Team lists for the Adelaide Summer League Ice Hockey competition were announced last night and for the first time in six years my name wasn't there. I had to make a very difficult decision earlier in the year which resulted in my not registering to play this season. It was not an easy decision to make but I had no realistic options. Life has gotten extremely busy with some intense family commitments that are unpredictable in their timing and duration, some new weekday commitments that make a heavy demand on my body, and financial contraints. Any one (or even two) of these factors could have been worked around, but not all three. I would have ended up taking a roster position on the Knights and not being able to make an indeterminate number of games. Not very good, considering my circumstances prevent my from practice and training in any event. So, to be fair to myself and to my team I let it slide for this season.
I didn't realise how much I would be affected by my withdrawal from the team. On the night the team lists were released I found myself extremely maudlin, moping around the house looking at a grey world. It's the closest I've been to being depressed for years and I didn't like it. The next day a friend observed that this showed how much I enjoyed the game and all that goes with it. He was right, over the past few years my commitment to the sport has been one of the constants in my life and my personal identity. No wonder I felt aimless.
Not for long, however, because I have put in place a 'Plan B'. I will aim at returning to the ice NEXT summer, and have even put my name down for a new Knights Jersey and number allocation to make this a 'real' possibility. In the meantime, realising that I will have to keep myself in touch with skating skills and fitness, I will get out my inline skates and put in some concentrated work this summer on my own. I know enough about the sport to be able to work myself up a program that works on individual skills and conditioning. Then, come winter, I will aim at playing inline hockey at Gawler for a season. Probably Division 2, considering that I won't have played hockey for over a year by then and won't be able to make team practice. The aim of the inline games will be to satisfy the craving for competitive hockey, build up match fitness, and work on the team aspects in my development program.
It might not be as good as playing in the coming campaign, but at least it's a plan.
Now pardon my while I go away and have a good cry...
Fridge
Showing posts with label Off Ice Training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Off Ice Training. Show all posts
Saturday, 29 September 2018
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Running Man
There's a theory out there that human evolution is as much linked to our ability to run as it is anything else. The theory points out that the exponential growth in the size of our brainpans is synchronous with the emergence of homio sapiens from its monkey ancestors, and gave it the edge in its competition with neanderthals so much so that the later vanished from the tale. To get the growth in brain, we needed a huge increase in protein intake. We achieved this by eating animals we caught. Regularly. Almost two million years before there is evidence that we used tools to do so (or, for that matter, to do anything else).
How did we regularly hunt down sufficiently large animals to supply our growing need for proteins, without tools? In the savannahs and grasslands that dominated the landscape of early humankind, so goes the story, we were able to take down animals that were bigger, stronger, faster than us by running them down. Essentially, running them to death (apparently there are still existing cultures where this still occurs). We could do this because humans are able to run for longer and further than any other animal.
Our bodies distinguish themselves from all other animals in several respects, all geared to allow us to run longer and further. These include; sweat and essential hairlessness to cool ourselves down independently of our breathing; an actual pace length longer than even a horse's; a breathing musculature that allows for independence from the stride (unlike, say, a cheetah who's powerful legs act as a bellows for the lungs, one pace one super powerful breathing action). We were made to run, says the theory, and all else followed.
This running man theory has been used to promote all sorts of ideas, from barefoot running to the naturalness of ultra-marathons. Me? I'm simpler. I've used it to explain why I seem to like running. And the more I have run, the more I want to run. It's a virtuous circle.
So much so that my pre-season training hasn't got out of 'running mode'. I justify it by referring to the increase in my 'aerobic base', and make the most of it by tailoring into my running as much hockey specific conditioning aspects as I can. Thus, 'hard running' and interval work takes place in the schedule alongside more traditional threshold and aerobic 'modes'. The only real specific 'running' modality I do is the weekly 'long run' - an aspect of marathon training far more so than for hockey (in fact, a concentration on this 'running agenda' is contra-indicated for hockey players if taken beyond a certain point).
Perhaps the fact that I will be shifting back a gear or two in my running program in the months to come allows me to justify pushing it to the forefront now.
And, as a runner I'm pretty pleased with what I've achieved. In the last week I ran a total of 28km, with the longest individual run being of over 10km one moonlit night. It's been quite a journey!
How did we regularly hunt down sufficiently large animals to supply our growing need for proteins, without tools? In the savannahs and grasslands that dominated the landscape of early humankind, so goes the story, we were able to take down animals that were bigger, stronger, faster than us by running them down. Essentially, running them to death (apparently there are still existing cultures where this still occurs). We could do this because humans are able to run for longer and further than any other animal.
Our bodies distinguish themselves from all other animals in several respects, all geared to allow us to run longer and further. These include; sweat and essential hairlessness to cool ourselves down independently of our breathing; an actual pace length longer than even a horse's; a breathing musculature that allows for independence from the stride (unlike, say, a cheetah who's powerful legs act as a bellows for the lungs, one pace one super powerful breathing action). We were made to run, says the theory, and all else followed.
This running man theory has been used to promote all sorts of ideas, from barefoot running to the naturalness of ultra-marathons. Me? I'm simpler. I've used it to explain why I seem to like running. And the more I have run, the more I want to run. It's a virtuous circle.
So much so that my pre-season training hasn't got out of 'running mode'. I justify it by referring to the increase in my 'aerobic base', and make the most of it by tailoring into my running as much hockey specific conditioning aspects as I can. Thus, 'hard running' and interval work takes place in the schedule alongside more traditional threshold and aerobic 'modes'. The only real specific 'running' modality I do is the weekly 'long run' - an aspect of marathon training far more so than for hockey (in fact, a concentration on this 'running agenda' is contra-indicated for hockey players if taken beyond a certain point).
Perhaps the fact that I will be shifting back a gear or two in my running program in the months to come allows me to justify pushing it to the forefront now.
And, as a runner I'm pretty pleased with what I've achieved. In the last week I ran a total of 28km, with the longest individual run being of over 10km one moonlit night. It's been quite a journey!
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
Pre Season Training Thoughts
The upcoming season is the third for which I will have prepared myself with a pre-season schedule of fitness, conditioning and skills training. Unsurprisingly, and even though it is still early days this year despite my later than ideal start, I feel better equipped than in the past and that my efforts will be more effective as a result. Hopefully it's not just hubris.
Since my last inline game in early August it was another four and a half weeks before I did any specifically 'sporty' activity (namely, a social skate at the Ice Arena one Wednesday evening). Not that this was a huge change, as I hadn't done anything EXCEPT play inline once a week since May. Be that as it was, I thoroughly enjoyed my ice skating and drove the heart and lungs reasonably strongly. I felt great afterwards, realised that I'd better stop procrastinating about beginning some pre-season training (I'd been finding 'reasons' not to start for the previous couple of weeks), that higher level physical exertion isn't only good for you, it FEELS good as well! So, a couple days later I strapped on my heart rate monitor and went my first run in five months. And thus began my pre-season training program for this season.
In the first couple days I ran 3km each, the following week totaled 22km, the following one over 25km, this week will be close to 30km. I can feel the heart/blood/lungs starting to respond to this increase in aerobic activity, to the point where I now feel safe starting some anaerobic work (began this phase of training yesterday evening). Next up will be core and leg strength work (this week), agility (next week) and general overall skills training (subject to weather for some inline skating, otherwise stickhandling with a golf ball every second evening every second day or so).
If I treat the first game of the season as actually falling within pre-season period I buy myself a couple extra weeks before I need to transition into regular season activity, so I have about a month to go. That's enough time to make a significant difference to my performance. Especially if I maintain some basic fitness and skill work into my schedule through at least the first half of the season.
The plan is evolving!
Since my last inline game in early August it was another four and a half weeks before I did any specifically 'sporty' activity (namely, a social skate at the Ice Arena one Wednesday evening). Not that this was a huge change, as I hadn't done anything EXCEPT play inline once a week since May. Be that as it was, I thoroughly enjoyed my ice skating and drove the heart and lungs reasonably strongly. I felt great afterwards, realised that I'd better stop procrastinating about beginning some pre-season training (I'd been finding 'reasons' not to start for the previous couple of weeks), that higher level physical exertion isn't only good for you, it FEELS good as well! So, a couple days later I strapped on my heart rate monitor and went my first run in five months. And thus began my pre-season training program for this season.
In the first couple days I ran 3km each, the following week totaled 22km, the following one over 25km, this week will be close to 30km. I can feel the heart/blood/lungs starting to respond to this increase in aerobic activity, to the point where I now feel safe starting some anaerobic work (began this phase of training yesterday evening). Next up will be core and leg strength work (this week), agility (next week) and general overall skills training (subject to weather for some inline skating, otherwise stickhandling with a golf ball every second evening every second day or so).
If I treat the first game of the season as actually falling within pre-season period I buy myself a couple extra weeks before I need to transition into regular season activity, so I have about a month to go. That's enough time to make a significant difference to my performance. Especially if I maintain some basic fitness and skill work into my schedule through at least the first half of the season.
The plan is evolving!
Sunday, 2 October 2016
The Plan
It is two and a half weeks to our opening ice hockey game for the season, and another 15 days before the second (we play five times over the ensuing 24 day period). Having moved to the Mid North (about two hours drive from the Ice Arena) there will be a few changes for me from the last three seasons. Ironically, this pre-season period is that which will be least affected by the move (as it primarily involves individual off-ice fitness and conditioning work, as opposed to team or ice based activity).
The big changes for me are a function of the distance I need to travel and the time it takes to do so. I won't be getting to training with any regularity (and possibly not for weeks at a time), I won't be playing inline hockey over summer, and I'll have a two hour car trip both before and after my games.
To alleviate the issue of the two hour drive beforehand, I'll try and leave earlier so that I can have some 'chill' time before starting to focus in on the game ahead. As I would be having my main meal at least four hours before a game, if I had that and then drove in I'd have a couple hours to get over the trip. Sounds better than what I did with inline over winter, when it was get out of the car and get changed and play.
As for lack of training sessions or inline games, I can aim to do the best I practically can to attend trainings (half is better than none) and factor some individual skills sessions into my fitness and conditioning schedule. As for skating practice, take advantage of what spare trips to Adelaide I get to call in at the Ice Arena, and get in some inline skating at the local primary school when the weather fines up.
All of that is for the future, however, except for fitness and conditioning and maybe some individual skills work. I can do these things now.
Sounds like a plan.
The big changes for me are a function of the distance I need to travel and the time it takes to do so. I won't be getting to training with any regularity (and possibly not for weeks at a time), I won't be playing inline hockey over summer, and I'll have a two hour car trip both before and after my games.
