HOW TO STAY COMMITTED TO A HOCKEY FITNESS PROGRAM by Dr. Chad Moreau

Many players begin an exercise program but very few actually stay committed. We all have our reasons for starting a fitness program. Some adult players tend to aim for weight loss and reduced body fat, while others target a healthier lifestyle or minimizing injuries. Youth hockey players often aim to get stronger and faster to enhance on-ice performance. Unfortunately, many players work hard to find more reasons for quitting an exercise program instead of making a dedicated effort to complete an exercise program. Despite all the excuses that contribute to players quitting their exercise routines, I believe the primary reason is that players get bored and lose focus on their stated goals. Once this happens failure is inevitable.

           

HockeyOT.com develops personalized off-ice training routines for male AND female athletes ranging all skill levels, intensity levels, and levels of access to training equipment. Our innovative online program develops custom routines for hockey-specific training goals (for example shot power, skating speed, and endurance) to properly train and motivate hockey players across a wide range of access to training equipment.  In an effort to capture the appropriate amount of focus and player commitment to the hockeyot.com training system we have implemented 4 tools known to increase training compliance:

            1. Hockey-specific testing sequence

Fitness training is more fun if there is a feedback loop to measure progress. HockeyOT.com uses a unique testing sequence to help athletes gauge their level of fitness compared to their peers. Each of the 12-16 tests (depending on the age of the player) in the HockeyOT.com testing sequence has a gold standard score that the player is striving to meet. Every 4 weeks we have our athletes repeat some portion of the testing sequence so that we may provide feedback as to their progress. In this way, the athlete is motivated to stay compliant with the fitness program as they know their strengths and weaknesses and are given feedback as they progress.

            2. Hockey-specific exercises

Exercise specificity is more exciting for the hockey playing athlete and will increase their commitment to the fitness program. Once an athlete enters their testing data onto HockeyOT.com they are given the choice of which fitness goals they want to focus on. For example, one of our players might select “Faster First 3 Steps” and “Shot Power” as their fitness training goals. The HockeyOT.com routine generator will identify exercises proven to obtain those specific goals. Rather than just exercising for the sake of exercising, our players work towards their hockey-specific goals. This is more rewarding and also more fun.

            3. Exercise Variety

Variability is a critical ingredient component of fitness. If you perform the same 10 exercises each workout you increasingly run the risk of achieving boredom instead of results. HockeyOT.com has over 350 exercises that make up the exercise program. As a result, every workout has a different look and feel. Furthermore, HockeyOT.com offers multiple exercises within the same fitness goal featuring a variety of customized activities that are used for each workout. As a result, the athlete’s body is not able to adapt to a set of familiar exercises and will continually feel challenged by the workout routine. Physical challenges are very stimulating to the brain and ensure that the athlete will stay excited and motivated to maintain the fitness training program for extended periods.

            4. Hockey training community-

Establishing a community of athletes that compete with and motivate one another is an important component of fitness compliance. As professional trainers, we recognize that the customized training programs developed on HockeyOT.com require hard work. We also recognize that can be comforting to know that there are other athletes just like you out there committed to the same goals and trying to get better. At HockeyOT.com, we have athletes that sign up as groups or teams - and even leagues. We offer athletes a significant discount as compared to the individual subscription rate for signing up as a group. We often find that if the athlete is participating with their peers there is a higher compliance rate and overall level of commitment. Just as importantly, athletes participating with their peers are also more likely to have fun!

           

Dr. Chad Moreau is the President of HockeyOT.com, an online training site dedicated to improving the fitness level of hockey players of all levels. He was the former Strength & Conditioning/Nutrition Consultant for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) and the Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL). For more information please visit hockeyot.com