Just think how many tricks you need to learn to succeed in hockey. After all, just being able to skate is only half the battle. In addition, you must learn to take off like a bullet, throw the puck with lightning speed, powerfully push off your opponent and at the same time stay on your skates.
All of these skills directly depend on your explosive power and ability to maintain balance. Moreover, both can be developed not only on the ice field, but also in the gym. As for practicing balance skills, we wrote about this in the last issue. Today we will talk about explosive power. And honored coach Ed Mac Neely will help us with this. Do his exercises 2-3 times a week and within a month you will begin to play hockey much stronger.
Jumping from one leg to the other (to take off like lightning)
In an open space, stand on one leg: the right one on the ground, and the left one in the air (bent at the knee, shin back and parallel to the floor). To develop initial acceleration, swing your left leg and push off powerfully from the ground with your right leg, jump to the left and land on your left foot. Repeat the jump, pushing off with your left foot and landing on your right. Change the direction of the jump: jump on each leg first forward and then back (push off with one leg, land on the other). This is one repetition. When performing jumps, try to push off as hard as possible with your supporting leg and jump as far as possible. Do 6 sets of 3-5 reps.
Medicine Ball Throw Trunk Twist (to hit the puck harder)
Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Take the medicine ball with both hands and move it back and to the side so that it is at the side of your hip. Imagine that you are swinging a stick at the puck – lean forward and, turning your torso towards the ball, take the ball back and up. Then “stick hit the puck” – with a powerful explosive movement, turn your torso in the opposite direction and throw the ball as far as possible behind your shoulders. In this case, the hands with the ball move in a wide arc: they fall from top to bottom to the knees, and then rise up diagonally to the shoulder. You throw the ball the moment it reaches shoulder level. Your plan is 5 sets, in each set there are 4-6 throws to the left and the same number to the right.
Explosive Bench Press (to powerfully push bulky opponents)
Place a flat bench on a Smith machine. Perform explosive presses using the same technique as traditional bench presses. The only difference is the tempo and manner of execution. Tighten all your muscles and powerfully push the barbell up, slightly opening and immediately squeezing your fingers at the top point.
Your goal is to give the barbell maximum acceleration at the very beginning of the movement, which is more like a bench press than a bench press. Lower the barbell smoothly at a slow pace. This exercise is dangerous to perform without a safety net, so practice it only with a partner. Do 4 sets of 3-5 reps.