To alleviate the issue of the two hour drive beforehand, I'll try and leave earlier so that I can have some 'chill' time before starting to focus in on the game ahead. As I would be having my main meal at least four hours before a game, if I had that and then drove in I'd have a couple hours to get over the trip. Sounds better than what I did with inline over winter, when it was get out of the car and get changed and play.
As for lack of training sessions or inline games, I can aim to do the best I practically can to attend trainings (half is better than none) and factor some individual skills sessions into my fitness and conditioning schedule. As for skating practice, take advantage of what spare trips to Adelaide I get to call in at the Ice Arena, and get in some inline skating at the local primary school when the weather fines up.
All of that is for the future, however, except for fitness and conditioning and maybe some individual skills work. I can do these things now.
Sounds like a plan.
Sunday, 31 January 2016
Pre Playoff Review
The Knights play against the Storm in the Elimination Final this evening. The winner goes through to a Semi Final series of upto three games against the Blades (the other Semi Final is already set to be between the Flyers and Rangers). We have entered the serious end of the season. As such, now is a good opportunity to review the regular season just concluded, from both an individual and a team perspective.
My Season - GP 16 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +4 10/4/1/1 PIMs 14
I played my second entire season in defence, didn't miss a game and had no serious injury events. More than half of the season we have played with only three on defence. I have generally been on the first pairing and had more time on ice than my partners. My game has become much more physical, primarily crease clearing in the early season, graduating to board battles in the corners as time passed. A perhaps necessary consequence of developing my physical game has been an accumulation of penalties. I have also developed a tendency to join the rush and have skated coast to coast on a number of occasions. Apart from games where my health was suffering I have finished games skating stronger than at the start.
My decision making has improved through the season, particularly when without the puck. Examples include taking my man, covering the rush, controlling the gap and keeping them on the outside, maintaining coverage in front of the net, setting up on the blue line and general weak side play and have all been reasonable to good.
I have not been so consistent with the puck on my stick, still having a tendency to find the opposition D on the blue when trying to clear up the boards from our zone or to ice the puck when there isn't enough pressure to warrant this. More head-up play is probably my best tactic to adopt to counter these failings this late in the season.
The increased physical performance has come about due a much more coherent pre-season training schedule than last year, training through the mid-season break and intelligent dietary choices (especially on game day). My improved technique and reading of the play has come about through a combination of accumulating experience and making the majority of team training sessions. Personal and team training combined have led to improved confidence, smarter play and a good foundation to rely upon as we enter the playoffs.
The Knights - 4th on the ladder G 54 (3rd) PIMs 108 (2nd)* SA 245 (1st) GA 37 (4th)
*if Stewy's ridiculous game suspension for momentarily removing his helmet prior the handshake at the end of a game is discounted (it triggered a major shakeup amongst officials with the responsible referee losing his position as head ref), we come in at between 4th and 6th in the penalty rankings.
It has been a good season for the Knights, especially considering that our roster was depleted of Bacon and then Matt before the xmas break. We have a total of only eleven on the roster (plus Tommy the goalie) as we enter the playoffs, but are a fairly tight unit and usually field at least nine or ten skaters. By comparison, the Storm generally fields thirteen skaters (occasionally twelve) while the Blades and Flyers generally only have eight or nine.
The primary stat of significance to me as a defender is that we have allowed less shots on goal than any other team. We will need to continue to do this.
All in all, we have a competitive team who can push any of the other playoff teams and, puck gods smiling, beat them. Certainly the Blades aren't invulnerable should we make our way past the Storm this afternoon. IF we can keep healthy through the playoffs, we'll give them a shake.
Perhaps equally important, if we can keep the bulk of this team together for next season (and there are many signs that most if not all intend to return) and recruit a couple more useful rookies in the interim, then we will truly be a force to be reckoned with!
Let's go Knights!
My Season - GP 16 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +4 10/4/1/1 PIMs 14
I played my second entire season in defence, didn't miss a game and had no serious injury events. More than half of the season we have played with only three on defence. I have generally been on the first pairing and had more time on ice than my partners. My game has become much more physical, primarily crease clearing in the early season, graduating to board battles in the corners as time passed. A perhaps necessary consequence of developing my physical game has been an accumulation of penalties. I have also developed a tendency to join the rush and have skated coast to coast on a number of occasions. Apart from games where my health was suffering I have finished games skating stronger than at the start.
My decision making has improved through the season, particularly when without the puck. Examples include taking my man, covering the rush, controlling the gap and keeping them on the outside, maintaining coverage in front of the net, setting up on the blue line and general weak side play and have all been reasonable to good.
I have not been so consistent with the puck on my stick, still having a tendency to find the opposition D on the blue when trying to clear up the boards from our zone or to ice the puck when there isn't enough pressure to warrant this. More head-up play is probably my best tactic to adopt to counter these failings this late in the season.
The increased physical performance has come about due a much more coherent pre-season training schedule than last year, training through the mid-season break and intelligent dietary choices (especially on game day). My improved technique and reading of the play has come about through a combination of accumulating experience and making the majority of team training sessions. Personal and team training combined have led to improved confidence, smarter play and a good foundation to rely upon as we enter the playoffs.
The Knights - 4th on the ladder G 54 (3rd) PIMs 108 (2nd)* SA 245 (1st) GA 37 (4th)
*if Stewy's ridiculous game suspension for momentarily removing his helmet prior the handshake at the end of a game is discounted (it triggered a major shakeup amongst officials with the responsible referee losing his position as head ref), we come in at between 4th and 6th in the penalty rankings.
It has been a good season for the Knights, especially considering that our roster was depleted of Bacon and then Matt before the xmas break. We have a total of only eleven on the roster (plus Tommy the goalie) as we enter the playoffs, but are a fairly tight unit and usually field at least nine or ten skaters. By comparison, the Storm generally fields thirteen skaters (occasionally twelve) while the Blades and Flyers generally only have eight or nine.
The primary stat of significance to me as a defender is that we have allowed less shots on goal than any other team. We will need to continue to do this.
All in all, we have a competitive team who can push any of the other playoff teams and, puck gods smiling, beat them. Certainly the Blades aren't invulnerable should we make our way past the Storm this afternoon. IF we can keep healthy through the playoffs, we'll give them a shake.
Perhaps equally important, if we can keep the bulk of this team together for next season (and there are many signs that most if not all intend to return) and recruit a couple more useful rookies in the interim, then we will truly be a force to be reckoned with!
Let's go Knights!
Sunday, 10 January 2016
Mid Season Activity
After the first couple weeks of the ice hockey season I reduced my off-rink training and conditioning to zero, relying on regular games and practices to keep me in shape for the next two months. When you look at my performance stats (to be included in a later post) you will see that this wasn't a bad approach, indicators of fitness and conditioning continued to improve up until the three week long mid-season break.
I recalled from last season that the return to the ice after xmas/new year was a terribly painful experience, weeks of sloth and feasting will do that to a person. I had resolved not to do that this year. So, I took a week off of all non-festive activity over xmas, and then returned to a brief program tailored to keeping a minimal degree of conditioning for the return to the ice.
Thus, despite traveling over the countryside (everywhere from a week in the South East of our state, to a long weekend in the mid north) I have been disciplined enough to make the most of what opportunities have presented themselves and, in two weeks, have been for three decent runs and had four sessions each with the core exercises and the weights, mixing it up with long walks with our pup and sports sessions with the kids (eg. an hour of soccer here, a bit of cricket there).
A couple observations leap to mind when I look back at these two weeks:
1. I seem to have picked up where I left off from the pre-season. Thus, although the weights I am lifting and the techniques used are geared to muscle endurance rather than mass, they are what they were when I peaked and tailed off in into the season. Also, the times and heart rate / VO2 data from my runs have continued to improve over what I was achieving prior to the start of the season. In other words, I maintained strength and gained in conditioning over the first half of the season and am probably better prepared now than I had been at the start for what is to come.
2. It was tremendous fun, and added a bit of structure to what otherwise could have been three weeks of guilty sloth.
The plan is, subject to on-rink training schedules, to continue to push it with the off-rink training for the next three weeks (tailing off in the third as playoffs approach) with an emphasis on improved endurance with the upper body muscles (perhaps pushing out to a third circuit if I can be regular enough), increased strength in the core (with the continued introduction of new exercises to the routine) and continued anaerobic development and increased VO2 through my running (primarily through the routinisation of fartlek training techniques).
For the record, in my core exercises I have introduced single leg balances and forward planks.
Also for the record, I had lost almost four kilograms over the first half of the season and will have to monitor this more closely so I can take corrective action as required. I am pretty lean at the moment, but there isn't much more to lose!
I recalled from last season that the return to the ice after xmas/new year was a terribly painful experience, weeks of sloth and feasting will do that to a person. I had resolved not to do that this year. So, I took a week off of all non-festive activity over xmas, and then returned to a brief program tailored to keeping a minimal degree of conditioning for the return to the ice.
Thus, despite traveling over the countryside (everywhere from a week in the South East of our state, to a long weekend in the mid north) I have been disciplined enough to make the most of what opportunities have presented themselves and, in two weeks, have been for three decent runs and had four sessions each with the core exercises and the weights, mixing it up with long walks with our pup and sports sessions with the kids (eg. an hour of soccer here, a bit of cricket there).
A couple observations leap to mind when I look back at these two weeks:
1. I seem to have picked up where I left off from the pre-season. Thus, although the weights I am lifting and the techniques used are geared to muscle endurance rather than mass, they are what they were when I peaked and tailed off in into the season. Also, the times and heart rate / VO2 data from my runs have continued to improve over what I was achieving prior to the start of the season. In other words, I maintained strength and gained in conditioning over the first half of the season and am probably better prepared now than I had been at the start for what is to come.
2. It was tremendous fun, and added a bit of structure to what otherwise could have been three weeks of guilty sloth.
The plan is, subject to on-rink training schedules, to continue to push it with the off-rink training for the next three weeks (tailing off in the third as playoffs approach) with an emphasis on improved endurance with the upper body muscles (perhaps pushing out to a third circuit if I can be regular enough), increased strength in the core (with the continued introduction of new exercises to the routine) and continued anaerobic development and increased VO2 through my running (primarily through the routinisation of fartlek training techniques).
For the record, in my core exercises I have introduced single leg balances and forward planks.
Also for the record, I had lost almost four kilograms over the first half of the season and will have to monitor this more closely so I can take corrective action as required. I am pretty lean at the moment, but there isn't much more to lose!
Monday, 4 January 2016
2016 - Welcome!
It's a month and a half since I last posted, the first lengthy break I've had from posting on this blog since it began. It's funny how being slack with one game day review leads to a procrastinating guilty failure to blog the next, and the training session, and the milestones, and before you know it months can go by and then, no doubt, you can think 'why bother?' and that becomes the end of it all. So, to avoid the last terminal step, I've posted this up in an effort to catch up with where my journey's taken me, and kick start the blogging process into the new year of skating, hockey and general all-round fitness and fun!
