Hockey may seem like a one-season sport, but at home hockey training in the off-season is an essential part of the game. Even without ice or winter weather, there is a lot you can do to improve your abilities!
From all the right workouts to all the different skills, this guide will give you the necessary tools to prepare your mind and body for hockey season. And all with a good balance between fun, relaxation, and work.
Read on to find exercise options and their on-ice applications so that you can curate the perfect weekly training schedule for your goals.
What Goes Into Hockey Training?
A week’s training schedule for hockey can change a lot depending on the person and their position. To start you off, here’s an example of how you can fit all your home hockey training necessities into seven days:
- Monday: Kinetic chain workout (30-50 min)
- Tuesday: Mobility and speed training (20 min)
- Wednesday: Core conditioning (20-30 min)
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: Skill Training (40 min)
- Saturday: Rest
- Sunday: Rest
By the end of this guide, you’ll understand what goes into each type of home hockey training listed above. Then you can move around your week to fit your life and body.
If you’re playing at a higher level, maybe you’ll add another workout day on Friday and move the skill training to Thursday. If you’re just starting out, maybe you do your HIIT conditioning every other week until you’re ready for more.
What Equipment Will You Need?
You may not need your hockey equipment just yet, but your at home hockey training will require some gear. A skipping rope, weights, barbell, mat, foam roller, road-hockey puck, outdoor net, and cones are recommended. Training can be done without them, but the results will not be the same.
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Your Kinetic Chain Workout Guide
A hockey game requires equal parts agility, strength, and stamina. Your home hockey training needs kinetic chain exercises that activate every part of your hip, thigh, and calf to build that necessary power.
The full workout can be split into four parts. Every exercise should be done with intention and focus. Take your time and get your reps in with purpose.
Warm-up
A full 10-minute warm-up is crucial for your workout’s success. Create a sequence of five exercises that slowly build your heart rate or give your muscles a light stretch. Go through the sequence twice to create a balanced session.
Power and Strength
The power and strength exercises will make up the body of your at home hockey training workout. Create three to four blocks of three to four exercises from the list below. You’ll then repeat each chosen sequence of exercises two to four times in each block.
With 10 seconds of rest between each sequence and 20 seconds of rest between each block, the goal here is to keep moving. But don’t make your movements too fast. Remember, a steady pace gives much better results in the long run.
- 10 Goblet squats
- 5 Bulgarian split squats per leg
- 8 Cossack squats
- 10 Front squats
- 10 Sumo squats
- 5 Skater deadlifts per side
- 5 Sumo deadlifts
- 3 Pause deadlift
- 5 Snatch grip deadlifts
- 30s Static lunge per side
- 10 Walking lunge
- 10 Curtsy lunge
- 12 Lateral lunge
- 10 Backwards lunge with leg lift
- 3 Death drop to box jump
- 3 Lateral box jump
- 3 Single-leg landing box jump
- 3 Broad jump to box jump
Extra Core
This part of your at-home hockey training workout can be overlooked depending on how you feel after completing the above. If you do choose the extra challenge, create a sequence of three to four exercises to repeat twice (with 30s holds or eight to ten reps).
- Plank variations
- Bear crawl slider twists
- Bicycle crunch
- Russian twists
Cool Down
Cooling down is less about movement than breathing. If you can learn to control your breath and force your body into recovery mode, the intensity of hockey shift changes will become much easier. Simply laying on your back for 5 minutes, with your feet elevated, and taking long, slow breaths is enough.
Your Mobility Training Guide
Every hockey game, even those with no contact, puts strain on your muscles and ligaments. These movements are meant to prepare your body for that strain and, in turn, increase the power your body can handle.
Your groin, shoulders, knees, hips, and back will be the focus for at home hockey training. Through 10-minute sessions of any of the three types of mobility training listed below, you will help prepare your body for the pressure of hockey season.
Intentional
Intentional mobility exercises are used to increase the range of motion and flexibility. Focus on your breathing as you flow through eight to ten reps (per side if needed) of the movements below to get the best results.
