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Hockey Off-Season Training: Aerobic v. Anaerobic Training
Welcome to Part 2 of our Off-Season Training guide: Aerobic v. Anaerobic training, which should I focus on?
Your body has different energy systems that work together to fuel your hockey performance. Although hockey is primarily an anaerobic sport, a strong aerobic base allows you to work longer and at a higher intensity by postponing fatigue and allowing a speedy recovery. The aerobic system provides energy for low- and moderate- intensity exercise and helps the body recover from fatigue. For example, a 1-hr bike ride at a comfortable pace is fueled mainly by the aerobic system. Hockey is characterized by repeated bouts of high- intensity action interspersed with periods of moderate activity and rest. The aerobic energy system supplies only a small portion of the energy needed during moderate activity, but it is critical for efficient recovery between play stoppages and during time on the bench. Aerobic conditioning can be improved through submaximal continuous exercise and through high- intensity, intermittent exercise. Submaximal continuous exercise at 75-80 % of your maximum heart rate for 30 to 60 minutes will improve your heart’s ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles for energy and will allow the body to recover more quickly from intense efforts. Intermittent aerobic condioning, using a series of 2-3 minutes if higher intensity exercise interspersed with 2 to 3 minutes of rest builds up the aerobic supply system and increases the muscles ability to extract oxygen from the blood.
There are two different types of programs to build aerobic fitness:
- Continuous, moderate intensity, long duration programs
- Intervals of high intensity work followed by easy recovery intervals of 1,2, or 3 minutes grouped into various packages of time
For interval programs, the training load can be increased in a number of ways:
- Increasing the duration of work intervals from 1 to 2 to 3 minutes
- Increasing the intensity of each work interval
- Decreasing the time of the recovery interval
- Increasing the intensity of the work interval
- Increasing the number of work/recovery intervals
On the other side of things, the anaerobic systems produce energy very quickly to meet the demands of intense action, such as the slap-shot, sprinting on a breakaway, or stops-and- starts while penalty killing. These systems utilize the ATP-PC (phoshagen) system and the glycolytic system for energy. In hockey, although the game itself lasts for about an hour, the players are usually only on the ice for high- intensity shifts of approximately 30 to 45 seconds (ideally). Most teams have 3 to 4 lines, allowing for a 1:2 or 1:3 work-to-rest ratio. However, depending on the situation (e.g., penalty killing, power plays or missing player), key players often work within a 1:2 or 1:1 work-to-rest ratio. Due to the nature of hockey, it is important to train anaerobically.
The ATP-PC system provides immediate energy, in the form of ATP, for short-term, high- intensity activities for up to 10 seconds. The glycolytic system provides energy for longer high- intensity activities ranging from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. This level of training corresponds directly to the physiological requirements of the game. To develop anaerobic energy systems, we will utilize sprint interval training. These involve full-out, high- intensity, high-speed intervals followed by rest or active recovery. We will use sprints ranging from less than 10 seconds to around 30 seconds, with a 1:2 or 1:3 work-to-rest ratio. [For example, a 1:2 work-to-rest ration involves sprinting all-out for 30 seconds, active recovery for 1 minute, then sprinting full out again.] Towards the end of the training program, you should make an attempt to progress to 1:1 work-to-rest ratios, especially if you are a defenseman or part of the special team units.
Hockey Off-Season Training: Using your time wisely
To understand hockey strength and conditioning you have to be aware of the unique demands placed on an ice hockey player. In order to be successful in hockey, besides having exceptional skills, players should participate in a program that will enhance their strength, power, speed and agility. Ice hockey has a number of unique features. During the game, players must accelerate and decelerate rapidly in shifts that last 30-45 seconds on average. The game is played in shifts and the player rests sitting down. In addition, hockey players must endure extremely high force collisions due to the high speeds attained in skating.
Although many so-called authorities will tell you the energy supply for hockey may be primarily aerobic, the trained observer may draw a different conclusion. Forwards generally play in a rest-to-work ratio in the area of 3:1, while defensemen use a rest-to-work ration of 2:1. Most sports can be classified somewhere between low intensity and high intensity activity. Low intensity activities can continue for long periods of time. However, high intensity activities can proceed only in short spurts interspersed with regular rest intervals to facilitate recovery. Using these definitions, hockey places towards the high intensity end of the scale.
The off-season strength program should focus on preparing both the muscular system and the neuromuscular system. Exercise selection should include explosive weightlifting movements, multi-joint lower body exercises, upper body pulling and pressing movements, and a full range of trunk movements.
The off-season conditioning program should focus on speed development and interval training. We tell our athletes: “train slow, get slow.” Conditioning, speed development, and strength training should be specific to the sport of ice hockey. Speed training on land, using similar intervals to the game, but some conventional aerobic training should also be done.
There are two phases to building fitness for hockey:
- Improving general fitness or getting “into shape”
- Hockey-specific conditioning
Getting in shape means improving aerobic power, flexibility, strength and diet while decreasing body fat and increasing muscle mass. The second phase requires conditioning specifically for the demands faced on the ice. Exercises and drills are selected and completed with specific exercise prescriptions so that your physical and physiological development best suits the game of ice hockey. We are going to work on developing a good base of strength and conditioning before moving onto the development of sport-specific attributes.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will continue to add blog posts expanding on the principles of designing an effective summer training program, the benefits of attending specialty hockey clinics and hockey camps, and the things you need to do to become a college hockey player.