Ice Hockey Games Summary
Five games since last posting:
Rangers (2) d Knights (1) 4 PIMs
Knights (5) d Kings (3) +2
Knights (3) d Storm (1)
Knights (9) d Generals (4) +2 0-2-2 2 PIMs
Knights (3) d Sharks (1) +1
GP 12 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 8/3/1 10 PIMS
The Knights are a game clear in 3rd position on the ladder. Starting on January 10th we play four games over three weeks to finish off the regular season. We haven't quite clinched a playoff spot but are getting close. I've continued to play defence, generally on the first pairing (when we have pairs and are not just rotating between three of us).
Roller Hockey Game Summary
Three games since last posting:
Mavericks (11) d Shufflers (0) +6 4-1-5 2 PIMS
Snipers (5) d Mavericks (4) 2-0-2
Mavericks (5) d Shufflers (4) +2 3-1-4
GP 6 G 16 A 9 Pts 25 +19 5/1/0 6 PIMS
The Mavericks are on top of the ladder due a superior goal tally and difference, though tied on points with the Snipers. We have four games left in regular season, starting in February, followed by an elimination game and (hopefully) a grand final. I am leading the Division in points, goals and assists. For the first time since I played, all four teams have a degree of parity at the moment and it is a really good competition.
On-rink training Summary
4 inline training sessions at Gawler, the most recent being on 2 December.
8 ice training sessions, the most recent being 15 December.
2 public ice skating sessions, the most recent being 30 December.
I'll deal with my off-rink training, fitness data, and general thoughts in a later post. For now, I'll leave it all by saying that I was on the ice 74 times over 2015 and in my inline skates 65 times. It was a pretty good year!
Ice 74
Inline 65
Ice Hockey Games Summary
Five games since last posting:
Rangers (2) d Knights (1) 4 PIMs
Knights (5) d Kings (3) +2
Knights (3) d Storm (1)
Knights (9) d Generals (4) +2 0-2-2 2 PIMs
Knights (3) d Sharks (1) +1
GP 12 G 2 A 3 Pts 5 +6 8/3/1 10 PIMS
The Knights are a game clear in 3rd position on the ladder. Starting on January 10th we play four games over three weeks to finish off the regular season. We haven't quite clinched a playoff spot but are getting close. I've continued to play defence, generally on the first pairing (when we have pairs and are not just rotating between three of us).
Roller Hockey Game Summary
Three games since last posting:
Mavericks (11) d Shufflers (0) +6 4-1-5 2 PIMS
Snipers (5) d Mavericks (4) 2-0-2
Mavericks (5) d Shufflers (4) +2 3-1-4
GP 6 G 16 A 9 Pts 25 +19 5/1/0 6 PIMS
The Mavericks are on top of the ladder due a superior goal tally and difference, though tied on points with the Snipers. We have four games left in regular season, starting in February, followed by an elimination game and (hopefully) a grand final. I am leading the Division in points, goals and assists. For the first time since I played, all four teams have a degree of parity at the moment and it is a really good competition.
On-rink training Summary
4 inline training sessions at Gawler, the most recent being on 2 December.
8 ice training sessions, the most recent being 15 December.
2 public ice skating sessions, the most recent being 30 December.
I'll deal with my off-rink training, fitness data, and general thoughts in a later post. For now, I'll leave it all by saying that I was on the ice 74 times over 2015 and in my inline skates 65 times. It was a pretty good year!
Ice 74
Inline 65
Wednesday, 30 September 2015
Endings - Wheelers and Pre-Season
The winter inline season and my Pre (ice hockey) season ended within a few days of each other. The summer inline season starts with training on the 7th of October and the first game on the 10th. That's all within sixteen days. Events have already got away from me as I post this (2 unblogged Knights games) so the reader will have to forgive me if this review of what has been is not as in-depth a post as it ideally should be.
Endings I - Wheelers Winter Season
We lost in the Grand Final against our Divisional foes, the Bumpers. This was not only the end of the season but also the end of the current team formations. This is because this Summer we are being encouraged to form our own teams, choose our own names, select our own jerseys (more on that later). The organisers are of the belief that the Division has matured enough to allow for self formed teams (rather than centralised drafting for need). As such, it seems appropriate to look back.
In the season just passed we fielded six skaters more often than not. This was a major change from the past. Our lines stabilised by the playoffs, albeit not entirely due on rink performance (a consequence of having two family groups, each with their own internal issues to juggle). In this regard, the stats of Josh and Crystal look very good offensively but that was to at least some extent a result of putting our best defence with them (Merrilyn). In goal, after a bit of chaos initially we settled in with Nicole between the pipes. I think she was finding her game by season end.
In the longer term, I have played 48 games with the Wheelers across four seasons during which I went to four grand finals, won gold once and received an MVP. My regular season stats have steadily improved over time but my post season stats remain woeful.
Regular Season Post Season
GP G A Pt PPG
13/14 Summer C Grade Wheelers 5 3 1 4 0.8 (3/1/0/1 0.33) Silver
14 Winter DivII Wheelers 10 8 7 15 1.5 (2/0/0/0 0.00) Gold MVP
14/15 Summer Div II Wheelers 12 12 8 20 1.67 (2/1/0/1 0.50) Silver
15 Winter Div II Wheelers 12 11 14 25 2.08 (2/0/1/1 0.50) Silver
Endings II - Ice Hockey Pre-Season
After a false start I began an off-season strength and conditioning program on July 1st. I kept to my schedule pretty well for the first month, and then maintained an acceptable level of commitment through to the start of the season. I had noticeable gains in leg, core and upper body strength, aerobic capacity and anaerobic performance, quickness and agility. As the program wore through its second and into the third month I derived a great deal of satisfaction from my commitment itself, the activities themselves and the almost daily challenges such a program poses.
At the end of eleven weeks I was regularly going for a run, interval training, using a HR monitor (thanks Jess for the loan!) and pushing weights (again, thanks Jess!). To a limited extent I'll be bringing all of these activities forward into the season proper, for both their game specific values AND the intrinsic pleasure I derive from them in themselves. Who would have guessed it?
As to the value of the program, it was well worth it! I had a small amount of weight gain (a primary goal of mine for years) and increased performance on many health related indicators. Perhaps more importantly, the value has already shown itself in my inline games and the first two games of the ice hockey season. They show themselves particularly in the following ways...
Increased ability to skate a shift and a game out
Better decision making through a game (due being less fatigued)
Decreased recovery time between both shifts and games
Greater strength along the board and in the crease
Quicker and faster
Increased confidence.
Greater knowledge about my own and other's bodies and physical capacity
All in all, a great advance in both my hockey and life potential.
Endings I - Wheelers Winter Season
We lost in the Grand Final against our Divisional foes, the Bumpers. This was not only the end of the season but also the end of the current team formations. This is because this Summer we are being encouraged to form our own teams, choose our own names, select our own jerseys (more on that later). The organisers are of the belief that the Division has matured enough to allow for self formed teams (rather than centralised drafting for need). As such, it seems appropriate to look back.
In the season just passed we fielded six skaters more often than not. This was a major change from the past. Our lines stabilised by the playoffs, albeit not entirely due on rink performance (a consequence of having two family groups, each with their own internal issues to juggle). In this regard, the stats of Josh and Crystal look very good offensively but that was to at least some extent a result of putting our best defence with them (Merrilyn). In goal, after a bit of chaos initially we settled in with Nicole between the pipes. I think she was finding her game by season end.
In the longer term, I have played 48 games with the Wheelers across four seasons during which I went to four grand finals, won gold once and received an MVP. My regular season stats have steadily improved over time but my post season stats remain woeful.
Regular Season Post Season
GP G A Pt PPG
13/14 Summer C Grade Wheelers 5 3 1 4 0.8 (3/1/0/1 0.33) Silver
14 Winter DivII Wheelers 10 8 7 15 1.5 (2/0/0/0 0.00) Gold MVP
14/15 Summer Div II Wheelers 12 12 8 20 1.67 (2/1/0/1 0.50) Silver
15 Winter Div II Wheelers 12 11 14 25 2.08 (2/0/1/1 0.50) Silver
Endings II - Ice Hockey Pre-Season
After a false start I began an off-season strength and conditioning program on July 1st. I kept to my schedule pretty well for the first month, and then maintained an acceptable level of commitment through to the start of the season. I had noticeable gains in leg, core and upper body strength, aerobic capacity and anaerobic performance, quickness and agility. As the program wore through its second and into the third month I derived a great deal of satisfaction from my commitment itself, the activities themselves and the almost daily challenges such a program poses.
At the end of eleven weeks I was regularly going for a run, interval training, using a HR monitor (thanks Jess for the loan!) and pushing weights (again, thanks Jess!). To a limited extent I'll be bringing all of these activities forward into the season proper, for both their game specific values AND the intrinsic pleasure I derive from them in themselves. Who would have guessed it?
As to the value of the program, it was well worth it! I had a small amount of weight gain (a primary goal of mine for years) and increased performance on many health related indicators. Perhaps more importantly, the value has already shown itself in my inline games and the first two games of the ice hockey season. They show themselves particularly in the following ways...
Increased ability to skate a shift and a game out
Better decision making through a game (due being less fatigued)
Decreased recovery time between both shifts and games
Greater strength along the board and in the crease
Quicker and faster
Increased confidence.
Greater knowledge about my own and other's bodies and physical capacity
All in all, a great advance in both my hockey and life potential.
Sunday, 20 September 2015
Off Season Day 81 - Week 11
Sep 13 Rest
Sep 14 Rest
Sep 15 Stickhandling, Run
Sep 16 Arms, Vikings Training
Sep 17 Run
Sep 18 Ice (sprints)
Sep 19 Wheelers Game
September 13 and 14 were rest days. Significantly warmer than we've had for months. On the 14th I was at the Ice Arena to watch the final period of the Bantams Grand Final before returning a Peewee jersey and then again in the evening to watch the opening game of the C grade season between the Kings and the Predators.
On September 15 I spent almost twenty minutes in the morning doing some stickhandling practice. Around midday I went for a run - 22 min, 55% in or above Zone 3, Avg HR 139, Max HR 169. It is interesting that I was 3 minutes quicker than the previous run, despite having 7 walking periods this time (was 4 last time). Again, I returned to running from walking mode as soon as HR dropped to 120. I was using my breathing as the guide to when I thought I was getting close to 120, and then looked at the wrist unit of my loaned HR monitor to fine tune the time of commencement of my running. which I was generally able to . I was feeling it in the calf muscles more severely than the other day, I suspect because I haven't been eating as much as I should have the last few days.
