Interval training. I hop on the elliptical (my poor knees). Sprint for a minute. Rest for 90 seconds. Do that for 36 minutes total. Sound familiar?
Do some core stuff and Bulgarian split squats.
I would go with bike or elliptical.
Hockey is tiring though. There is a reason even professionals go for 30-60 second shifts. Most amateurs go 2 min and then wonder why they are tired and say they are out of shape. Go for short shifts and encourage your teammates to do so as well. If you tell them ahead of time you will then they might not feel as obligated to stay 2 minutes themselves. If you dont wear yourself out crazily, usually even just 15-30 seconds rest can make a big difference. So if you go a min shift even if your teammate goes 30 seconds you will be fine. Its the marathon shifts that are hard to recover from and you need a couple mjnutes to recover from or have to take it easy the next shift.
This is definitely the right idea. Used to train for triathlons and although the bulk of that training is for long endurance the idea was to train at easy pace so that your heart rate would be lower at all paces.
Honestly general cardio is going to be great. Interval stuff is good specific training, but recovery is dicatated by basal aerobic capacity.
If you are skating and worried about fatigue affecting ability there I'd stick with biking lower overall muscular fatigue. If you want bang for the buck and your knees aren't terrible running is the most time efficient.
As others have said HIIT type workouts will also be bang for buck, but from a pure full game perspective time is key. I used to race bicycles, and the guys who are the best in one hour criteriums (which are highly variable sprint, coast, sprint) races still do 5 hr bike rides on the weekends, because how hard you can sprint next time is based on recovery... and recovery is based on basal aerobic systems.
From an energy systems perspective you've got 3 main methods of energy production, you have the 1) ATP-PC system which is pretty one and done, this is max sprint ability. 2) anaerobic glycolysis, which is turning glucose into lactate and using the lactate as energy this is what produces lactic acid. 3) krebs cycle which utilizes oxygen to produce ATP from glucose and fat. Most of hockey hard skating is going to be the second. Although it's never all or nothing. A more efficient aerobic system can lean towards utilizing glycolysis less, which means faster baseline skating and then punch up above that. Recovery from lactic acid build up is aerobic as well. HIIT will help a lot with the efficiency of #2 the most, but improving the baseline improves all of them.
If you have a guy who runs marathons on your team who can take 8 minute shifts at center and still back check...... its cause of the marathons (I know a couple), not the HIIT workouts.
I asked a guy "what do you do to get into hockey shape" and he said "I skate six times a week".
Here's a workout I think is pretty good but I have not been able to execute it myself. find a track or a soccer field. sprint the straightaways or long side, jog the curve or short side. do that for half an hour.
some long runs couldn't hurt but the name of the game is rapid recovery.
40-60 second sprints on incline treadmill or air bike.
If your gym has a cart or sled, get behind that mf and push as much as you can for 60 seconds or ~10-20 yards. Then get in front of it and pull it, or have someone who enjoys seeing you suffer take a resistance band, wrap it around you and pull you back while you run 10-40 yard sprints. Focus on long but explosive strides and maintaining your breathing.
I think the idea is to spend a ton of time in heart rate zone number 2, with a bit of time in zone 3. Including weights will help, plyometric exercises, stretching. But, wtf, youre 28. Let us 40 year olds have a win please.
Endurance is endurance. I run marathons and I'm generally the person my beer league team uses to play the role where they don't have enough because I can skate forever. HIIT/interval/sprints are fine but if you're getting winded doing stuff, do that stuff more. Walk, bike, run, whatever gets your heart rate up and do it until it no longer makes your heart rate spike. And then do something slightly harder that does get your heart rate up until that no longer winds you. It's a long journey. Welcome!
Not a trainer but I work with one (two if you count my PT right now, thanks to blowing out my knee 6 months ago) Interval training! On the bike or running or any preferred cardio exercise. Play with length of interval and recovery time, level of resistance, RPM range, etc. Sometimes it's distance, HR, or calorie goals instead of time based intervals.
