Darren Helm, one of the fastest skaters in the NHL does a ton of SLED training in the off-season.

You don't work as hard as Helm does during the off-season if you are content with your current status.

You don't push and pull a 630-pound sled in the summer heat four times a week if you are happy being a third-line center.

"He's the exception to the rule," said Richard Burr, who trains Helm and a group of other NHL players during the offseason in Winnipeg. "You put him in a group with the other guys sprinting up the hill and he's got an extra gear. You know, you look at him and he's not overly big. But every ounce of him is a powerhouse." 

Helm credits Burr with helping him become one of the fastest and strongest skaters in the league. Burr puts Helm and a group of NHL players that includes Chicago's Cam Barker and Nashville's Dustin Boyd through an unconventional, hockey-specific regimen that features a lot of sled work.

"You get a lot of bang for your buck," Burr said. "You really work the legs in a hockey-specific fashion. The way your legs work to move the sled up a hill is similar to how your nervous system reacts on the ice." 

The sleds weigh 50 pounds. Depending on the day, Burr will load them with any number of 45-pound plates — two plates on light days, to four plates on normal days, to the full 14 plates on the extreme heavy days.

Players will pull the sled 90 percent of the time, to engage the arms like you would on the ice, and push it 10 percent of the time. Burr will have them pulling it up a steep, grassy hill, and do 20-yard sprints with the sled on a paved, dead-end street. 

"Darren is unbelievable," Burr said. "His muscle fiber, his fast-twitch muscles, watching him jump is like watching a deer or a grasshopper. He's so explosive."

Dog days

Helm believes it is no coincidence he had his most productive stretch of the season during the dog-days in December and January. He credits his work with Burr for giving him an edge when others were fatigued.

"Eighty-two games is long for everybody, and it can be mentally and physically draining at times," Helm said. "You see a lot of teams get complacent and tired during the season and kind of go into cruise control. That's when I had the opportunity to get a lot of points. That's why I keep working so hard in the offseason."

Moving sleds during the offseason may give him an extra burst and enhance the one skill that got him to the NHL — skating — but Helm knows it won't help him put more pucks into the net. 

Article by:

Wings' Darren Helm doesn't mind the grind

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110406/SPORTS0103/104060313/Wings--Darren-Helm-doesn’t-mind-the-grind#ixzz1Il3VDsQ0

 

RUN FORREST RUN: THE CHEAPEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF DRY LAND TRAINING from past NHL pro Jeff Serowik and now hockey director at Pro Ambitions

Spring is finally around the corner, the days are getting longer, hockey season is coming to an end, which means it is a great time to hit the pavement. Running is not something that comes easily to me but it is something I always did and for good reason as you will read below. It is free, it does not require joining a gym or hiring a personal trainer and it is so very important for hockey players and all athletes for training purposes. I believe it is the best form of conditioning for all athletes. Many parents ask me when kids should start weight training. This is a tricky question because all children go through puberty at different times. When beginning a weight training regime especially for the first time, consult your pediatrician and a licensed trainer. My best advice to parents is to get the kids running.  This is the first step-and the most important step.
A couple of stories which will make things clearer on the importance of running…
My first day of hockey practice as a freshman at Providence College. 6 am wake up call. We had team physicals, had to give blood without breakfast and then run 3 miles in 21 minutes(that at least was the goal). It was early September and already blazing hot in the morning.  We had five groups of guys. My coach, Mike McShane, was running behind us while yelling through an orange pylon. I only had one lap to go thankfully in the middle to top of the pack because I had been running all summer to train. I will never forget one of my teammates breaking down on the track with a few laps to go. I will quote, “ I can’t see, take my scholarship…I can’t do it.” Almost in tears and throwing up. We laugh about his dramatic finish to the run to this day but it is the best story to encourage hockey players or any athlete who is serious about improving conditioning to hit the pavement and RUN!
Another story, early in my pro career….hot summer morning about 11am on Cape Cod. My buddy and NHL all star, Jeremy Roenick and I belonged to the same country club. I was on the driving range hitting balls and I saw JR, RUNNING not jogging over the hills and valleys of the course. He was moving at full steam ahead and dripping wet with sweat. Don’t get me wrong, there was nobody that trained harder than me in the summer but it was a huge wake up call to me that EVERYONE successful trains HARD.  Jeremy was a first liner in the NHL and I was a solid player in the AHL at the time trying to crack the NHL line up. Note- in talking to fellow players over the summer-most would claim to be “ out of shape” and worried that they did not train enough during our time off. This was pretty much not true in every case. We were all keeping tight lipped about how hard we worked all summer. Everyone wants an edge over the next person. First day of training camp-99% of the guys were in impeccable shape and clearly worked their butts off all summer to prepare. While playing for the Penguins, we were required to ride the bike after every game 20 minutes and lift weights for 30 minutes. As tired as we were this helped in getting the lactic acid out of our legs and was another CONDITIONING tool. The NHL season is long and hard and we needed to maintain muscle strength as losing too much weight and muscle mass is a problem for most guys.
Flashback to my middle school years. I ran every day for three miles in the summer.  Regardless of the heat of a hot July or August day, it did not matter-I got it done. Spring was busy for me with school and baseball, I would get my runs in as much as possible. Once summer came-I did not miss a day. Push ups-I remember doing them every day as well to try to be able to do 50 in a row without stopping. I broke my leg playing basketball in my driveway when I was fourteen. I started some light weight training at home as I remember consulting with my doctor my concerns of missing so much time with my injury for sports. After I got my cast off I joined a gym for the first time and started weight training, again with consulting my doctor on what was appropriate for my age and body type. This is a tricky avenue as kids all develop and grow at different times. Parents need to use caution and consult their child’s pediatrician.
Along with running, try running up and down stairs.  Stadium stairs are the best work out.