On September 16 I started the day with a change up in the Arms routine. I have now dropped the weight on the 'heavy' lifts to 4kg (plus 1kg for the bar) per dumb bell, and 2kg plus bar for the 'light' lifts, increased the number of reps to 15 per set and dropped recovery time between sets to 30 seconds. I did two circuits. Emphasis now has changed almost entirely to muscle endurance and power (previous weeks emphasised muscle building). All done in less than 20 minutes.
In the evening I went to Gawler for Vikings Training. I wore the heartrate monitor. Sadly, wiped the data not long after seeing it, but memory serves to say that I had 66 minutes of data, about 3% of time below Z1 and over 60% of time in or above Z3, Max HR 197(!) and Avg was 148. I put a lot of effort into the session, but recovered reasonably well when required and was still strong at the end (though the fading point wasn't far away). The monitor said I burned over 800 calories.
Drills included variants of 1 on 1 race/battle/shoot from prone, the game of building numbers from 1 on 1 to potentially 1 on 4, one with one passing/protection game, 4 on 4 shinny and red rover. A dozen skaters and one goalie. I got given some good advice about keeping my stick in front of me rather than to a side when protecting a puck from an opponent behind me.
On September 17 I went for a run in the late morning. Ran in spurts that took HR out to 155-165 then walked until dropped back to low 120s before running again. Recovery HR dropped about 20 per minute, fairly consistent. 22 min, 15 min (65%) Z 2&3, Avg 138, Max 166.
On September 18 I made up for getting too late to training the night before by getting the rink in the morning 7of an already busy day and putting in a half hour of drills, including a run of 5 line sprints with 2 min recovery periods. Probably 60 stops and pivots and half that of undercut takeoffs. Time 30 mins, 45% Z2, 5% Z3, avg HR 134, max HR 163.
On September 19 I took it easy until playing in the Vikings Div II Grand Final for the Wheelers (we lost 7-3). We kept to our line changes generally speaking, I double shifted only maybe twice (to take advantage of a Power Play and to work on the Penalty Kill). I didn't have a HR monitor on (I forgot to bring it) but was pulling my breathing down to the 120 level within the minute during each recovery period, had energy to spare for the needs of each shift, didn't hold back on pushing myself to the limit when required.
On fitness and conditioning scales, in other words, I have reached the pass mark. In terms of speed, I wasn't particularly aware of any failing. Similarly with strength battles, whether on the boards or over a puck (including against a significantly larger stronger opponent). Coped with knockdowns and slashing incidents well. Overall, I am happy with my level of preparation for the ice season.
Week 11 in summary: am starting to scale back on strength, aerobic and, in effect, agility training, increasing the proportion of time devoted to on-ice activity and anaerobic conditioning in particular. I failed to perform agility or speed exercises, so this will have to be commenced within Week 12 and I'll have to work on it during the early part of the season. Overall for Week 11, a yellow grade.
Inline 54 & 55
Ice 36
Sep 14 Rest
Sep 15 Stickhandling, Run
Sep 16 Arms, Vikings Training
Sep 17 Run
Sep 18 Ice (sprints)
Sep 19 Wheelers Game
September 13 and 14 were rest days. Significantly warmer than we've had for months. On the 14th I was at the Ice Arena to watch the final period of the Bantams Grand Final before returning a Peewee jersey and then again in the evening to watch the opening game of the C grade season between the Kings and the Predators.
On September 15 I spent almost twenty minutes in the morning doing some stickhandling practice. Around midday I went for a run - 22 min, 55% in or above Zone 3, Avg HR 139, Max HR 169. It is interesting that I was 3 minutes quicker than the previous run, despite having 7 walking periods this time (was 4 last time). Again, I returned to running from walking mode as soon as HR dropped to 120. I was using my breathing as the guide to when I thought I was getting close to 120, and then looked at the wrist unit of my loaned HR monitor to fine tune the time of commencement of my running. which I was generally able to . I was feeling it in the calf muscles more severely than the other day, I suspect because I haven't been eating as much as I should have the last few days.
On September 16 I started the day with a change up in the Arms routine. I have now dropped the weight on the 'heavy' lifts to 4kg (plus 1kg for the bar) per dumb bell, and 2kg plus bar for the 'light' lifts, increased the number of reps to 15 per set and dropped recovery time between sets to 30 seconds. I did two circuits. Emphasis now has changed almost entirely to muscle endurance and power (previous weeks emphasised muscle building). All done in less than 20 minutes.
In the evening I went to Gawler for Vikings Training. I wore the heartrate monitor. Sadly, wiped the data not long after seeing it, but memory serves to say that I had 66 minutes of data, about 3% of time below Z1 and over 60% of time in or above Z3, Max HR 197(!) and Avg was 148. I put a lot of effort into the session, but recovered reasonably well when required and was still strong at the end (though the fading point wasn't far away). The monitor said I burned over 800 calories.
Drills included variants of 1 on 1 race/battle/shoot from prone, the game of building numbers from 1 on 1 to potentially 1 on 4, one with one passing/protection game, 4 on 4 shinny and red rover. A dozen skaters and one goalie. I got given some good advice about keeping my stick in front of me rather than to a side when protecting a puck from an opponent behind me.
On September 17 I went for a run in the late morning. Ran in spurts that took HR out to 155-165 then walked until dropped back to low 120s before running again. Recovery HR dropped about 20 per minute, fairly consistent. 22 min, 15 min (65%) Z 2&3, Avg 138, Max 166.
On September 18 I made up for getting too late to training the night before by getting the rink in the morning 7of an already busy day and putting in a half hour of drills, including a run of 5 line sprints with 2 min recovery periods. Probably 60 stops and pivots and half that of undercut takeoffs. Time 30 mins, 45% Z2, 5% Z3, avg HR 134, max HR 163.
On September 19 I took it easy until playing in the Vikings Div II Grand Final for the Wheelers (we lost 7-3). We kept to our line changes generally speaking, I double shifted only maybe twice (to take advantage of a Power Play and to work on the Penalty Kill). I didn't have a HR monitor on (I forgot to bring it) but was pulling my breathing down to the 120 level within the minute during each recovery period, had energy to spare for the needs of each shift, didn't hold back on pushing myself to the limit when required.
On fitness and conditioning scales, in other words, I have reached the pass mark. In terms of speed, I wasn't particularly aware of any failing. Similarly with strength battles, whether on the boards or over a puck (including against a significantly larger stronger opponent). Coped with knockdowns and slashing incidents well. Overall, I am happy with my level of preparation for the ice season.
Week 11 in summary: am starting to scale back on strength, aerobic and, in effect, agility training, increasing the proportion of time devoted to on-ice activity and anaerobic conditioning in particular. I failed to perform agility or speed exercises, so this will have to be commenced within Week 12 and I'll have to work on it during the early part of the season. Overall for Week 11, a yellow grade.
Inline 54 & 55
Ice 36
Saturday, 12 September 2015
Off Season Day 74 - Week 10
Sep 6 Rest
Sep 7 Stickhandling
Sep 8 Stickhandling, Ice (sprints)
Sep 9 Arms, Legs, Stickhandling
Sep 10 Rest
Sep 11 Ice (Sprints)
Sep 12 Stickhandling, Arms, Run
On September 6 I had another rest day. The previous two days had wiped me out. This almost continued through September 7, saved only by 15 minutes of stickhandling late in the evening after another busy day. Of hockey interest amongst the day's business was the fact that I came into possession of a heart rate monitor for use in training and attended registration/orientation for the upcoming C Grade season.
In the morning of September 8 I had another 15 minute stickhandling session, then went down the Ice Arena in the afternoon. I was down there for an hour and a half, but spent much of the time chatting with Rick (a fellow Viking who will be playing with the Blades in C Grade) as he got some new skates. I again drilled myself based upon Corey's class from the week before. I conducted four line sprints up the ice with two minute intervals between each thirty second sprint. I wore the HR monitor at the Arena. My peak HR was 167. Getting to know the equipment.
On September 9 I did strength circuits for arms and legs and fifteen minutes of stickhandling. Peak HR for arms circuit was 148, peak for legs was 137. Both were completed within 30 minutes.
September 10 was a rest day.
On September 11 I went to the Arena for a concentrated 40 minute session. Only had half the ice to work with as the other half was in use for hockey training (Ice Factor schools program). For my sprints I went from Red to Blue lines and vica versa. Six lengths were under 30 seconds, so I did seven (between 35s and 40s). I did five of these sprint circuits, two minute recovery periods. Spent approximately equal time for the remainder of the period on leg recovery and extensions during stride (forwards and backwards), transitions, pivots, stops, tight turns, cross unders and backwards first steps. Peak HR was 173, avg was 133, 39% of time was spent in 'zone 3' of HR and 11% was above. Despite the higher intensity and density of the session I felt less exhausted afterwards than I have previously, so I guess it is having a conditioning effect.
On 12 September I started the day early with 15 minutes of stickhandling, shortly afterwards followed by a short (10 minutes) arms session. For the weights my heartrate averaged 111, maxed at 134, 1m30s in Zone 2. In the dusk I ran my old run - 25 minutes, 50% in Zone 3 or above (5%), average HR of 135, maxed at 161. Easing back into it as it's been 2 weeks since I last went running. Ran it easy, with four walks. During each walk I waited till breathing had returned to close to normal before setting off again (HR was between 116 and 123 when I felt comfortable with the breathing).
Week 10 summary: a yellow rating for this week, managed to pull it together due to my visits to the Ice Arena (with interval training) and run this afternoon. I didn't, sadly, get in any agility training, downgrading what would otherwise have been a green rating. The two big things that have happened were the confirmation that I am a Knight on Registration night and coming into possession of a heart rate monitor loaned me by Jess.
The Knights have a bye in the first week of the season, playing our first game on September 24. Which is almost two more weeks of preparation than I'd most recently thought would be the case. Have added two weeks to the sidebar off season schedule.
Ice 34 & 35
Sep 7 Stickhandling
Sep 8 Stickhandling, Ice (sprints)
Sep 9 Arms, Legs, Stickhandling
Sep 10 Rest
Sep 11 Ice (Sprints)
Sep 12 Stickhandling, Arms, Run
On September 6 I had another rest day. The previous two days had wiped me out. This almost continued through September 7, saved only by 15 minutes of stickhandling late in the evening after another busy day. Of hockey interest amongst the day's business was the fact that I came into possession of a heart rate monitor for use in training and attended registration/orientation for the upcoming C Grade season.
In the morning of September 8 I had another 15 minute stickhandling session, then went down the Ice Arena in the afternoon. I was down there for an hour and a half, but spent much of the time chatting with Rick (a fellow Viking who will be playing with the Blades in C Grade) as he got some new skates. I again drilled myself based upon Corey's class from the week before. I conducted four line sprints up the ice with two minute intervals between each thirty second sprint. I wore the HR monitor at the Arena. My peak HR was 167. Getting to know the equipment.
