During Wayne Blazejczyk’s time playing and coaching hockey, he has found that even players that are dominant forces during the season can be somewhat clueless when it comes to managing their training in the off-season. Preseason training, however, is an immensely important part of staying fit and ready to give your all when game time resumes. In addition to its importance, preseason training can be relatively simple if a player ensures that they set themselves up for success in every way that they can. Here, Wayne Blazejczyk lists a few ways that any hockey player can get ready for their regular season games.
One of the most helpful ways to prepare in hockey preseason is also the simplest- give yourself plenty of time to prepare yourself. Wayne Blazejczyk notes that many players start their season off on the wrong foot just by not starting their training early enough. To avoid a lack of preparation in the preseason, it is helpful to develop a workout program that gives you enough time to have different phases leading up to your regular season training. This allows players to gain the strength that they will need during the season without needing to rush into things. As anyone that has played a demanding sport can tell you, rushing is a quick way to develop overuse injuries. Instead, Wayne Blazejczyk recommends easing into the process and making sure that you are not doing too much too soon while you are training.
Related to giving yourself the time to properly prepare your body for the season, it is also a great idea to work on your structure during training. Many players have the discipline to know that they need to get fit for their sport but tend to go about this by using an approach that does not have the structure to set them up for success. Wayne Blazejczyk notes that it can be immensely helpful to work out a wholistic training program rather than trusting the entropy of random exercising. One of the largest benefits of a workout program is that it is tangible, and a player can use it as reference for what they have done each day and will do the next. A written workout plan ensures that you are not doing the same exercises every time, a practice that could present a problem as the body quickly adapts to workouts when they are not diversified often enough.
The ability to set goals and work to achieve them is a part of what makes great players and, as such, goals are an indispensable facet of preseason training. Early in the preseason, Wayne Blazejczyk recommends setting a few attainable goals that can serve as a guide through training. These goals can help an individual stay motivated as well as point out some things that a player needs to develop a stronger repertoire of skills. Remember that not all goals need to be linked to just technical hockey skills, as many players see it fit to set goals such as working on their teamwork or developing the perfect workout routine.
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