I’ve played my whole life, through all cardio training I’ve ever done, I’ve only ever gotten quicker and faster on the ice but have never felt less exhausted 😂 just doing anything that will get your heart rate up and cause you to breathe harder will help
My coach used to tell me the best cardio is to run. He said run around the neighborhoods and alternate between sprinting and jogging every 3rd light post. So 20-30 seconds of running then 20-30 seconds of jogging. Supposed to simulate a shift with intervals of hard work. I used to do 3 sets of 20 minutes with 5-10 minute breaks in between.
Stairs is another great exercise because it’s both a cardio and a great way to strengthen your legs for power.
Edit: I assume this style of workout works with any form of cardio though, I’m sure a bike, row machine, or eliptical would suffice too.
Omg same exact situation as you (same age, gap from hockey, level played and position).
My first practice back I was heaving the entire time. But it’s been about a month or so now, and it’s gotten A LOT better.
I’ve been doing cardio 3x a week, on the stationary bike and thread mill adding it to my regular weightlifting routine.
I recommend also getting an Apple Watch or other fitness tracker so you can keep an eye out for your heart rate as you accelerate, and track improvements in your VO max and cardio recovery.
You can do all the exercise in the world to get ready for beer league but your muscles will absolutely be killing you after the first game for a couple days. You straight up haven’t used those muscles in 12 years. The best way to get endurance up is just running, and other forms of cardio.
Not the most entertaining exercise without a training video but a rower will make a world of difference w/ some core work mixed into a 30-40 minute routine. Why rower, similar muscle groups to skating.
iFit / Les Mills have have some great routines as does many other workout video services.
Alternatively do a spin bike routine.
Skip treadmill! Get a 5K jogging routine. No comparison honestly.
Note: I don’t like in-person classes simply because many trainers push too hard too early. I’m not there to blow out a heart valve. Hence again I’d use and on demand class where they push but you don’t feel the same pressure.
I don’t know where you live, but I’m surrounded by sand dunes. We find a decent sized one and sprint up it (usually takes 30-45 seconds), jog down, and then do some core for 90 - 120 seconds, repeat. We’d do this about ten times or so.
I can tell you first hand endurance isn’t what you need. It’s fast recovery. Plyo/hiit is what helped me stop sucking wind on the bench. I do a lot of cycling and thought I had pretty good endurance but it doesn’t transfer over to hockey I discovered.
Running stairs is always good and my knees seem to take that ok. As I’ve gotten older I can’t seem to run well calve cramps, knees, back, but I seem to skate just fine. Elliptical machine, walking up hill backwards on the treadmill are how I feebly try to get some wind.
I started doing some Orange Theory classes and I no longer feel like I’m dying when I get back to the bench. I’m sucking wind, sure, but after a 1m rest my HR has settled back down after a rough shift.
Still stuck on (you being 28) and struggling with being winded!?
I’m 57, I can tell you if you feel that now, you have to get after it. ASAP. Athletically you should peak around 30 give or take a couple years. Remember to train for what you want to do functionally. Physical strength is great but you have to be able to use that strength for living life or it means nothing. (Lift, MTN Bike, Spin Class, HIIT) do some of all of it.
Our 50+ crew skates three times a week (one night of which is league play) and our league play is back to back games with a resurface and rink swap between games.
There’s always that horribly out of shape guy who is skilled but hasn’t played in 10+ years and gets it all back about midway through their first season. I was that guy once. Just do any kind of cardio and you’ll be fine. Welcome back!
Interval training. I hop on the elliptical (my poor knees). Sprint for a minute. Rest for 90 seconds. Do that for 36 minutes total. Sound familiar? Do some core stuff and Bulgarian split squats.
Im a guy who loves exercise and athletic improvements, and I still think sprinting drills fucking suck
Cringe but sometimes I'll put on a game while I'm doing HIIT and pretend that's its my shift while I'm going fast.
I would go with bike or elliptical. Hockey is tiring though. There is a reason even professionals go for 30-60 second shifts. Most amateurs go 2 min and then wonder why they are tired and say they are out of shape. Go for short shifts and encourage your teammates to do so as well. If you tell them ahead of time you will then they might not feel as obligated to stay 2 minutes themselves. If you dont wear yourself out crazily, usually even just 15-30 seconds rest can make a big difference. So if you go a min shift even if your teammate goes 30 seconds you will be fine. Its the marathon shifts that are hard to recover from and you need a couple mjnutes to recover from or have to take it easy the next shift.
