My son has been training as a hockey player since his Mini Mite days which is 8 years old and younger.

He is now a second year Bantam  (13 and 14 years of age).  During his maturation he has been in my gym since his time in his Mom's womb and once she punched him out, he started crawling and growing up in the gym.

At first it was all about "play" and letting him explore MOVEMENT.  I never restricted him when it came to pushing things, climbing up or onto stuff or exploring the weights he could move.

The day he asked to "workout with ya Dad" (a most wonderful moment) we started to experiment with "How many ways can you pick this up?" and "Can you push that in a better way?" questions which in fact is the beginning of Movement Education.

There is NO wrong way to do anything, just more right ways once discovered.

Then came the point in time to which there was the BEST way to move objects and his body in space.  He grew and we could watch movement patterns develop rapidly.

He got better on the ice and moved faster and stronger than his size and age.

Now that there is a lot more contact, as in checking, and the competition is getting better the payoff of having performed the Deadlift, Bench, Squat and Overhead Press along with the accessory work that goes along with them to improve is proving to be invaluable.

Since the "lock down" he has focused his efforts even more so.  In doing so, he has gained his own following of hockey players who want to better their own game.

Aside from his Dad being the former Strength and Conditioning coach of a Pro Hockey club, the fact that my son has improved his actual game brings a level of confidence that can't be bought.

Along with the other players the collective agreement has been that the little time they have on the ice, their personal game has improved exponentially.

Being stronger they are moving better, faster, and with less effort.

Body contact is less contested as they are making better checks and hits.  Pucks are shot harder and passed with greater velocity.  Moving people is getting easier and more efficient as well.

We joke about hitting opponents so hard that we re arrange their DNA and now we can just call them DAN!

I am not writing about "Speed Camps", or "Functional Exercise" that mimics hockey skills.  I am not insinuating balance and core work.   All we have done is simple and basic Powerlifting exercises which are designed to make an individual stronger.

Getting stronger is the key to better performance on the ice, PERIOD!

Conditioning is the key to being able to PRACTICE longer and harder, PERIOD!

Tomorrow I'll go over the strength and conditioning drills we have been utilizing and give feedback on why they were chosen.

Today's Training:

AirDyne: 22 mins.

Dynamic Effort Bench: 10x3x60% of max

Push Ups: 5x15

Dips: 100 reps in as few sets as possible

Cable Tricep Push Downs: 5x15x110

Ab Crunch: 125

Push ups: Yes you can't forget them...15 MORE

Pull Ups/Chin Ups: 4/4

Bike Commute: 17 mins.  Nope, no tail wind  I'm just getting faster on my road bike