Are you waisting your time???

I have noticed one recurring statement from multiple NHL, Minor Pro and Junior A hockey trainers, players and coaches. "Our players dedicate hundreds of hours a year to off-ice strength and conditioning but the results do not transfer to the ice" The major factor why off ice strength and conditioning doesn't produce the results expected on the ice is pretty simple. The average hockey player while training off ice has less then a pound of extra weight on their frame. When on the ice, in full gear the average hockey player has between 20 to 25 pounds of added weight to their frame. The weighted vest was thought to be a solution to this problem but it created a worse problem. Hockey players that tried this apparatus lost their center of gravity and the vest made them fall forward when making a natural hockey stride. The slide board and the costly hockey treadmill were suppose to be the next answer to this dilemma but they all missed he boat. The slide board is a decent strength and conditioning tool for speed skaters and goalies but the hockey power stride is not a side to side skating motion. The hockey treadmill is a neat idea but hockey players do not skate straight down the ice and upright. The answer to this dilemma is pretty simple. Add resistance to the skater while allowing him or her to stay in the natural skating position. Allow the skater to change directions while pushing or pulling this resistance device. Give the skater the ability to change the levels of the resistance to target the areas they want to improve and allow them to keep advancing. Make this resistance training device build all the majors hockey muscles at once so you get the most complete hockey workout possible in minimal time. This is why taking the workout onto the ice is so important, even if for only 10 minutes a couple times a week. Hockey coaches, players and trainers will witness significant improvements compared to the typical off-ice training. Don't get me wrong, off-ice training can be effective for endurance and agility. 

Strength & Conditioning for Hockey: And it begins!!

Strength & Conditioning for Hockey: And it begins!!: "Hello Hockey Fans, Enthusiasts, Players, Coaches, Trainers and Parents. This blog will be an open forum to discuss hockey training from ever..."

And it begins!!

Hello Hockey Fans, Enthusiasts, Players, Coaches, Trainers and Parents. This blog will be an open forum to discuss hockey training from every aspect. First topic, training aids to build skating speed, power and agility.

Why previous resistance training aids have failed in the past:

·         Parachutes: Take too long to inflate and the skater only gets a few strides in before running out of ice. No Ability to change the resistance.

·         Weighted body chest apparatus: Throws off the center of gravity when the skater is in the natural power skating position. No Ability to change the resistance

·         Resistance cords: Limited length of movement, pulls the skater out of the natural skating position as the cord begins to stretch, only focuses minimal resistance on the leg muscles and No Ability to change the resistance

·         Skate weights: Doesn’t apply resistance to the stride muscles. It only adds minimal weight to the leg muscles while making a stride. No Ability to change the resistance.

·        Weighted hockey stick: Only focuses on building the wrists and forearms and doesn’t apply any resistance while making a stride.

Why the HockeySled is the Ultimate Resistance Training Device to hit the market!

The HockeySled provides resistance to all the major skating muscles while making a power skating stride while keeping the skater in the natural skating position. It also targets and builds the wrists, forearms, upper-body while strengthening the skaters CORE. You can change the resistance from a minimum 8 pounds up to 100 pounds by simply adding or empting water. With the option of pushing or pulling the HockeySled the skater will have resistance while skating backwards, forwards, crossovers, stick handling and transitions drills. The HockeySled is available in two models, the On-Ice and the Off-Ice. This allows the skater to be able to get the ultimate power skating workout on any surface from ice, synthetic ice, pavement to even grass.

To learn more about the HockeySled please visit www.hockeysled.com and click on the video section to see it in action.