As a hockey player, there are several off-ice exercises that you can do to be the best player in the rink.
You need to focus on exercises that will build your skating speed, power, agility, and strength.
It’s also helpful to have a strong core, arms, and upper body, enabling you to finesse the hockey puck when you are dribbling, passing, and shooting a slap or wrist shot.
It’s also going to enable you to put an earth shattering hit on your opponents.
The best exercises are going to primarily benefit a hockey players quads, glutes, abs and deltoids.
Try to do full body exercises that allow you to work multiple muscle groups in a short amount of time.
Next time you’re at home or in the gym, try this list of the 10 best off-ice exercises for hockey players.
Best Off-Ice Exercises for Hockey Players
1. Stability Ball Split Squats
As a hockey player, you’re going to need an exercise that challenges each leg individually in order to generate power on the ice.
Grab a stability ball, put your back leg on top of it and begin lunging.
Throw on a weight vest or hold some dumbbells for an added challenge in your hockey workout routine.
The instability of the exercise ball is going to challenge your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and inner thighs.
2. TRX Pushup Jacks to Pike
A great off-ice compound exercise for hockey players is the TRX pushup jack to pike.
Get a pair of suspension straps, get on the ground in pushup position and put your feet in the holsters.
Do this exercise as long as you are able to keep good form.
Use 2 sets of suspension straps to make this even harder.
You can also add mountain climbers and in-and-out abs.
3. Glider 360 Lunges
One of the best exercises for a skater or hockey player uses a glider.
Put one under one foot and get to lunging.
Try forward lunges, reverse lunges, side, and curtsy lunges.
Using a glider is going to mimic the unstable ice
Use 2 gliders at once to do alternating front to back lunges, elevating the difficulty.
4. Wall Balls
A great exercise that challenges the glutes, hamstrings and deltoids is the wall ball.
Squat and toss a ball as high as you can off a wall.
You can also do thrusters if you only have a pair of dumbbells in your home.
Do this over time to increase your strength, power, and cardio capacity.
5. Plank Punches
As a hockey player, you are going to need a strong core.
Hold a plank for an extended period of time and alternate punching out in front of your head.
You could also just plank on one arm to make this exercise even harder.
Make sure to add this exercise in to your total body workout plan.
6. Heisman High Knees
Made famous by Shawn T, Heisman high knees are going to force you to drive hard side to side.
Your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors are going to get a great workout with this exercise.
Do this as long as you can to increase your power and stamina for the rink.
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7. Banded or Chained Box Squats
One of the best ways you can increase leg power is with the banded or chained box squat.
This exercise is going to take a little bit of setup but will be one of the most effective exercises you can do as a hockey player.
Do this exercise often enough and you will begin to blow past people with the puck.
8. Nordic Hamsting Curls
A hockey player is going to need a strong posterior chain.
Use the Nordic hamstring curls to challenge your hamstrings, glutes, and erector spinae.
This exercise will help balance all the exercises that work the front of the body.
9. Wind Sprints
You will do a lot of sprinting as a hockey player.
Head to the track and add some wind sprints into your workout.
This will challenge your legs to skate stronger and faster than most of your fellow hockey player.
Other good exercises you can do as a hockey player include:
- Sumo Squats
- Jump Lunges
- Cross Crunches
- Chest Flies
- Deadlifts
- RDL’s
- Frog Jumps
- Reverse Flies
- YTWLI
- Burpees
- Power Cleans
- Cable Wood Chops
Summary: Best Off-Ice Exercises for Hockey Players
Hockey players only have small opportunities for bettering their opponents. Developing your body with challenging hockey related exercises and a solid workout plan are going to be the key getting ahead of the game. If you can skate stronger, hit harder, and score faster, you are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the rink. Many of these off-ice exercises are going to challenge your body more than it’s been challenged before. Make to listen to your body, use correct form, and push yourself to get better and better every week.