On September 9 I did strength circuits for arms and legs and fifteen minutes of stickhandling. Peak HR for arms circuit was 148, peak for legs was 137. Both were completed within 30 minutes.
September 10 was a rest day.
On September 11 I went to the Arena for a concentrated 40 minute session. Only had half the ice to work with as the other half was in use for hockey training (Ice Factor schools program). For my sprints I went from Red to Blue lines and vica versa. Six lengths were under 30 seconds, so I did seven (between 35s and 40s). I did five of these sprint circuits, two minute recovery periods. Spent approximately equal time for the remainder of the period on leg recovery and extensions during stride (forwards and backwards), transitions, pivots, stops, tight turns, cross unders and backwards first steps. Peak HR was 173, avg was 133, 39% of time was spent in 'zone 3' of HR and 11% was above. Despite the higher intensity and density of the session I felt less exhausted afterwards than I have previously, so I guess it is having a conditioning effect.
On 12 September I started the day early with 15 minutes of stickhandling, shortly afterwards followed by a short (10 minutes) arms session. For the weights my heartrate averaged 111, maxed at 134, 1m30s in Zone 2. In the dusk I ran my old run - 25 minutes, 50% in Zone 3 or above (5%), average HR of 135, maxed at 161. Easing back into it as it's been 2 weeks since I last went running. Ran it easy, with four walks. During each walk I waited till breathing had returned to close to normal before setting off again (HR was between 116 and 123 when I felt comfortable with the breathing).
Week 10 summary: a yellow rating for this week, managed to pull it together due to my visits to the Ice Arena (with interval training) and run this afternoon. I didn't, sadly, get in any agility training, downgrading what would otherwise have been a green rating. The two big things that have happened were the confirmation that I am a Knight on Registration night and coming into possession of a heart rate monitor loaned me by Jess.
The Knights have a bye in the first week of the season, playing our first game on September 24. Which is almost two more weeks of preparation than I'd most recently thought would be the case. Have added two weeks to the sidebar off season schedule.
Ice 34 & 35
Monday, 7 September 2015
Off Season Day 67 - Week 9
Sep 3 Stickhandling, Arms, Knights Training
Sep 4 Rest
Sep 5 Rest
In the morning of 3 September I backed up my efforts from the day before with a rapid fire strength session. I kept recovery times to a minute or less between sets as the emphasis shifts from muscle building to endurance, and increasing the tempo of the actual lifts themselves (particularly adding an explosive push to full extension, rather than the more usual deceleration, as hockey is a game of explosive acceleration). Good session.
Followed this up with a fifteen minute stickhandling session. Still keeping it simple, concentrating on cupping the golfball as I move it either way through loops and figure eights, and where on the blade (ie toe or heel) it is held when I tap it away from or closer to my body. Again, persistence is paying off and am gaining a lot more control at moderate speed.
Finally, I went to a good Knights training session in the evening. Close to twenty people turned up, including two goalies. Was still skating strong at the end of the evening. Could really feel the positive impact of my training in a number of ways (eg. anaerobic energy recovery, strength in moving people off the puck). I'd also had my skates sharpened as one of them was blunt as shit, this made a huge difference and I am now able to keep within defence range of all but the most skilled opposition.
One of the goalies commented to me after the session that I was doing good at clearing the shooters away, if not the puck itself. Most hearteningly, I was connecting a lot more with simple poke checks and stick sweeps when in the D role. The pieces seem to be fitting together. Finally! Let's hope this translates into match play.
I then had two rest days on 4 and 5 September. This was not necessarily by choice. Rather, due the fact that I was flat chat busy on both days with kids and had neither time nor energy left over for hockey pursuits.
In summary, week 9 started strong but finished quietly and with an orange rating due failure to train on three days in total. Never the less, I kept up a significant effort for anaerobic and stickhandling/skill based work, which is where I should be at this point of pre-season.
Ice 33
Sep 4 Rest
Sep 5 Rest
In the morning of 3 September I backed up my efforts from the day before with a rapid fire strength session. I kept recovery times to a minute or less between sets as the emphasis shifts from muscle building to endurance, and increasing the tempo of the actual lifts themselves (particularly adding an explosive push to full extension, rather than the more usual deceleration, as hockey is a game of explosive acceleration). Good session.
Followed this up with a fifteen minute stickhandling session. Still keeping it simple, concentrating on cupping the golfball as I move it either way through loops and figure eights, and where on the blade (ie toe or heel) it is held when I tap it away from or closer to my body. Again, persistence is paying off and am gaining a lot more control at moderate speed.
Finally, I went to a good Knights training session in the evening. Close to twenty people turned up, including two goalies. Was still skating strong at the end of the evening. Could really feel the positive impact of my training in a number of ways (eg. anaerobic energy recovery, strength in moving people off the puck). I'd also had my skates sharpened as one of them was blunt as shit, this made a huge difference and I am now able to keep within defence range of all but the most skilled opposition.
One of the goalies commented to me after the session that I was doing good at clearing the shooters away, if not the puck itself. Most hearteningly, I was connecting a lot more with simple poke checks and stick sweeps when in the D role. The pieces seem to be fitting together. Finally! Let's hope this translates into match play.
I then had two rest days on 4 and 5 September. This was not necessarily by choice. Rather, due the fact that I was flat chat busy on both days with kids and had neither time nor energy left over for hockey pursuits.
In summary, week 9 started strong but finished quietly and with an orange rating due failure to train on three days in total. Never the less, I kept up a significant effort for anaerobic and stickhandling/skill based work, which is where I should be at this point of pre-season.
Ice 33
Thursday, 3 September 2015
Off Season Day 64
Aug 30 Rest
Aug 31 Stickhandling, Agility
Sep 1 Ice, Stickhandling
Sep 2 Legs, Vikings Training
On August 30 I was getting over a long weekend and so made it my third rest day in a row. Not a regular practice (it gets harder to start up again with each day off) but it was nice to give the body a break as I enter the stretch period before the ice season starts.
On August 31 I started simple, with 20 minutes stickhandling in the morning and an opportunist chance to do some agility exercises during a quiet moment during an evening engagement (with no other opportunity to do more (such as Power & Edges) this was as good as it got - almost but not quite another day of rest).
On September 1 I started spring with 15 minutes of stickhandling and then went down the Ice Arena at midday for 45 minutes of concentrated effort. Went through all the basic technical points Corey had led us through the week before and then powered through three sets of line sprints for some conditioning training. A complete sprint set took 30s, I gave myself 2 1/2 minutes between each sprint set. It was easier to do than the previous occasion. Intention is to increase the number of sets and reduce the recovery times before season starts.
In the morning of September 2 I powered through my complete set of leg exercises (sans squats and lunges) in thirty minutes. Felt a lot better for it, noticed how I was able to complete full sets of everything (including 3 sets of 10 leg raises) with bare seconds between exercises to fit it in the time available, pleased.
In the evening I was at Gawler for resumption of Vikings training. There were only ten people there so it was a fairly free flowing but continual session. Shooting to start with, followed by variants of the house drill (with only two forwards and one chasing D, adding a backchecking D and passing elements), finishing with a expanding battle game that grew from 1 to 5 players per side depending how the game developed. Great fun.
Ice 32
Inline 53
Aug 31 Stickhandling, Agility
Sep 1 Ice, Stickhandling
Sep 2 Legs, Vikings Training
On August 30 I was getting over a long weekend and so made it my third rest day in a row. Not a regular practice (it gets harder to start up again with each day off) but it was nice to give the body a break as I enter the stretch period before the ice season starts.
On August 31 I started simple, with 20 minutes stickhandling in the morning and an opportunist chance to do some agility exercises during a quiet moment during an evening engagement (with no other opportunity to do more (such as Power & Edges) this was as good as it got - almost but not quite another day of rest).
On September 1 I started spring with 15 minutes of stickhandling and then went down the Ice Arena at midday for 45 minutes of concentrated effort. Went through all the basic technical points Corey had led us through the week before and then powered through three sets of line sprints for some conditioning training. A complete sprint set took 30s, I gave myself 2 1/2 minutes between each sprint set. It was easier to do than the previous occasion. Intention is to increase the number of sets and reduce the recovery times before season starts.
In the morning of September 2 I powered through my complete set of leg exercises (sans squats and lunges) in thirty minutes. Felt a lot better for it, noticed how I was able to complete full sets of everything (including 3 sets of 10 leg raises) with bare seconds between exercises to fit it in the time available, pleased.
In the evening I was at Gawler for resumption of Vikings training. There were only ten people there so it was a fairly free flowing but continual session. Shooting to start with, followed by variants of the house drill (with only two forwards and one chasing D, adding a backchecking D and passing elements), finishing with a expanding battle game that grew from 1 to 5 players per side depending how the game developed. Great fun.
Ice 32
Inline 53
Sunday, 30 August 2015
Off Season Day 60
27 August Legs, Ice (tech/sprints), Stickhandling
28 August Rest
29 August Rest
August 27 began with a morning legs workout before breakfast. Brought back supine lateral leg lifts to the mix (ten each side for 5s) and traditional and figure four squats (sets of ten for the former, five each leg for the later).
In the afternoon I went down the Ice Arena for a fairly concentrated 45 minute session. I did the various drills Corey had led us through on Monday, with the addition of several repetitions of my (wide) lateral line drill and three line sprints as an anaerobic workout.
In the evening I spent about twenty minutes on a lino floor with golf ball and hockey stick. Am already noticing the difference in the softness of my hands and, correspondingly, in the increased degree of control of the ball.
I then went up country with the Missus on August 28 and 29. I took the opportunity to concentrate on what was happening around me in the world, didn't even think of hockey for a couple days, let alone maintain my off season program. As long as I get back into it sooner rather than later the break will do me no harm, and quite probably will add to my overall progress as I enter the final intense fortnight before the season starts.
Overall for Week 8 I think I did okay. I have given the week a 'yellow' rating because for once I ticked all of the boxes, albeit didn't really reach required level for either aerobic (only one run) or anaerobic (counted my ice line sprints, but still did no hardcore interval training) activity. It will be interesting if I can get back to green entries during the stretch.
Ice 31
28 August Rest
29 August Rest
August 27 began with a morning legs workout before breakfast. Brought back supine lateral leg lifts to the mix (ten each side for 5s) and traditional and figure four squats (sets of ten for the former, five each leg for the later).
In the afternoon I went down the Ice Arena for a fairly concentrated 45 minute session. I did the various drills Corey had led us through on Monday, with the addition of several repetitions of my (wide) lateral line drill and three line sprints as an anaerobic workout.
In the evening I spent about twenty minutes on a lino floor with golf ball and hockey stick. Am already noticing the difference in the softness of my hands and, correspondingly, in the increased degree of control of the ball.
