorporate Med Balls into your workout today. There are so many things you can do with a med ball. Be creative! Try one out during today's workout!

Daily Training Tip #466

Lifting, Jumping, Sprinting and Skating together during the same day produces the best results. You can't just do one, you need to be doing all four on a regular basis.

Daily Training Tip #465

Workout for yourself! ONLY you know if you are "paying a price." No one else knows, but you. The harder you work, the better you become. The better you become, the better your team gets. You are the one that has to look yourself in the mirror each morning. Make sure you don't cheat the man in the mirror!

Daily Training Tip #464

Your training needs to be complex.


Make sure you work all rotational "planes" of your body during your workouts. These three (3) planes cover all movement rotations during athletic movements. Traverse, Saggitial, and Frontal planes. Working all three, makes the improvements come faster.

Daily Training Tip #463

Minimize your Ground Contact Time (GCT) when you are jumping. Everyone can jump. But the way to improve your scores is to minimize your GCT. By landing on the ground and quickly exploding back into the air, you add another element to your training. This element is where improvements come from.

Daily Training Tip #462

Sometimes taking the time to learn a new exercise and learning how to do it properly can save your career! Don't think you're too old or too good to learn how to squat the proper way. Learning it as soon as possible will acelerate your performance.

Daily Training Tip #461

At this point in your off-season training, your max squat should be nearing 2.5 times your body weight. As long as you can keep your form, you should continue slowly adding more weight.


As we increase your squat weight, you need to continue to jump, sprint and skate on a regular basis. Just lifting only adds strength, you need to continue adding explosiveness.

Daily Training Tip #460

One of the biggest areas of neglect for the tatical athlete is the posterior chain which consists of your hamstrings, gluteals and lower back. These muscles play big role in your skating stride. Outside of the skating stride, these three (3) muscle groups can lead to chronic pain after your playing career is completed.


The Stiffleg Deadlift (Romanian Deadlift), Gluteal Ham Raises and Med Ball Hamstring Curls (Ball/Hip) are three lifts that help strengthen your posterior chain. You should be completing at least one of these on a regular basis.

Daily Training Tip #459

If your time is limited in the gym, spend that time working on your lower body. Too many people are rushed in the gym and only have time for one or two lifts. Those one or two lifts are usually bench press and bicep curls. When those two lifts need to be two lower body lifts.


Hopefully, you have time to complete more than two lifts today, but if you don't spend your time on your lower body.

Daily Training Tip #458

DRINK WATER!!! The hotter it is outside, the more water you need to drink. You need to think ahead and be prepared. It is too late to start drinking water after you are already hot. Drink leading up to your workouts.

Daily Training Tip #457

Skipping a workout really affects you. For every workout you skip, it's taking three steps back! Your only off days are ones that are structured!

Daily Training Tip #456

Along with improving strength, quickness, explosiveness, etc off of the ice, you can also improve on your balance. During the lifts that you complete standing, stand on one leg. If you are good at lifting on one leg, shut your eyes! Over time, this will improve on your balance.

Daily Training Tip #455

Start learning basic athletic skills at an early age!


Watch kids play at the playground. They run, jump, skip, skip rope, do cartwheels, do summersaults, etc. Those are basic athletic skills. Great athletes are able to do all of the above skills. If you can't you better learn!

Daily Training Tip #454

I can't stress enough how important drinking water is! The harder your workouts are, the more important drinking water is. Drink water and then drink some more water!


If your body is like a finely tuned race car, you have to put the proper fuel in your gas tank. Would you ever think of putting a Mountain Dew in the gas tank of a race car right before the Indy 500? If not, why would you put a Mountain Dew in your gas tank right before a game/workout?

Water is your most important fuel.

Daily Training Tip #453

Cross Training helps athletic ability. Yes, hockey specific training is needed, however, general cross training helps improve on your athletic ability which in turn improves on your hockey ability.

Daily Training Tip #452

Fight through your off days!


