Getting Back into Shape

Posted in Hockey Tips |

Sometimes Ice Hockey enthusiasts can be away from the game for a long period for a number of reasons. When this happens getting back into shape can be a bit of a problem, especially if you want to play competitively. The answer to this is not spending time in a gym for a few months getting into shape and then getting back onto the ice. The best solution is to get on the ice and doing off ice training.The first step is to change the things you eat. Foods like fruits, sliced turkey, multigrain bread, cottage cheese etc. will be good for your diet. You should also make breakfast an important and big meal of the day. There is a good reason why that meal is called Breakfast; it is because it comes after a long gap in your meal i.e. 10-12 hours after dinner, therefore break-fast. Avoid large dinners and dinners that contain a lot of fattening food. Try to end your dinner by 7pm the latest and you will soon find a marked difference in your body.The next step is interval training. Pick a cardio exercise, like jogging for instance. Do a light warm up lasting about 5 minutes before you begin. Then do an intense sprint for 30 seconds; you will probably feel extremely exhausted at the end of this. Do not stop and continue running or even walking briskly, but at an exaggeratedly slow pace for 90 seconds. This is so that you get your breath back and you allow your body to stabilize. Now repeat this 30 second-90 second cycles for about 10 minutes. Over a period of four weeks, you should be able to get to a 20 minute limit. As you find the sprints getting easier, start cutting down on the slow cycles but do not drop it below 60 seconds as your body needs this minimum period.