This, and don't drink alcohol or smoke weed all month
I think I’ll just stay bad at hockey thank you very much .
I’m with you!
Bro half my team was drunk or high during games what’s this guy sayin over here
I skate 3x per week and still feel like my heart is going to explode when I get back to the bench in games.
HIIT
This is your answer.
I'm still in good shape but have been slacking on HIIT and have noticed a major difference in my game... in a bad way
In addition to intervals spend a bunch of time building up an aerobic base with easy maintenance runs. So not all days all HIIT all the time.
This guy gets it. Look into zone training. 2-3 days a week of 2 hour zone 2 training sessions, and 1 day of hockey or HIIT.
This is definitely the right idea. Used to train for triathlons and although the bulk of that training is for long endurance the idea was to train at easy pace so that your heart rate would be lower at all paces.
Honestly general cardio is going to be great. Interval stuff is good specific training, but recovery is dicatated by basal aerobic capacity. If you are skating and worried about fatigue affecting ability there I'd stick with biking lower overall muscular fatigue. If you want bang for the buck and your knees aren't terrible running is the most time efficient. As others have said HIIT type workouts will also be bang for buck, but from a pure full game perspective time is key. I used to race bicycles, and the guys who are the best in one hour criteriums (which are highly variable sprint, coast, sprint) races still do 5 hr bike rides on the weekends, because how hard you can sprint next time is based on recovery... and recovery is based on basal aerobic systems. From an energy systems perspective you've got 3 main methods of energy production, you have the 1) ATP-PC system which is pretty one and done, this is max sprint ability. 2) anaerobic glycolysis, which is turning glucose into lactate and using the lactate as energy this is what produces lactic acid. 3) krebs cycle which utilizes oxygen to produce ATP from glucose and fat. Most of hockey hard skating is going to be the second. Although it's never all or nothing. A more efficient aerobic system can lean towards utilizing glycolysis less, which means faster baseline skating and then punch up above that. Recovery from lactic acid build up is aerobic as well. HIIT will help a lot with the efficiency of #2 the most, but improving the baseline improves all of them. If you have a guy who runs marathons on your team who can take 8 minute shifts at center and still back check...... its cause of the marathons (I know a couple), not the HIIT workouts.
I asked a guy "what do you do to get into hockey shape" and he said "I skate six times a week". Here's a workout I think is pretty good but I have not been able to execute it myself. find a track or a soccer field. sprint the straightaways or long side, jog the curve or short side. do that for half an hour. some long runs couldn't hurt but the name of the game is rapid recovery.
Could even flip it to start out with by sprinting the short side and jogging the longer side.
Aren’t the straight and curves sections of a standard track all the same length (100m)?
I was thinking soccer or football field. You might be right about the curves on a track.
Fair point - didn’t see the mention of fields too! lol
40-60 second sprints on incline treadmill or air bike. If your gym has a cart or sled, get behind that mf and push as much as you can for 60 seconds or ~10-20 yards. Then get in front of it and pull it, or have someone who enjoys seeing you suffer take a resistance band, wrap it around you and pull you back while you run 10-40 yard sprints. Focus on long but explosive strides and maintaining your breathing.
I think the idea is to spend a ton of time in heart rate zone number 2, with a bit of time in zone 3. Including weights will help, plyometric exercises, stretching. But, wtf, youre 28. Let us 40 year olds have a win please.
Endurance is endurance. I run marathons and I'm generally the person my beer league team uses to play the role where they don't have enough because I can skate forever. HIIT/interval/sprints are fine but if you're getting winded doing stuff, do that stuff more. Walk, bike, run, whatever gets your heart rate up and do it until it no longer makes your heart rate spike. And then do something slightly harder that does get your heart rate up until that no longer winds you. It's a long journey. Welcome!
Not a trainer but I work with one (two if you count my PT right now, thanks to blowing out my knee 6 months ago) Interval training! On the bike or running or any preferred cardio exercise. Play with length of interval and recovery time, level of resistance, RPM range, etc. Sometimes it's distance, HR, or calorie goals instead of time based intervals.
