Exercises to Improve a Hockey Game

Hockey is a demanding sport that requires total-body fitness. To excel at the game, you need a strong upper body, powerful legs and cardiovascular endurance. Strength, speed and flexibility support all key aspects of your game, from stick-handling and puck control to shooting and staying upright when checked into the boards. Since you get plenty of skate work during practice, improve your game with exercises that target specific areas.

  1. Pull-ups and Chin-ups

    • Pull-ups and chin-ups use your own body weight to work your latissimus dorsi, trapezius, deltoids and biceps. You can perform either pull-ups with an overhanded grip or chin-ups with an underhanded grip. Aside from the grip, the form of both is exactly the same. The underhanded chin-up grip engages your biceps with a little more focus than the overhanded grip, while the overhanded grip gives you a little more engagement in the trapezius muscles. This translates to a more powerful slap shot, helping you generate torsional power in the upper body. Pull-ups give you an ideal upper-body workout, because they increase muscular endurance without building excessive muscle mass, which can hinder your range of motion.

    Deadlifts

    • Deadlifts work many muscle groups in the body, from the calves and legs to the trapezius and deltoids, and others in between. Deadlifts are a classic, simple-to-perform power lift that is perfect for those new to weightlifting and sports. As with squats, the goal for a hockey player doing deadlifts is not to bulk up, but to gain strength in the lower core and the upper legs. This means you will need to find your one-rep-max using a few test reps and then perform three or four sets at about 90 percent of that max. To protect your wrists from fatigue, use an EZ-Grip barbell with an overhanded grip.

    Squats

    • Squats work the lower back muscles, the obliques, the quads and the hamstrings, each of which is crucial to a hockey player’s performance on the ice. Stronger quads and hamstrings increase acceleration, providing increased agility. Stronger legs, combined with a sturdy lower core, help you stay upright when you get checked. For a hockey player, the key for effective squats is to use the correct weight level. Too much weight will build too much muscle mass and rob you of speed. If it's too light, you won’t see the gains you need. Calculate your one-rep max for squats and shoot for 90 percent of that for your squat reps.

    Dips

    • Chest and triceps dips also work the rectus abdominis and the obliques. Dips are an effective isometric exercise that helps strengthen several important areas of the upper body. Keep the ab muscles flexed on the upward and downward motions of each dip for best results and use a standard dip rack. Lean forward while doing dips to isolate the pectorals. Perform several sets with a high number of reps per set to maximize your gains.