3 Rules of Last Minute Training

Unfortunately, there is no magical formula available to those who have spent their summer months lounging and relaxing.  But by following the 3 simple rules of last minute training, you may be able to use the next couple of weeks efficiently in order to ensure that your talents shine through for your coaches to see during your evaluations.

Eat Well

Let’s face it it’s never too late to start eating right.  For some, it may be necessary to implement a change in diet.  Whether you decide to integrate foods meant to speed up your metabolism, or increase your intake of water, one thing’s for sure:  Put down that bag of chips, and pour that soft drink down the drain.

You’re going to want to feel as good as possible for your evaluations after spending the off-season on the couch, so now is the time to start eating right (if you haven’t done so already).

Train Well

Last minute training is never easy.  So if you can get on the ice, great!  Do so.  But make sure that by doing so, that your training will not be counterproductive.

Goalies who sat on the couch all summer should be receiving a combination of technical training, coaching, and conditioning via conditioning camp programs.  However, goalies who haven’t been on the ice since the end of the previous hockey season often make the mistake of registering for conditioning camps with hopes of being whipped into shape in time for their evaluations.  These camps or sessions are meant for goalies to get some ice time, get used to the feel of the puck again, receive some coaching, and ready themselves for similar strenuous practice formats in their training camps.

Not everyone has the option, or means of signing up for a conditioning camp.  For those who don’t:  Get off your butt, and get active.

Being active doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to train like a fiend.  Instead it means that you need to get moving again:

•  Work in a bike ride, a jog, soccer, touch football, tennis, or Ultimate Frisbee game with friends.
•  Stretch to minimize the risk of injuring yourself during the above activities or at your first showing for evaluators.
•  Add eye-hand coordination exercises into your daily routine to get reacquainted with the speed of the puck and get your arms moving.

Rest Well

Overlooked by many, the need for rest is essential to ensuring that athletes remain capable of doing their best when it matters most during the last minute training process.  The need for rest reaches further than waking up in the morning and feeling good or refreshed.  Instead, a good night’s sleep and rest periods throughout the day after training allows for bodies to process foods more effectively, better brain function, oxygen and blood flow, and muscular repair.

What this doesn’t mean is going out for a morning jog, and then playing video games for the rest of the day.  Instead, train effectively by ensuring that you’re remaining fairly active during the weeks leading up to your training camp, so that a rest is warranted.

Implement this way of thinking:  Train-Rest-Train, Not Train-to-Rest.  By placing an emphasis on training, athletes begin to understand the necessity of their training, whereas if the athlete allows themselves to believe that they need additional rest in order to train effectively, they risk not getting up off of the couch (and we all know that there’s no time for that).

With the school year right around the corner, last minute training for the hockey season will be difficult due to distractions such as family vacations, and friends who may want to get together in attempts to make the most of the remaining summer weeks.  If you happened to have been the Hare rather than the Tortoise this summer, then you may have wasted your summer on the couch just like the time which you had for off-season training.  This means that you may be faced with a difficult decision to make this August of whether to get training, or to lose the race completely before you’ve even begun.

Which will you choose?

 

For more free articles, or tips & tricks which can help you progress your game to the next level, check out our blog, or contact us to see how Goalie Army Academy can help you reach and attain your goals in hockey through our various training programs.