Bag skating can take many effective and creative forms, but basically players skate to the point of exhaustion, vomiting, or submission, whichever comes first. Some may argue that exercise should not be used as a punishment for athletes and I do not intend to discuss training philosophy in this article. Personally, I think we can build better pocket skates and turn them into something a little more productive while still getting all the attention from hockey players.
Imagine your players after 20 minutes of bag skating. Do they look like the type of player you’d like to have on the ice during a game? Probably not, their hips are bent forward, their knees are barely bent, their steps are short and weak, it’s a mess! Now imagine your athletes 20 minutes on a skate bag still with their legs down and taking powerful steps. The key is to give them rest! Don’t think I’m crazy, I know the point is to exhaust and torture your players. Stay with me a little longer.
What is harder skating slowly, without bending the knees, with light strides or skating with little force? Once an athlete reaches a certain point (lactate threshold), he physiologically cannot continue to work above that level for more than 60 seconds. Even if the athlete wants to go fast, his body cannot keep up with the demand for energy production. So here’s what you can do: torture your legs for 30-45 seconds, then torture your arms and core for 60-90 seconds; repeat until you get the desired effect. Here are some sample workouts:
#1 Best Skate Bag
o Blue line to blue line for 45 s
o Push-ups for 45s
o Core Plank from push-up position 45s (gets athletes to activate their core muscles while breathing heavily; excellent game-specific core activation, as well as working shoulder stabilizers, which will help prevent lower back injuries) the future)
Best Skate Bag #2
o Partner side planks for 90 seconds (one partner runs side to side while the other partner rests and then the next partner goes)
o Partner Core Stabilization for 45-60 seconds: Partners face each other holding the same hockey stick at approximately chest level. One player will try to hold the hockey stick using their core muscles to stabilize while the other player will try to twist or rotate the stick to challenge their partner. Switch roles as stabilizer after about 20-30 seconds.
You hockey coaches can still tire your players out while keeping them moving at game speed, which will improve their performance on the ice. Add some upper body and core training to build better athletes by building a better bag skate.