- 90/90
- Hip cars
- QL stretch
- Internal hip rotation
- Fire hydrant to pigeon
- Scorpion stretch
- World’s greatest stretch
- Shoulder extensions
- 1 arm trap raise to swimmer’s hold
- Standing opening the gate
As with all mobility exercises, different types of yoga classes are easy substitutions. In terms of intentional mobility, something relaxed like Hatha is a good option.
Active Recovery
Active recovery exercises combine muscle activation and bodyweight lifts to induce blood flow. This type of at home hockey training should be done with a fully warmed body for best results. With slow, intentional movements and six to eight reps of any sequence of exercises from the list below.
- Overhead squat with band
- Single leg RDL
- X band walks
- Runner’s lunge with rotational reach
- Runner’s calf strength
- Couch quad with reach over
- Lateral kneeling groin with reach over
- Spiderman lunges with reach
- Cross body lat with reach under
- Diagonal hip rock with reach across
These movements require a little more work, so a more lift-centric yoga like Ashtanga would be a good alternative here.
Release and Realign
This last type of mobility training uses a foam roller to increase flexibility and tissue quality. Your foam roller should be soft enough to cushion your muscle but hard enough to push out and relax it as you roll through the entire length of the muscle. Spend 3-5 minutes on each quad, hamstring, and lat throughout the week.
Taking breaks is important if you notice more pain than relaxation from the movements. The goal is not to hurt but to heal.
Your Speed Training Guide
Having explosive starts to your skating is a game changer. Which makes it an important part of your home hockey training. To do it right, focus on strength capacity and not stamina.
Every one of your eight to ten reps should be done with a controlled absorption of the movement’s momentum and lots of breaks in between.
- Hurdle variations
- Deceleration suicides
- Ankle pogo hop
- Lateral skaters
Your Core Conditioning Guide
For home hockey training regimens, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) focused on conditioning is one of the best ways to build core strength. If you don’t have access to HIIT classes, interval sprints are another good option. Either on your feet or wheels, as long as you keep up the intensity.
Your Skill Training Guide
Through a mixture of games and exercises, your at home hockey training will hone your hand-eye coordination, balancing, stick handling, and shooting.
Balance
When it comes to balancing exercises, simple is best. A one-legged reach in all directions is a full-proof way to improve. You can even turn it into a game by hanging a swinging object from your ceiling to dodge.
Hand-eye Coordination
With a couple of tennis balls, your home hockey training regimen is underway! Bounce it on a wall, starting with just one while alternating between same and opposite hand catches. Once you’re ready for a bigger challenge, add another ball and toss them both simultaneously. Again, alternating between a cross-pass and a simple self-pass to the same hand.
Stickhandling and Shooting
At home hockey training for stickhandling and shooting is all about repetition. Begin with a single line of cones leading to your net. Practice moving the puck between the cones as you head in for your shot. When that becomes natural, give yourself a target before you make your first step. Then add different dekes as you move through the cones.
As your skills progress, consider getting a balance board to stand on while you practice puck movement. Or a tarp to help with target practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How would this training schedule change for goalies?
Goalies need much more power in their thighs, so workouts should include more squats and wall sits. This also puts more strain on a goalie’s knees. Any mobility training would have to take that into account. As well as the neck strain from tracking the puck. Lastly, hand-eye coordination and reflexes would take over the stick-handling portion of skill training.
What kinds of foods should I eat?
No matter how hard you work out, you’re not going to get results without enough calories to feed your energy. Every meal should include healthy carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Including starchy vegetables, nuts, berries, fish, and lots of water.
Wrapping Up Your At Home Hockey Training Guide
There is definitely a lot that goes into at home hockey training. But, after you’ve personalized your week’s schedule, you’ll find that everything fits into place. Your workout days will fly by. And your mobility exercises and skill training will be anticipated. Especially as you start to see your well-earned results!
To learn more about the game, check out hockey rules! And bookmark your one-stop spot for anything and everything hockey related, our Hockey page.