For any hockey players out there, what do your ab routines look like? I’ve found that intense skating is a great core/ab exercise, and I’d like to (safely) recreate its effects in the gym (something like a Russian twist, I suppose). I’ve already read the relevant articles (Chek, King, etc.), so please don’t suggest that. I’m looking for hockey-specific exercises. Thanks.
Renegade training offers great work for hockey players. We have some good ones on programs right now. Contact me through Coach Davies site to dscuss furhter.
Dan Fichter-WGF
Look for my article “Ab training for athletes and babehounds”. The program described is taken specifically from what I’ve done with my hockey players.
Let’s think about what your abs do when you skate. They rotate your trunk when you turn, stabilize with a relatively small degree of rotation when skating forward and backward, and when you hit or shoot they definitely work powerfully. Most of this is done with the trunk bent forward.
I'd say unanchored russian twists on the floor with weight, and full contact twists would be very good. Bent presses and saxon bends would also help.
The stabilization problem can be solved with a huge number of reps in various movements. See Christian T's "Ab training for athletes and babe hounds".
Good Luck, Adam Marshall
I agree. Bent presses, side presses, windmilss, saxon bends, full-contact twists are all good. In addition, it would be beneficial to include Med ball work as well as Sledgehammer GPP. Just think about what Sledgehammer GPP would do for a hockey player, grip as well as core stamina and strength. That is definitely hockey specific.
Thanks for the advice. I’ve recently used some of Christian’s exercises and they’re great. I was wondering if anybody has done any variations of the Gagne Cyclone in which the lower body simultaneously rotates and–for lack of a better word–“crunches” upwards. I guess it would be a combination Gagne Cyclone and side leg raise.