Over the course of the entire year training program, you are going to have some good days and some not so good days. You body naturally has some peaks and dips. One thing that seperates the good from the great is fighting through those not so good days. Bring your "lunch pail" and "hard hat" and show up for work, ready to work. Fight through those days and in the long run, you will be better for it!

Daily Training Tip #451

While in the gym, make sure you are working on reverse muscles. Easiest example that everyone knows is; once you  work your biceps, you need to work you triceps; or you hamstrings and quadriceps. There are other more complex examples like push/pull lifts, flex/extend lift, adductors/abductors, but the easiets thing to remember is to work the reverse muscles and movements. By doing this, you will create a balance in your body which you need!

Daily Training Tip #450

Every three to four weeks you should complete some physical testing. Testing shows improvement. Without improvement, why train? That is why we test @ MHC, so we can document improvement. If you don't test, there is no concrete evidence of improvement.


While testing, make sure you complete the same exact tests each time. If the tests aren't accurate, then the results are flawed.

Daily Training Tip #449

Reaction time can be improved on during your off-ice training sessions. There are some computer programs that aid in this, some physical games/tests and some other techniques. However, an easy one is to have a partner to yell 'GO' during your lift. As you as you hear 'GO' explode the weight in the proper direction. Don't repeat until you hear 'GO' again. This will help build reaction time.

Daily Training Tip #448

We always talk about lifting, jumping, skating and sprinting together on a regular basis, however part of your training needs to be shooting/stickhandling pucks.


You need to spend time daily with a stick and a puck. You can stickhandle anywhere. Just bring your stick and puck (or ball) and stickhandle where ever you go! Talk with your parents and decide together where you can shoot pucks at home. Once you have good spot, shot pucks often.

Daily Training Tip #447

Training on uneven surfaces helps build ankle & lower body stability. Today @ MHC, we will be adding beach sprints into our dryland workouts. As your foot plants, rebuilds and explodes out of the sand, your stability muscles are activiated and improved on.


You don't want to have all of your training on uneven surfaces, but adding in some training on sand is a good change of pace.

Daily Training Tip #446

Hockey players are the best athletes in the world. Because of the nature of the game, there are high demands placed on your body. Your training needs to mimick the demands that are placed on your body. There are so many aspects of the game, you need to train for all of them off of the ice.

Daily Training Tip #445

As we open the gym doors on this July 4th, we are excited to watch all the fireworks. Not the fireworks in the sky, but the fireworks in the gym today. Our Monday's dryland is filled with explosive movements and explosive jumps, something every training program needs.


If your training program doesn't include fireworks, you better get to MHC!

Daily Training Tip #444

The Multi-Hip Machine is an often overlooked piece of training equipment. When used properly, the multi-hip machine (or 4-way hip) can help you seperate yourself from the pack. It works you hip flexors, hip extendors, hip adductors and hip abductors. All four (4) muscles are very crucial to your skating stride. If they aren't developed enough, you will not be the skater you aspire to be and you will be more prone to injury.


If you don't have a multi-hip machine you can do one of two things. 1) attend MHC! 2) mimick those movements with the help of a rubber band or rubber tubing.

Daily Training Tip #443

After having two (2) seperate discussions yesterday with two (2) people, my DTT today is a repeat.


There is a difference between thinking you work hard and having others think you work hard because you actually work hard. Only you can determine your own destiny. You have people in your corner to help and support you, but ultimately it is you that gets you to where you want to go. Be honest with yourself and with your workouts. It doesn't matter what others do, it matters what you do! Work hard off the ice and put yourself in position to succeed on the ice!

Daily Training Tip #442

As the weather continues heating up, it is more and more crucial to be drinking fluids. Amounts vary between individuals, so the easiest thing to do is drinks lots. You can’t wait until you start to feel thirsty. Feeling thirsty is the first sign of dehydration. When you are training hard in high heat, don’t let yourself get thirsty. Drink water, powerade, milk, juice all day long.