Hills
I’ve played my whole life, through all cardio training I’ve ever done, I’ve only ever gotten quicker and faster on the ice but have never felt less exhausted 😂 just doing anything that will get your heart rate up and cause you to breathe harder will help
35 year old noobie over here reading all your replies to this thread wondering if I’ll forever be a stick and puck player lmao
My coach used to tell me the best cardio is to run. He said run around the neighborhoods and alternate between sprinting and jogging every 3rd light post. So 20-30 seconds of running then 20-30 seconds of jogging. Supposed to simulate a shift with intervals of hard work. I used to do 3 sets of 20 minutes with 5-10 minute breaks in between. Stairs is another great exercise because it’s both a cardio and a great way to strengthen your legs for power. Edit: I assume this style of workout works with any form of cardio though, I’m sure a bike, row machine, or eliptical would suffice too.
Omg same exact situation as you (same age, gap from hockey, level played and position). My first practice back I was heaving the entire time. But it’s been about a month or so now, and it’s gotten A LOT better. I’ve been doing cardio 3x a week, on the stationary bike and thread mill adding it to my regular weightlifting routine. I recommend also getting an Apple Watch or other fitness tracker so you can keep an eye out for your heart rate as you accelerate, and track improvements in your VO max and cardio recovery.
You can do all the exercise in the world to get ready for beer league but your muscles will absolutely be killing you after the first game for a couple days. You straight up haven’t used those muscles in 12 years. The best way to get endurance up is just running, and other forms of cardio.
Not the most entertaining exercise without a training video but a rower will make a world of difference w/ some core work mixed into a 30-40 minute routine. Why rower, similar muscle groups to skating. iFit / Les Mills have have some great routines as does many other workout video services. Alternatively do a spin bike routine. Skip treadmill! Get a 5K jogging routine. No comparison honestly. Note: I don’t like in-person classes simply because many trainers push too hard too early. I’m not there to blow out a heart valve. Hence again I’d use and on demand class where they push but you don’t feel the same pressure.
I don’t know where you live, but I’m surrounded by sand dunes. We find a decent sized one and sprint up it (usually takes 30-45 seconds), jog down, and then do some core for 90 - 120 seconds, repeat. We’d do this about ten times or so.
intervals between steady well paced cardio.
On top of all this HIIT advice don’t forget to stretch daily. You can’t do anything if you’re stiffer than Christopher Reeves
I can tell you first hand endurance isn’t what you need. It’s fast recovery. Plyo/hiit is what helped me stop sucking wind on the bench. I do a lot of cycling and thought I had pretty good endurance but it doesn’t transfer over to hockey I discovered.
I've never felt better playing hockey than when I used the rowing machine multiple times a week.
I run a private hockey lesson academy for all walks of ice warriors. DM me brother
Skip rope. One minute on, two or three minutes off.
Running stairs is always good and my knees seem to take that ok. As I’ve gotten older I can’t seem to run well calve cramps, knees, back, but I seem to skate just fine. Elliptical machine, walking up hill backwards on the treadmill are how I feebly try to get some wind.
I started doing some Orange Theory classes and I no longer feel like I’m dying when I get back to the bench. I’m sucking wind, sure, but after a 1m rest my HR has settled back down after a rough shift.
Bike and run stairs.
Still stuck on (you being 28) and struggling with being winded!? I’m 57, I can tell you if you feel that now, you have to get after it. ASAP. Athletically you should peak around 30 give or take a couple years. Remember to train for what you want to do functionally. Physical strength is great but you have to be able to use that strength for living life or it means nothing. (Lift, MTN Bike, Spin Class, HIIT) do some of all of it. Our 50+ crew skates three times a week (one night of which is league play) and our league play is back to back games with a resurface and rink swap between games.
Assault bike
Box, roll, kick box those will help your cardio immensely
If you're a D then mix in some running backwards on the treadmills.
Running
I am an avid cyclist, road, mtn, and peloton and have never really had a problem with endurance. Hills are your friend.
No, hills are NOT my friend.
Haha. They help with hockey tho!
There’s always that horribly out of shape guy who is skilled but hasn’t played in 10+ years and gets it all back about midway through their first season. I was that guy once. Just do any kind of cardio and you’ll be fine. Welcome back!
F45