How to Warm Up for Hockey Practice
A dynamic standard warm-up like the one outlined below is great for hockey. Use it before training and games to get yourself in prime condition.
Image Credit
The Warm-up
Single-leg hip circle
Arm circles
T-Stab push-ups
Jumping jacks
Shoulder
Straight-arm rotations
Zombie squat with reach through
Zombie lateral lunge
Tips
Remember that taking shortcuts during a warm-up is a waste of time – perform each movement properly with good control and technique. Make sure your breathing is controlled throughout and that you take a break if you need to. Only perform the warm-up once – it’s not designed to be done multiple times.
Beating Fatigue
The most effective way to beat fatigue in games is through proper conditioning, good nutrition, effective weight training and ensuring you have 12% or less body fat.
Body conditioning and weight training will mean your body can perform better when fatigued, such as in the third period of the game. One of the key things to remember here is to not just train, but train in a way that’s optimal for a hockey player, e.g. by doing a field hockey drill from https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Hockey/. No matter what your goal is, you need to incorporate training principles specific to hockey into your regime.
This relates to nutrition too. Following a meal plan made by a hockey performance specialist is a great way to boost your performance and will ensure you’re operating at your absolute peak.
While no ‘one size fits all’ number exists for body fat percentage, a low body fat percentage is beneficial in a fast-paced sport like hockey. Additional fat will cause you to fatigue faster and be slower in your game – aim for 12% or less body fat and you will be operating at an optimal level.
Cardio
Hockey is both an alactic and aerobic sport, and your cardio regime should be adapted to reflect this. Simply put, aerobic exercise comprises slow movement done over a long duration, while alactic exercise comprises fast movement done over a short duration. People tend to see cardio training as endurance, but that won’t benefit you when it comes to the alactic element of hockey.
