Matching On- and Off-Ice Demands

A while back I wrote a post outlining the physical qualities that can be trained at the same time without creating too large of a conflicting stimulus to the body. As I’ve mentioned in the past, attempting to train conflicting qualities at the same time (think powerlifting and marathon training) will result in the training efforts interfering with the adaptation of the other, and ultimately a blunted response to both. There are a myriad of ways to design programs to minimize this interference and progress to peak for a certain quality or group of qualities (e.g. progress from hypertrophy -> strength -> power -> speed).

You can’t be both

While no periodization model (read: planning) is perfect, I think when an individual has a relatively advanced training age (e.g. 5+ years of structured strength and conditioning ), the more targeted a given training phase will need to be to continue to make progress. In other words, it’ll be that much more important that phases are designed using almost entirely complimentary qualities (as outlined here: A New Perspective on Program Design), using a minimum volume of conflicting qualities to help maintain previously built levels.

During the off-season, it’s ideal to frame on-ice work within the same targets as the off-ice work. In other words, if you’re focusing off-ice efforts on developing maximum speed or power, which primarily rely upon alactic energy systems, and then you bag yourself on the ice with a lot of lactic work, the on-ice work will actually impair your off-ice efforts. This certainly isn’t to say that you’d gain some on-ice benefits from skating and handling a puck, only that there is a more targeted/optimal approach to take.

Recently I’ve had an opportunity to consult with some high level players about this very topic. Below is an example of the plan I put together for one, based on a preexisting skating schedule.

Monday: Upper Body/Skill Work

  1. Off-Ice: Upper Body Lift 1
    1. Conditioning: Mobility Circuit (2x through)
  2. On-Ice: Low IntensitySkill Work
    1. Skating Technique Work
      1. Goal to Goal: Slow forward skating focusing on optimal body position, stride angle and extension. Progress in speed to ultimately ramp up to full speed by far blue.
        1. 50% x 2-3
        2. 75% x 2-3
        3. 100% x 2 (ramping up to 100%)
      2. Faceoff Circle: Crossover skating focusing on driving under with the cross-under leg. Progress to faster strides around the circle.
        1. 2-3 x ~20s/side
          1. Last Rep should ramp up to full speed for ~8-10s
      3. Goal to Goal: Inside and outside edge holds, forward and backward. Progress to tighter turns.
        1. 2x/edge/direction (2 on inside and outside edge each, forward and backward; 8 trips total)
    2. Puck Work
      1. Puck handling on all sides of the body (front, back, left, right). Ramp up speed, weight shifts, width of puck handling, and transition between positions.
      2. Stationary shots from different areas of the ice
      3. Quick movements into shots (< ~3 strides before shooting; should only take 2-3 seconds and shouldn’t be overly taxing)

Tuesday: Lower Body/Intense Practice

  1. Off-Ice: Lower Body Lift 1
    1. Conditioning 1 (Pick 1; Listed in order of preference)
  2. On-Ice: Practice
    1. Focus on short, high-intensity drills if possible.

Wednesday: Active Recovery

  1. Off-Ice: Active Recovery
    1. Foam Roll: Front, lateral, medial, and posterior thigh, glutes, lower back, upper back, lats/armpits
    2. Modified Mobility Circuit: 3x through
  2. On-Ice: NO SKATE

Thursday: Lower Body/Intense Practice

  1. Off-Ice: Lower Body Lift 2
    1. Conditioning 2 (Pick 1; Listed in order of preference)
  2. On-Ice: Practice
    1. Can incorporate longer (e.g. 10-20s) high-intensity drills

Friday: Upper Body/Skill Work

  1. Off-Ice: Upper Body Lift 2
    1. Conditioning: Mobility Circuit (2x through)
  2. On-Ice: Low IntensitySkill Work
    1. Same as above

Saturday: Active Recovery

  1. Off-Ice: Active Recovery
    1. Foam Roll: Front, lateral, medial, and posterior thigh, glutes, lower back, upper back, lats/armpits
    2. Modified Mobility Circuit: 3x through
  2. On-Ice: NO SKATE

Sunday: GAME

Hopefully this gives you an idea of how on- and off-ice work can be designed in a complimentary fashion to maximize development and avoid (to the extent possible) sending conflicting signals to the body, ultimately allowing for a deeper, more significant adaptation.

In a future post, I’ll post the “Mobility/Recovery Circuit” and Conditioning recommendations alluded to above so you can see how they line-up with the on-ice work. Stay tuned and, as always, please post your questions below!

To your success,

Kevin Neeld

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