I then went up country with the Missus on August 28 and 29. I took the opportunity to concentrate on what was happening around me in the world, didn't even think of hockey for a couple days, let alone maintain my off season program. As long as I get back into it sooner rather than later the break will do me no harm, and quite probably will add to my overall progress as I enter the final intense fortnight before the season starts.
Overall for Week 8 I think I did okay. I have given the week a 'yellow' rating because for once I ticked all of the boxes, albeit didn't really reach required level for either aerobic (only one run) or anaerobic (counted my ice line sprints, but still did no hardcore interval training) activity. It will be interesting if I can get back to green entries during the stretch.
Ice 31
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
Off Season Day 57
Aug 23 Run, Agility, Stickhandling
Aug 24 Arms, Legs, Ice Power & Edges
Aug 25 Rest
Aug 26 Arms, Agility, Stickhandling
In the evening of August 23 I forced myself to get ready and go for a run. More of a wind than there has been before, still daylight, cool to cold. I hadn't ran for five days so I knew it wouldn't be the easiest. Which it wasn't, I had four walking periods of varied length which I used by being 'mindful' of the breathing/muscle/heart/brain interactions as I recovered for the next running phase. I did, however, push it harder during the actual running through the middle phases, reaching pretty high running speeds along the river, to the school and on the final short slope to home. Total time was 21 minutes.
After getting my breathing fully back I moved straight into a set of Agility exercises. I built up what I'd done last week except that I increased the reps to six for each set and kept count of my best score amongst those reps in each set. Will be interesting to measure the improvement now that the actual movements are pretty well secured in my neuromusculature.
Later in the evening I took the opportunity to do some stickhandling training during a twenty minute break between other, more domestic, activities. I limited myself to two 'sets' each of two simple drills. I will try to get the neuromuscular imprint fixed before working up the speed (treating this as an extension of agility training methodology).
The first drill involves facing a coffeetable from about 3 feet away, lay a hockey stick on the table edge with the grip end at my feet so as to form a diagonal obstacle between the edge of the table and my feet, then tap a golfball from one side of the obstacle to the other, performing whatever variants on the basic pattern I feel like doing at the time. This drill requires the upper hand to pull/push the stick through the relatively stationary lower hand to control the height of the blade off the ground.
The second drill has two tins on the ground about shoulder width apart and about 18" in front of me, using them to form various improvasitional deking patterns, again using the lower hand to both rotate the stick for forehand/backhand sides but also to raise and lower the stick through the lower hand depending upon where the golf ball is.
I did each drill for about two minutes, twice.
In the morning of August 24 I did an arms workout. 2 circuits of ten reps each set, 1 minute recoveries between sets. I backed this up with an almost full circuit of leg drills (minus lunges and squats, though I did Sumo Squats). In both legs and arms sessions I reached the stage of moderate fatigue by the end of most sets.
In the evening I went down the Ice Arena for a 'Power and Edges for Ice Hockey' session with Corey. Besides the technical side of things it was also a good anaerobic workout. A short slalom event of tight turns and stops, crossovers (lateral extensions and cross under), T starts (glides), outside edges, backwards take off and first step (cross under on first couple steps), transitions, several long 'sprints' around all the circles incorporating above, line sprints, balance, recovery, core strength. A good hour.
August 25 I declared a rest day.
August 26, in the morning I completed an arms workout paced by agility exercises during my 1 minute recovery periods, and then completed the agility circuit, with six reps per set. Have now added the wide variant to the lateral line drill, which is introducing distinct pylometric aspect to training.
In the evening I had about fifteen minutes stickhandling on the lino in the kitchen with a golf ball and my Bauer stick. The lino is conveniently marked out in a grid composed of 6" squares which makes it fairly easy to create standard (and not so standard) patterns designed to exercise the various technical components of the act of stickhandling.
Ice 30
Aug 24 Arms, Legs, Ice Power & Edges
Aug 25 Rest
Aug 26 Arms, Agility, Stickhandling
In the evening of August 23 I forced myself to get ready and go for a run. More of a wind than there has been before, still daylight, cool to cold. I hadn't ran for five days so I knew it wouldn't be the easiest. Which it wasn't, I had four walking periods of varied length which I used by being 'mindful' of the breathing/muscle/heart/brain interactions as I recovered for the next running phase. I did, however, push it harder during the actual running through the middle phases, reaching pretty high running speeds along the river, to the school and on the final short slope to home. Total time was 21 minutes.
After getting my breathing fully back I moved straight into a set of Agility exercises. I built up what I'd done last week except that I increased the reps to six for each set and kept count of my best score amongst those reps in each set. Will be interesting to measure the improvement now that the actual movements are pretty well secured in my neuromusculature.
Later in the evening I took the opportunity to do some stickhandling training during a twenty minute break between other, more domestic, activities. I limited myself to two 'sets' each of two simple drills. I will try to get the neuromuscular imprint fixed before working up the speed (treating this as an extension of agility training methodology).
The first drill involves facing a coffeetable from about 3 feet away, lay a hockey stick on the table edge with the grip end at my feet so as to form a diagonal obstacle between the edge of the table and my feet, then tap a golfball from one side of the obstacle to the other, performing whatever variants on the basic pattern I feel like doing at the time. This drill requires the upper hand to pull/push the stick through the relatively stationary lower hand to control the height of the blade off the ground.
The second drill has two tins on the ground about shoulder width apart and about 18" in front of me, using them to form various improvasitional deking patterns, again using the lower hand to both rotate the stick for forehand/backhand sides but also to raise and lower the stick through the lower hand depending upon where the golf ball is.
I did each drill for about two minutes, twice.
In the morning of August 24 I did an arms workout. 2 circuits of ten reps each set, 1 minute recoveries between sets. I backed this up with an almost full circuit of leg drills (minus lunges and squats, though I did Sumo Squats). In both legs and arms sessions I reached the stage of moderate fatigue by the end of most sets.
In the evening I went down the Ice Arena for a 'Power and Edges for Ice Hockey' session with Corey. Besides the technical side of things it was also a good anaerobic workout. A short slalom event of tight turns and stops, crossovers (lateral extensions and cross under), T starts (glides), outside edges, backwards take off and first step (cross under on first couple steps), transitions, several long 'sprints' around all the circles incorporating above, line sprints, balance, recovery, core strength. A good hour.
August 25 I declared a rest day.
August 26, in the morning I completed an arms workout paced by agility exercises during my 1 minute recovery periods, and then completed the agility circuit, with six reps per set. Have now added the wide variant to the lateral line drill, which is introducing distinct pylometric aspect to training.
In the evening I had about fifteen minutes stickhandling on the lino in the kitchen with a golf ball and my Bauer stick. The lino is conveniently marked out in a grid composed of 6" squares which makes it fairly easy to create standard (and not so standard) patterns designed to exercise the various technical components of the act of stickhandling.
Ice 30
Sunday, 23 August 2015
Off Season Day 53 - Week 7 Summary
Aug 21 Ice
Aug 22 Wheelers Game
On August 21 I went down to the Arena for an hour's skate in the afternoon. Had half the ice due Ice Factor team practice on the other half. Shared the space with a couple figure skaters. I spent about ten minutes in recovery time.
Individual drills which I did were sideways walking, stops, first 'stride' backwards, first stride from transition (backwards to forwards), power stride recovery action, pivots. Most technical was the exit from forwards transition onto the left leg. Most measurable gain was power stride recovery. Least satisfactory were the pivots.
On August 22 I played in the Wheelers' Round 1 win in winter season finals. We played with six skaters and thus were able to avoid double shifting. Had a lot of energy left in the tank for the final minutes, could have played out another period. Very physical game where strength on puck came into it, leg and core up to the task. Several comments afterwards about apparent increase in my 'speed'. I didn't think this while playing.
What was noticeable to me, however, was that I spent more of my time in a 'high energy state' than is usual (ie. race to shut down uncontested space, open up a lane, etc). This elevation in intensity came about due to increase in ability (physical strength and first step technique) as well as willingness to do so (no holding back energy for potential double shift, fact it was a final), wasn't an increase in speed per se. That's what I think, anyway.
Week 7 Summary
I have only given myself an 'orange' rating for this past week. Again, I didn't make quota on anaerobic conditioning (interval training) nor on Off Ice Technique (stickhandling). I did make the cut on everything else, however, which wasn't too bad considering it was a rather busy week.
Ice 29
Aug 22 Wheelers Game
On August 21 I went down to the Arena for an hour's skate in the afternoon. Had half the ice due Ice Factor team practice on the other half. Shared the space with a couple figure skaters. I spent about ten minutes in recovery time.
Individual drills which I did were sideways walking, stops, first 'stride' backwards, first stride from transition (backwards to forwards), power stride recovery action, pivots. Most technical was the exit from forwards transition onto the left leg. Most measurable gain was power stride recovery. Least satisfactory were the pivots.
On August 22 I played in the Wheelers' Round 1 win in winter season finals. We played with six skaters and thus were able to avoid double shifting. Had a lot of energy left in the tank for the final minutes, could have played out another period. Very physical game where strength on puck came into it, leg and core up to the task. Several comments afterwards about apparent increase in my 'speed'. I didn't think this while playing.
What was noticeable to me, however, was that I spent more of my time in a 'high energy state' than is usual (ie. race to shut down uncontested space, open up a lane, etc). This elevation in intensity came about due to increase in ability (physical strength and first step technique) as well as willingness to do so (no holding back energy for potential double shift, fact it was a final), wasn't an increase in speed per se. That's what I think, anyway.
Week 7 Summary
I have only given myself an 'orange' rating for this past week. Again, I didn't make quota on anaerobic conditioning (interval training) nor on Off Ice Technique (stickhandling). I did make the cut on everything else, however, which wasn't too bad considering it was a rather busy week.
Ice 29
Thursday, 20 August 2015
Off Season Day 51
Aug 18 Rest
Aug 19 Agility, Arms, Vikings Training
Aug 20 Knights Training
On August 18 I had finally had a rest day. Although I moved some big furniture around and up stairs the rest of the day was casual and relaxed. Calf muscles were almost crippling first thing in the morning, but within a few hours the tenderness had reduced to some quite specific points deep within the lower calves and there was no pain to speak of for the rest of the day. I am thinking it was an extreme case of 'muscle soreness'.
I took advantage of the mild winter weather on August 19 to do my agility drills out under the back veranda. Took about 20 minutes to go through sets of Forward and Backward Line Drills, Lateral Line Drill, Split Leg Shuffle and Split Leg 45' Shuffle. Reps were between five and ten seconds each for the line drills, five seconds for the much simpler shuffle patterns. I did five reps per set and kept the rest intervals between sets to 25 seconds. The patterns were less confusing to my feet than they had been the first time I tried them.
