Tag: Kevin Neeld

How Much Protein Should You Take In?

Protein has long been hailed as the “super nutrient” amongst athletes and lifters.

Dr. John Berardi recently sent out an email presenting a few new studies have sparked up a lot of conversation about whether athletes do have a higher protein requirement than non-athletes and if the additional protein actually contributes to improved performance or training results.

I’m a huge fan of high protein diets (in most cases), so when I caught wind of these studies I had to check out what Dr. Berardi had to say about them.

Click here to read why you should limit your protein to 20g per meal.

-Kevin Neeld

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Transitional Speed Training for Ice Hockey

I really think that transitional speed training should lay the foundation for speed training for almost all athletes.  For ice hockey players, this is especially important in the offensive and defensive zones when all your movements are rapid bursts of speed interspersed with stops and direction changes.

I’ve played with and against countless players that were ridiculously fast goal-line to goal-line, but blended in with everyone else in smaller areas of play.

Check out this article on transitional speed training I wrote for Maria Mountain’s site.

It includes a few videos of my favorite transitional speed exercises.

-Kevin Neeld

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Hockey Goalie Training for Flexibility

I recently caught up with Maria Mountain, another great mind in the world of hockey training. I asked her if she’d put together an article for you on goalie training.

Check out the article below. I always love articles with material that is instantly usable. This is definitely one of those!

Three new ways for hockey goalies to improve hip flexibility.

Look at any of the spectacular saves from the highlight shows and you will see hockey goaltenders displaying their great hip flexibility.  Does this happen by chance?  It shouldn’t.  If you want to steal more wins for your team, then you must have amazing flexibility, so here are my top three stretches to help you make those impossible saves.

Standing Groin Stretch

If you are a hockey goaltender, then hopefully you are not making many saves from your butt, however if you look at goalies stretching routines, they spend much of their time sitting down with their feet in a wide ‘V’ position to stretch their groins.  I am not saying that is a bad stretch, I just think it can be better by taking the athlete into a standing position.

Seated Hip Internal Rotation

If you play with the butterfly style, then you need hip internal rotation which means you must stretch your hip external rotators.  The stretch I will describe below is an active stretch meaning that the hockey goalie will contract his hip internal rotators to help him stretch his hip external rotators.

  • Begin by sitting on a trainers’ table or your kitchen counter with your knees right against  the edge of the counter.
  • Pull your feet and knees together.
  • Sit up tall.
  • Try to keep your knees touching as you pull your feet apart (keep the knees bent to 90 degrees).
  • Pull the feet outward for five seconds and then relax.  Perform 15-30 repetitions.

Self Myofascial Release with the Foam Roll

Any of you goalies out there stretch your hips but find that your flexibility still doesn’t improve?  Frustrating isn’t it?  The problem may not be that your muscles are tight at all, but rather your fascia may be stuck.  Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds every muscle and every individual muscle fibre.  It can get tight or get bonded down to the underlying muscle and unless you actually get the fascia moving you will have trouble making gains through traditional stretching.  If you do not have a foam roll, get one.  If you are serious about your sport then you should have one.

Now, check out the video below so you can learn exactly how to do the stretches described above and learn more about how hockey goalies can implement foam rolling to increase hip flexibility.




Maria Mountain, MSc, CSCS is the owner of Revolution Conditioning and a professional fitness coach who is trusted by hockey players to help them compete at levels beyond their expectations while reducing their risk of injury.  Her training methods have been proven at all levels from the NHL to AAA.  If you are a goalie looking to take your game to the next level visit www.ultimategoalietraining.com or get your free 5-Part Hockey Training Insider’s Report at www.hockeytrainingpro.com.

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$50 Off Hockey Training U’s Off-Ice Performance Training Course!

I recently got a facebook message from a 12-year old hockey player in upstate New York. In the interest of anonymity, we’ll call him “Future Crosby”.

Future Crosby told me he’d been reading my website and really liked the information.  He asked if I had any recommendations for him regarding hockey training programs to help him become stronger and faster.

