| When I first started training off the ice as a young | | | | Mistake #4 - Using Too Many Machines: |
| female hockey player looking to get an edge on the | | | | As a young player, I remember taking great pride in |
| competition, I had no idea that the training I was doing | | | | how much weight I could push on the leg press |
| was completely inappropriate for me. Here are the 5 | | | | machine. I would struggle and squirm trying to lift that |
| big mistakes I made and the ones that girls' hockey | | | | weight, but it wasn't pretty. I would have been much |
| players need to avoid on their way to the elite levels | | | | better off focusing on single-leg body-weight strength |
| of women's hockey: | | | | exercises, instead of huffing and puffing away on |
| Mistake #1 - Lifting Too Much Weight: | | | | those stupid machines. Now my philosophy on |
| When I first starting training off the ice, I was working | | | | machine-based training is simple: girls hockey players |
| out with guys who were already playing major junior | | | | should NOT be training on weight training machines. |
| and college hockey. I didn't want to be seen as the | | | | Instead of having an athlete perform abdominal |
| "weak" girl - so I was always pushing myself to lift | | | | crunches or chest presses on a machine, we should |
| more weight than I should have been in a desperate | | | | be teaching them how to move and control their entire |
| attempt to "keep up with the boys". Trying to train (and | | | | body in free space. Think about it - when was the last |
| keep up) with future NHL stars and men's college | | | | time you saw a hockey player execute a skill or |
| hockey players when I was 15 years old seems crazy | | | | movement on the ice while fully supported by some |
| now - especially since I had absolutely no experience | | | | bulky machine or by using only a few muscles at a |
| with off-ice training. Lifting too much weight was | | | | time? In order to excel on the ice, players must master |
| especially dangerous, especially when coupled with | | | | fundamental movement patterns off the ice that |
| mistake #2... | | | | integrate coordination, balance and strength - and that |
| Mistake #2 - Using Poor Form When Lifting: | | | | can't happen while sitting on a machine. |
| Lifting too much weight with bad form is a recipe for | | | | Mistake #5 - Not Building A Foundation of Strength and |
| disaster for any athlete. I always thought that lifting | | | | Stability First: |
| more weight was more important than lifting the | | | | This is probably my biggest mistake of all. I now know |
| weight with perfect form. To me, higher weights | | | | that if I had built up the foundation of core stability and |
| meant I was stronger - when in reality, I was just | | | | single-leg strength that I needed to excel at the elite |
| cheating my way through the lifts, using completely | | | | levels of women's hockey, before I started throwing |
| improper form in order to try to move a bigger weight. | | | | big heavy weights around, my career would have |
| Mistake #3 - Never Taking A Day Off: | | | | been much longer and more successful. But I had no |
| I genuinely believed that every day I took off, another | | | | clue back then. I thought strength training meant weight |
| aspiring female hockey player would be training her | | | | training. All hockey players, no matter their age or ability |
| hardest, and when we met up on the ice, she would | | | | level, must build a solid foundation of body-weight |
| beat me. It's silly I know - but that's the mentality that | | | | strength and stability before they touch a weight. |
| drove me to be my best on and off the ice each and | | | | Period. |
| every day. But I can also count on two hands the | | | | So there you have it - the 5 biggest off-ice training |
| number of days I took off from on-ice or off-ice | | | | mistakes I made as an aspiring girls hockey player. I |
| training the entire time I was in high school and college. | | | | had no idea that the off-ice training I started doing to |
| Again, I was dedicated and committed. But I never | | | | get an edge on my competition was completely |
| gave my body the chance to recover, and that's what | | | | inappropriate for me as an aspiring girls hockey player. |
| ultimately led to my body breaking down and my early | | | | Girls need to train hard to make it to the elite levels of |
| retirement. | | | | women's hockey, but they also need to train smarter. |