I went straight from my Agility circuit to my arm strength circuit. Kept up patterns of twin circuits of ten reps for each type of lift. I am trying to increase the tempo of the lifts themselves, and have now reduced recovery time to 1 minute. I might hold it here for a while as this was a challenge at a couple of moments in the circuit.
A couple hours later I set off for Vikings Training at Gawler. There was a fair stress on anaerobic conditioning, with two sets of 'suicide sprints' (line sprint interval training) and a couple commando crawls. My upper body strength was quite handy for the pushups and the commando crawl but my anaerobic threshold needs to be raised to be able to compete at the higher intensity of sustained anaerobic activity.
On August 20 I limited myself to going to Knights' training. Don't want to inadvertently overwork myself in the leadup to Vikings finals and the season opener on the ice (besides, I was pretty darn busy sorting things out around the house). Coped pretty well with the aerobic and energy demands, lacking a bit in core strength (sore afterwards) and will need to brush up on skating techniques.
Aug 19 Agility, Arms, Vikings Training
Aug 20 Knights Training
On August 18 I had finally had a rest day. Although I moved some big furniture around and up stairs the rest of the day was casual and relaxed. Calf muscles were almost crippling first thing in the morning, but within a few hours the tenderness had reduced to some quite specific points deep within the lower calves and there was no pain to speak of for the rest of the day. I am thinking it was an extreme case of 'muscle soreness'.
I took advantage of the mild winter weather on August 19 to do my agility drills out under the back veranda. Took about 20 minutes to go through sets of Forward and Backward Line Drills, Lateral Line Drill, Split Leg Shuffle and Split Leg 45' Shuffle. Reps were between five and ten seconds each for the line drills, five seconds for the much simpler shuffle patterns. I did five reps per set and kept the rest intervals between sets to 25 seconds. The patterns were less confusing to my feet than they had been the first time I tried them.
I went straight from my Agility circuit to my arm strength circuit. Kept up patterns of twin circuits of ten reps for each type of lift. I am trying to increase the tempo of the lifts themselves, and have now reduced recovery time to 1 minute. I might hold it here for a while as this was a challenge at a couple of moments in the circuit.
A couple hours later I set off for Vikings Training at Gawler. There was a fair stress on anaerobic conditioning, with two sets of 'suicide sprints' (line sprint interval training) and a couple commando crawls. My upper body strength was quite handy for the pushups and the commando crawl but my anaerobic threshold needs to be raised to be able to compete at the higher intensity of sustained anaerobic activity.
On August 20 I limited myself to going to Knights' training. Don't want to inadvertently overwork myself in the leadup to Vikings finals and the season opener on the ice (besides, I was pretty darn busy sorting things out around the house). Coped pretty well with the aerobic and energy demands, lacking a bit in core strength (sore afterwards) and will need to brush up on skating techniques.
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
Off Season Day 48
Aug 15 Vikings Games
Aug 16 Arms
Aug 17 Agility, Run, Legs
In the afternoon and evening of August 15 I played in two games of inline hockey at Gawler. This was the second week in a row I've done this. I think I coped with it better despite both games being more demanding than their counterparts from the week before. Importantly, the next morning I was nowhere near as sore either.
The first game had been four v four (ie. only one on the bench for each team) and every player could skate. Thus, recovery periods were short and shifts were long and one had to be disciplined. In the second game I played the role of 'responsible reserve' and tended to give as much time as they wanted to the team's own players. This time, though, there were only two 'naturals' playing with us, so that led to more and harder minutes than the week before.
My aerobic recovery on the bench was sufficient to the task in both games and I was able to sustain play through extended shifts allowing others to recover. Keeping my legs moving as soon as I had regained breath and, importantly, through the period between the games dissipated much of the lactic build up I was probably suffering and, I think, made a big difference the following morning.
The improvement from the week before is probably most due to a 'conditioning effect', of knowing what to expect (allowing conscious mindfulness) and having prepared the body for the experience (freeing up the mind). Although I had eaten sufficient for the task through the day, probably the easiest way to further improve my performance will be through better dietary energy loading.
On August 16 I was still a little fatigued (though less than I had been in the previous week) and thus was again in danger of declaring the day an unplanned 'rest day'. I did manage, however, to motivate myself to the extent of doing an arms session, usual weights, two circuits of ten reps, cutting the recovery time from 90s to 75s.
On August 17 I commenced my new life as a self funded layabout (having taken a package in return for my day job) so I put my status to good use and spent about ninety minutes on training activities. I started with 25 minutes of agility drills, limiting myself to the four 'easiest' of them and trying to keep all movements slow and measured so I can drill into my neuromuscular self the movements needed before I step up the pace. I did five reps of each drill, limiting myself to about the 5s per rep that is recommended for beginners with 25s recovery periods.
I found that by the end of the fifth rep I generally had the gross movement patterns down and was starting to concentrate on the 'popping' of the steps (removing the pause between contraction and extension motions), the point of the exercise. If the motions are drilled in it will be interesting to see how the quickness develops in the next agility session. For the record the four agility drills I commenced today were Forward (and Backward) Line Drill, Lateral Line Drill, Split Leg Shuffle and Split Leg 45' Shuffle.
I then went for my usual run. I didn't stop to stretch and walked only twice (about 100m each time). I was taking smaller steps than in past due pain in my calves from some ill considered isometrics I was doing yesterday (serves me right, I should know better) so my time was still relatively slow at 24 minutes. Going at the slower pace, however, also allowed me to be a little more fine tuned with my breathing awareness, able to track VO2 efficiency (I suppose) against energy demand as I varied the pace. Hopefully the legs feel better tomorrow.
To finish off the day's exercise I spent about a half hour going through my core leg exercises. I left hardly any time between sets, and generally only 5-15s between reps. Even so I didn't manage to fit the whole routine into the time available (no squats or Swedish Ball Planks).
Aug 16 Arms
Aug 17 Agility, Run, Legs
In the afternoon and evening of August 15 I played in two games of inline hockey at Gawler. This was the second week in a row I've done this. I think I coped with it better despite both games being more demanding than their counterparts from the week before. Importantly, the next morning I was nowhere near as sore either.
The first game had been four v four (ie. only one on the bench for each team) and every player could skate. Thus, recovery periods were short and shifts were long and one had to be disciplined. In the second game I played the role of 'responsible reserve' and tended to give as much time as they wanted to the team's own players. This time, though, there were only two 'naturals' playing with us, so that led to more and harder minutes than the week before.
My aerobic recovery on the bench was sufficient to the task in both games and I was able to sustain play through extended shifts allowing others to recover. Keeping my legs moving as soon as I had regained breath and, importantly, through the period between the games dissipated much of the lactic build up I was probably suffering and, I think, made a big difference the following morning.
The improvement from the week before is probably most due to a 'conditioning effect', of knowing what to expect (allowing conscious mindfulness) and having prepared the body for the experience (freeing up the mind). Although I had eaten sufficient for the task through the day, probably the easiest way to further improve my performance will be through better dietary energy loading.
On August 16 I was still a little fatigued (though less than I had been in the previous week) and thus was again in danger of declaring the day an unplanned 'rest day'. I did manage, however, to motivate myself to the extent of doing an arms session, usual weights, two circuits of ten reps, cutting the recovery time from 90s to 75s.
On August 17 I commenced my new life as a self funded layabout (having taken a package in return for my day job) so I put my status to good use and spent about ninety minutes on training activities. I started with 25 minutes of agility drills, limiting myself to the four 'easiest' of them and trying to keep all movements slow and measured so I can drill into my neuromuscular self the movements needed before I step up the pace. I did five reps of each drill, limiting myself to about the 5s per rep that is recommended for beginners with 25s recovery periods.
I found that by the end of the fifth rep I generally had the gross movement patterns down and was starting to concentrate on the 'popping' of the steps (removing the pause between contraction and extension motions), the point of the exercise. If the motions are drilled in it will be interesting to see how the quickness develops in the next agility session. For the record the four agility drills I commenced today were Forward (and Backward) Line Drill, Lateral Line Drill, Split Leg Shuffle and Split Leg 45' Shuffle.
I then went for my usual run. I didn't stop to stretch and walked only twice (about 100m each time). I was taking smaller steps than in past due pain in my calves from some ill considered isometrics I was doing yesterday (serves me right, I should know better) so my time was still relatively slow at 24 minutes. Going at the slower pace, however, also allowed me to be a little more fine tuned with my breathing awareness, able to track VO2 efficiency (I suppose) against energy demand as I varied the pace. Hopefully the legs feel better tomorrow.
To finish off the day's exercise I spent about a half hour going through my core leg exercises. I left hardly any time between sets, and generally only 5-15s between reps. Even so I didn't manage to fit the whole routine into the time available (no squats or Swedish Ball Planks).
Sunday, 16 August 2015
IH Season announcement resets Off-Season plans.
The date of the start of C Grade competition has been announced to be Sunday, 13 September. Registration/orientation will be Monday, 7 September. Cost is $166 for IHSA membership, season fees won't be about $470. I am assuming Div II will have the same number of games as last season, 18 regular season and two playoff rounds of up to 3 games each.
This is good news. Less than a month to go! It is a little sooner than I had expected when setting my off-season schedule so I will need to rejig it a bit. Perhaps best to work backwards...
Sat Sep 19 - Vikings Grand Final
Wed Sep 16 - Vikings Training
Sun Sep 13 - IH season commences
Mon Sep 7 - IH registration/orientation
Sat Sep 5 - Vikings Finals 2nd Round
Wed Sep 2 - Vikings Training
Wed Aug 26 - Vikings Training
Sat Aug 22 - Vikings Finals 1st Round
Wed Aug 19 - Vikings Training
As you can see, that leaves four weeks to get ready, starting last night. If I extend the current weekly period of my off season program ('Week 7'), commencing on Wednesday the 12th of August, to end on Saturday the 22nd, I can fill in the gaps on what will for all intents and purposes be a 10 week schedule (though actually 74 days), with the last two weeks being effectively a blur between off season preparation and pre season training.
Wk 10 - S1, Ae2, An1, A1 Ice Team Training/Shinny
Wk 9 - S1, Ae2, An2 intervals, A2 pylometrics OffIce shooting, Ice Power
Wk 8 - S2 increase tempo, Ae2, An2 intervals, A2 pylometrics, OffIce shooting, Ice edges
Wk 7 - S2 reduce recovery, Ae2, An2 intervals, A1 conditioning, OffIce stickwork, Ice technique
I've updated my sidebar schedule to include the above schedule in abbreviated form.
This is good news. Less than a month to go! It is a little sooner than I had expected when setting my off-season schedule so I will need to rejig it a bit. Perhaps best to work backwards...
