Building a robust and explosive lower body is one of the primary goals for a hockey player’s strength and conditioning program. VertiMax hockey training can be used alongside traditional movements to increase the effectiveness of a players' program. Training with VertiMax hockey drills to create explosive power has significant benefits over other methods as athletes can perform exercises with 100% free movement while still using their hands. The tension is constant so that there are no spots of differing loads. Here are some of the best movements to use for hockey players to create explosive legs.
1. Squat Jumps
Squat jumps are amazing in their simplicity and effectiveness. Attach VertiMax to the hockey athlete on the waist and arms (optional). Now simply have the athlete dip into about a quarter squat and then explode upwards forcefully and jump as high as possible. Pay attention to the athlete practicing safe landings.
You can perform this movement with low reps with a little rest between focusing on power production or increasing the frequency for anaerobic endurance. Better yet, throw in some stick-handling skills to make it specific to hockey.
2. Resisted Lunge Cycles:
These are a great power exercise for hockey players as they are a unilateral exercise (one dominant leg), making it more specific to hockey. The athlete hooks up VertiMax in the same manner as the squat jumps but performs lunge cycles. To do this, the athlete drops into a lunge and then propels his body into the air and switch leg positions. They then do this for an allotted amount of time.
3. Knee Tucks
Similar to the squat jumps, but now the athlete will jump in rapid succession. The athlete will not dip as far as in a squat jump and will bring their knees as high as possible while airborne. Upon landing, the athlete will then immediately jump again. This will help increase the player’s ability to create power quickly by improving the efficiency of the stretch-shortening cycle as they must counteract the movement from landing and immediately propel back into the air.
You can have your athlete perform this power drill just like this!
4. Upper Body Power And Ballistic Exercises
Exercises like ballistic pushups, medicine ball throws, wood chops are some of the best exercises to do to increase the strength and power of the upperbody. All of these can be performed and enhanced with the use of VertiMax.
One of the most specific methods is to perform vertical woodchops. Have VertiMax attached to the players hands and allow the hands to drop so they are in front of the body hanging down. Be sure there is tension on the arms and have the player forcefully swing his arms up.
Having speed and agility on the ice is vital for success. Here are the top exercises to increase strength and power to do that.
1. Side Lunges
The ability to produce power with the legs laterally is key to creating top speeds on skates.
Remember, for this to be effective, only attach VertiMax with one band on one side. Otherwise, two bands will cancel out the resistance. This mean you will train one leg at a time and then switch
2. Lateral Plyos
With the same concept as above, lateral bounds will increase the explosiveness a hockey player needs, especially when accelerating. This movement simply has a player starting with both legs on the ground. Then have one foot drawn towards the other but do not let it touch the ground. Then forcefully propel the body laterally with the foot on the ground.
Here’s a great video to see that in action
3. Alternating Leg Bounds (at an angle)
This is similar to lateral bounds but instead of driving straight horizontally, you will jump forward at an angle from one foot to the other. This is why VertiMax is awesome for this exercise, as you can perform this movement for 45 yards uninterrupted. When the athlete performs this, be sure to push off at about a 45-degree angle rather then straight forward.
4. Leg And Arm Drive
Similar to sprinting, being fast on your skate requires powerful arm drive and leg drive to propel the body forward. This can be done with off ice training drills with VertiMax to transfer efficiently to on-ice performance. To set this up, have a player stand in front of Vertimax looking away. Attach VertiMax to the arms and legs of the player. Now, have the athlete pull back an arm and opposing leg and then powerfully pull them back.
Check out Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricane generating some awesome force with the exercise.
5. Use VertiMax With Slide Boards
Slide boards are a common hockey training tool for off-ice training to increase leg drive in a similar motion as ice skating and improve balance and body control. VertiMax is the perfect supplement to this piece of equipment as it increases the resistance needed to push and can add an aspect of more core stability to maintain balance. Check it out.
One of the most unique aspects of VertiMax is that it can be used for both off-ice AND on-ice training drills. This instantly sets it apart as the most versatile pieces of hockey equipment that you can use to improve performance. Here are the best drills for both!
As you see in these videos, VertiMax is attached at the hips, which creates a resistance which the player must counteract while maintaining complete control.
1. On Ice Resisted And Assisted Sprints
This is as specific as it gets, and it is impossible to perform this drill without VertiMax. VertiMax can be attached to hockey players wearing full gear on the ice. The players then will skate as fast as possible with resisted which will demand higher force output. The players then turn around and perform assisted sprinting, which will increase the speed. This can help with the player’s leg turnover as well as build their confidence at higher speeds.
Here’s a video of Operation Athlete training their hockey players in this exact manner.
Adding VertiMax to any traditional agility drill for skating will instantly enhance it’s effectiveness by creating a stimulus of resistance that the player must counteract. VertiMax can be attached to the desired limbs of the player to provide the intended effect. This will heighten the firing of the muscles which in turn leads to the ability to generate the sudden forces needed for agility.
Hockey players produce some scary fast shots on a regular basis. Depending on if a hockey player uses a wrist shot or slap shot, pucks can travel from 80-110mph. To reach these speeds, an athlete needs an advanced neuromuscular system that allows the production of force required in such a small amount of time.
VertiMax can help increase the power needed for some killer shots. Just hope you’re not the goalie on the other side trying to stop the puck. Here are some of the best shooting drills you can use with VertiMax.
One of the beautiful things about VertiMax is that it can be attached directly to the stick. This allows a player to perform both slap shots and wrist shops with the exact same biomechanics but with some resistance added. This can be done both stationary or in motion as VertiMax allows athletes to move and complete their normal actions.
As mentioned above, pucks are fired quickly at the net, and it’s the job of the goalie to stop it from going in. An efficient goalie must be lightning-quick and ready to move in any direction. Attaching the VertiMax resistance with hand grips and creating movements to focus on upper body reaction, is a great way to enhance the speed in which the goalie deflects or stops a shot.
There is no other piece of hockey equipment on the market that can do what VertiMax does. VertiMax was explicitly designed to increase athletes’ power production and neural control for more force, strength, speed, and agility, just what hockey players need. Above just shows a mere sample of the numerous ways hockey teams and players can utilize this athletic training tool to improve their current strength and conditioning programs….but there is a lot more. If you want to dominate the ice, you need the best! You need VertiMax.