Of course I did! That’s my specialty.  When I asked if Future Crosby had read my Off-Ice Performance Training Course, he said no, but he’d love to check it out.

A couple days later Future Crosby sent me another message and said he was going to start saving up his own money now so that he could buy it.

I have to tell you, I was EXTREMELY impressed with his attitude.  Having paid for almost all of my equipment my whole life, I can relate to having to save money for a long period of time to get something you really want.

That got me thinking. I originally discounted the Off-Ice Performance Training Course to $97 (down from $200) because I wanted to make it available for EVERY hockey player and coach.  I didn’t want the price to stop anyone from getting all the information they need to develop effective off-ice training programs for themselves (hockey players) or their teams (hockey coaches).

It never occurred to me that there would be young players saving up their allowance and yardwork money to invest in their own development!

I’m an idiot.

Lucky for everyone, I’m an idiot with a pretty good learning curve.

I’m in the process of developing TWO new hockey training websites that will completely change the hockey industry.

I’ll fill you in on more details about one of those sites as I finalize everything.

While the second site is a work in progress as well, I am selling my Off-Ice Performance Training Course on it now, at a substantial discount.

You can now get my off-ice hockey training course for ONLY $47!

It’s a little late Future Crosby, but I hope it helps!

Click here to check out my new hockey training site. I’d love to get your feedback on it so post your thoughts below or shoot me an email.

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

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Hockey Training with Kim McCullough Part 2

Picking right up where we left off:

KN: I can’t agree more. I’m an outspoken supporter of unconditional optimism, in sports and in life.  I know you went into great detail about this in your book “Best Hockey Season Ever”, fill us in on what hockey players can do to correct these performance-limiting attitudes?

KM: Players need to own their accomplishments and own their strengths. There is nothing wrong with saying “Thanks” after someone tells you that you played a great game. You aren’t being conceited – you are acknowledging your accomplishment. On the same note, players need to know what they are good at and commit to being the best at those things each and every time they are out on the ice. All too often, players get wrapped up and focus on their weaknesses instead of showcasing their strengths. Don’t get me wrong – players have to improve their weaknesses as well, but they also need to know what they are best at and commit to being the best at those things all the time. The negativity issue is a hard one to fix, but it can be as simple as getting players to stop slamming their stick against the boards in frustration after missing a sure goal. That’s a little step in the right direction that will get them to think about being more positive.

KN: Great point. Taking small steps and cutting back a few negative behaviors is a great way to start improving your playing mentality.  Most people are familiar with the fact that an off-ice training program can help improve the strength, speed, power, and conditioning of ice hockey players.  I’m a strong believer that these things are just the tip of the iceberg.  Do you notice changes in your players’ confidence and mental toughness after a few months of training?

KM: My favorite thing about off-ice training is the psychological benefit it gives players. I know that when I was a young player, I took great pride in the fact that none of the other girls I played with trained as hard as I did off the ice. I may not have been as skilled as them on the ice, but I knew that I was fitter, faster, and stronger. Quite often, when it comes to off-ice training, the most skilled player on the team isn’t the best athlete off the ice. Sometimes it’s the 4th liner who is the most fit. While fitness isn’t the only thing that will get that player better on the ice, the confidence they will gain knowing that they are in the best shape will have tremendous benefits to their performance.

I felt the same way when I trained! As a 13 year-old I got cut from a Bantam Tier II 2nd team! I remember training that whole year just knowing that nobody was working as hard as me off the ice, treating the whole world as my competition.  It sounds like that mentality paid off for both of us!

Thanks a lot for taking the time Kim!

For anyone that hasn’t already looked into this, Kim has put together the most comprehensive resource for youth hockey players that I’ve ever seen.  It includes step-by-step formulas to improve your training, nutrition, and mental preparedness.  It’s truly a must-have for dedicated hockey players (and coaches!).  Click here to read more about how Kim’s Book, “The Best Hockey Season Ever” can start helping you compete at a higher level.

-Kevin Neeld

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