Sat Sep 19 - Vikings Grand Final
Wed Sep 16 - Vikings Training
Sun Sep 13 - IH season commences
Mon Sep 7 - IH registration/orientation
Sat Sep 5 - Vikings Finals 2nd Round
Wed Sep 2 - Vikings Training
Wed Aug 26 - Vikings Training
Sat Aug 22 - Vikings Finals 1st Round
Wed Aug 19 - Vikings Training
As you can see, that leaves four weeks to get ready, starting last night. If I extend the current weekly period of my off season program ('Week 7'), commencing on Wednesday the 12th of August, to end on Saturday the 22nd, I can fill in the gaps on what will for all intents and purposes be a 10 week schedule (though actually 74 days), with the last two weeks being effectively a blur between off season preparation and pre season training.
Wk 10 - S1, Ae2, An1, A1 Ice Team Training/Shinny
Wk 9 - S1, Ae2, An2 intervals, A2 pylometrics OffIce shooting, Ice Power
Wk 8 - S2 increase tempo, Ae2, An2 intervals, A2 pylometrics, OffIce shooting, Ice edges
Wk 7 - S2 reduce recovery, Ae2, An2 intervals, A1 conditioning, OffIce stickwork, Ice technique
I've updated my sidebar schedule to include the above schedule in abbreviated form.
Saturday, 15 August 2015
Off Season Day 45
12 Aug Run
13 Aug Legs
14 Aug Arms
In the evening of 12 August I went for a run. Despite being much better weather conditions than the night before I found it to be relatively hard yards. Several small walk periods, mainly to rest the legs as I recovered breath fairly fast. No strained breathing, but not as rhythmic as the night before. Total time 23 minutes.
In the morning of 13 August I did a 25 minute legs work out. I minimised recovery periods to bare seconds, added one new exercise (Figure 4 squats, ten each leg). In the time available I couldn't fit in all the exercises I now have in repertoire that target legs.
On 14 Aug I began my day with a double circuit of weights with the arms. I am changing it up, having heard that it is now only a month till the start of ice hockey season, pushing the tempo of the reps and cutting recovery time to 90 seconds. Definitely feel the load fatigue in the arm afterwards more than I have previously although during the lifts themselves I felt no increase in either rate of fatigue or intensity.
13 Aug Legs
14 Aug Arms
In the evening of 12 August I went for a run. Despite being much better weather conditions than the night before I found it to be relatively hard yards. Several small walk periods, mainly to rest the legs as I recovered breath fairly fast. No strained breathing, but not as rhythmic as the night before. Total time 23 minutes.
In the morning of 13 August I did a 25 minute legs work out. I minimised recovery periods to bare seconds, added one new exercise (Figure 4 squats, ten each leg). In the time available I couldn't fit in all the exercises I now have in repertoire that target legs.
On 14 Aug I began my day with a double circuit of weights with the arms. I am changing it up, having heard that it is now only a month till the start of ice hockey season, pushing the tempo of the reps and cutting recovery time to 90 seconds. Definitely feel the load fatigue in the arm afterwards more than I have previously although during the lifts themselves I felt no increase in either rate of fatigue or intensity.
Tuesday, 11 August 2015
Off Season Day 42 - End of Week 6!
Aug 8 Vikings Games
Aug 9 Rest
Aug 10 Legs / Arms / Core
Aug 11 Run
On August 8 I played two forty minute C grade games of inline hockey at Gawler. From a fitness and conditioning perspective the night showed my progress to date as I had energy to spare after playing the Wheeler's game early, enough to fill in competently as a reserve for the Bumpers in their game against the Shufflers.
During the first game it took about a minute on the bench after each shift to regain my composure. Generally, I was right to go from that point and would get to my feet to indicate that I was ready to go out again. While waiting for my next shift I would try to constantly keep my feet and legs moving on the spot as a means of minimising and delaying the onset of lactate build up.
For the second game I put myself onto pretty short minutes, essentially giving my team mates as much of a run as possible (it was, afterall, their game). I didn't feel exhausted at all and put on the afterburners a few times on the rink to keep the game locked down for the team I was playing for.
That evening, once the endorphins had worn off, I felt the onset of fatigue. This evolved into an overall physical tiredness the next day.
Therefore, on August 9, I declared the day to be a 'rest day'. Which it wasn't really because I spent about five hours moving furniture in the afternoon. Still, there were no extreme loads and I know my body appreciated it. If I'd done Interval work as originally planned I'm sure that I'd be done for days.
In the morning of August 10 I realised that I was again at risk of falling behind schedule so spent a bit less than half an hour going through a basic Legs workout, stopping for only bare seconds between sets of the different exercises.
In the evening, due a combination of being delayed for over an hour at work and the passage of a cold front, I decided not to go for my planned run and instead do my arms workout (now two sets of ten reps each for each lift, often a killer effort required for the last lift) interspersed with core exercises in between.
I limited the periods between lifts and core exercises (and vice versa) to between five and fifteen seconds, but was careful to ensure that I didn't work out the same muscle groups on consecutive exercises and so managed to get away with it. I spent forty minutes on the routine, making it about an hour of high density work for the whole day. Quite productive.
Not bad for a day that wavered from being limited to a run, to being at risk of washing out in the threatened rising tide of 'rest days' (this despite the frequency of these days decreasing if I look at my activity log). Afterwards, a general tiredness, particularly in the upper body and arms, less so through the core region (but still noticeable), and below-awareness-level in the legs (though I can feel that they got a workout recently in the weaker muscle groups).
It was a rainy evening on August 11 and again I so nearly decided to call off my limited plans and have another 'rest' day that it's scary in retrospect. Stubborn pride, however, intervened and saved me from myself and I set off through the wet suburban streets. I kept to the road mainly, because I could (most people, even in cars, stay inside on nights like tonight) and because it's a more stable and less potentially slippery surface than the varied materials from which our footpaths are constructed. Didn't see any other pedestrians for the whole trip, and only about four cars in the 21 minutes I was gone.
It's been a while since I last ventured forth so I was careful to pace myself for the sake of both my breathing and my leg muscles. There was an initial knot in my right calf muscle, not debilitating but enough to be aware of and 'manage' as I worked my way down to the river, where I ducked under a tree during the heaviest shower and did some stretches. No more knotted muscle.
That initial period of running was probably the most painful, but it was made easier by the fact that within metres from home I was glad I was doing this (I think I actually like running for running's sake, truth be told). After that, things got a little easier, I didn't drive myself too hard and gave myself short walks on several occasions. My stretching stop at the school was a lot shorter than usual, and I ran the last kilometre (the hardest, hilliest kilometre) without too much effort except in the legs as I paced myself up the hill.
When I got home, my heartrate didn't seem to be elevated too much, and my breathing was pretty normal within a couple minutes (at no time had I laboured in my breathing, though as the pace picked up over the period it had definitely grown a lot more rhythmic and deeper).
With my run I qualify Week 6 on my schedule (see sidebar) as a 'yellow' pass, pretty good but didn't achieve all I had planned. I will have to make a real effort to get some interval training underway over the coming week.
Aug 9 Rest
Aug 10 Legs / Arms / Core
Aug 11 Run
On August 8 I played two forty minute C grade games of inline hockey at Gawler. From a fitness and conditioning perspective the night showed my progress to date as I had energy to spare after playing the Wheeler's game early, enough to fill in competently as a reserve for the Bumpers in their game against the Shufflers.
During the first game it took about a minute on the bench after each shift to regain my composure. Generally, I was right to go from that point and would get to my feet to indicate that I was ready to go out again. While waiting for my next shift I would try to constantly keep my feet and legs moving on the spot as a means of minimising and delaying the onset of lactate build up.
For the second game I put myself onto pretty short minutes, essentially giving my team mates as much of a run as possible (it was, afterall, their game). I didn't feel exhausted at all and put on the afterburners a few times on the rink to keep the game locked down for the team I was playing for.
That evening, once the endorphins had worn off, I felt the onset of fatigue. This evolved into an overall physical tiredness the next day.
Therefore, on August 9, I declared the day to be a 'rest day'. Which it wasn't really because I spent about five hours moving furniture in the afternoon. Still, there were no extreme loads and I know my body appreciated it. If I'd done Interval work as originally planned I'm sure that I'd be done for days.
In the morning of August 10 I realised that I was again at risk of falling behind schedule so spent a bit less than half an hour going through a basic Legs workout, stopping for only bare seconds between sets of the different exercises.
In the evening, due a combination of being delayed for over an hour at work and the passage of a cold front, I decided not to go for my planned run and instead do my arms workout (now two sets of ten reps each for each lift, often a killer effort required for the last lift) interspersed with core exercises in between.
I limited the periods between lifts and core exercises (and vice versa) to between five and fifteen seconds, but was careful to ensure that I didn't work out the same muscle groups on consecutive exercises and so managed to get away with it. I spent forty minutes on the routine, making it about an hour of high density work for the whole day. Quite productive.
Not bad for a day that wavered from being limited to a run, to being at risk of washing out in the threatened rising tide of 'rest days' (this despite the frequency of these days decreasing if I look at my activity log). Afterwards, a general tiredness, particularly in the upper body and arms, less so through the core region (but still noticeable), and below-awareness-level in the legs (though I can feel that they got a workout recently in the weaker muscle groups).
It was a rainy evening on August 11 and again I so nearly decided to call off my limited plans and have another 'rest' day that it's scary in retrospect. Stubborn pride, however, intervened and saved me from myself and I set off through the wet suburban streets. I kept to the road mainly, because I could (most people, even in cars, stay inside on nights like tonight) and because it's a more stable and less potentially slippery surface than the varied materials from which our footpaths are constructed. Didn't see any other pedestrians for the whole trip, and only about four cars in the 21 minutes I was gone.
It's been a while since I last ventured forth so I was careful to pace myself for the sake of both my breathing and my leg muscles. There was an initial knot in my right calf muscle, not debilitating but enough to be aware of and 'manage' as I worked my way down to the river, where I ducked under a tree during the heaviest shower and did some stretches. No more knotted muscle.
That initial period of running was probably the most painful, but it was made easier by the fact that within metres from home I was glad I was doing this (I think I actually like running for running's sake, truth be told). After that, things got a little easier, I didn't drive myself too hard and gave myself short walks on several occasions. My stretching stop at the school was a lot shorter than usual, and I ran the last kilometre (the hardest, hilliest kilometre) without too much effort except in the legs as I paced myself up the hill.
When I got home, my heartrate didn't seem to be elevated too much, and my breathing was pretty normal within a couple minutes (at no time had I laboured in my breathing, though as the pace picked up over the period it had definitely grown a lot more rhythmic and deeper).
With my run I qualify Week 6 on my schedule (see sidebar) as a 'yellow' pass, pretty good but didn't achieve all I had planned. I will have to make a real effort to get some interval training underway over the coming week.
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