Getting enough sleep is critical to increasing hockey performance. The more well rested you are, the better you will perform out on the ice. In fact, sleep may be just as important to a hockey player’s health and well-being as physical activity and proper nutrition. Aspiring girls hockey players who are sleep deprived may not reach their full potential even though they participating in well-designed sports-training and conditioning programs.

I never thought about being sleep-deprived when I was in high school and college, but when I look back on it, I probably averaged about 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep per night. That wasn’t enough to function my best in day to day activities, let alone perform my best while I was out on the ice. So how do you know how much sleep is enough?
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Last night, I watched an awesome game between the two teams representing Ontario at the Under 18 National Championships. The 2 teams were very evenly matched, with Team Ontario Red eventually pulling out the win late into the overtime. Team Ontario Blue was definitely disappointed with the result. They battled so hard against an older and more experienced team and just fell short in the end.

It’s always tough to lose a tight game - and it’s even tougher to turn it around and play again less that 24 hours later.

So what’s the best way to recover with such a tight turn-around time to be able to compete against one of the best teams in the country in less that 24 hours?

Here’s exactly what we did step-by-step:

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Now that the hockey season is in full swing, most teams have at least a couple of games and practices per week. Coaches usually give their players a day off after a tough weekend to let their bodies have some rest.  But should girls hockey players actually be using that day as a full out “rest” day, or is there some sort of off-ice activity that they should be doing that will not burn them out, but will at the same time improve their fitness for the rest of the season?

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When you are thinking about what to eat in between hockey games, you need to focus on taking in fuel that will speed up your recovery time, so that you will be ready to hit the ice again soon. First of all, you need to drink a lot of water and take in some high-energy fuel within the first 30 minutes. During this critical recovery window, you want to focus on foods that are higher in carbohydrates, “medium” in proteins and low in fat.  

So what’s the best thing for you to have after your hockey game to speed up recovery and make sure that you are feeling your best the next time you hit the ice?

The answer might surprise you….

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This weekend, I am going to be at one of the premiere hockey tournaments for elite girl’s hockey players just outside of Toronto.

40 midget-aged teams will be competing to take home the tournament title.

700 players will be looking to impress the many university scouts who will be on hand.

Some teams will play 6 or more games in a 3 day period.

That’s a lot of high-intensity playing in a short period of time and players need to make sure that they are doing everything they can to succeed.

Here are 4 keys to having your best tournament possible:

1) Warm-Up

In order to play your best in every game of the tournament, you have to do an off-ice warm-up. This could be as simple as doing 5 minutes of jogging, jumping jacks and lunges. It is easy to let this slide as the tournament wears on, but it will make a huge difference on how you feel when you step out on the ice.

2) Drink more water

Most hockey players don’t drink enough water. Although most players do a decent job of sipping on water bottles during the game, it is the amount of water that you drink in between games that is going to make the biggest difference in your performance. Make sure that you have a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it constantly. Even if you aren’t thirsty, drink more water.

3) Stay away from the snack bar

I usually refer to the rink snack bar as a “nutritional wasteland”. Typically, everything there is deep-fried or pre-packaged. The best solution to tournament nutrition is to bring healthy options with you — but if you need to go to the drive-thru in between games, at least make sure that you are making the healthiest choices possible.

4) Stretch more

Most hockey players don’t stretch enough. This can be a huge problem during tournament time because of the high volume of high-intensity games. It is unrealistic to expect players to go through a complete 20 minute stretching routine in between games, but performing a few hockey-specific stretches will go a long way to preventing soreness and maximizing performance.

Take the time to address these 4 key areas of performance and you will be well on your way to having your best tournament ever.

Until next time,

Kim

Mmmmm…chocolate milk.

I drank way too much of the stuff when I was a kid - always trying to pass it off that I was really drinking “milk”.

Deep down inside, I knew it probably wasn’t what the commercials had in mind when they said,
“Milk - It Does A Body Good”.

But…

As it turns out, chocolate milk does do a body good.

Scientific research has shown that chocolate milk is one of the best recovery drinks for athletes to have after they finish a tough workout or game.

1% chocolate milk has the perfect blend of:

–> Simple sugars (carbohydrates) from the chocolate that will get absorbed by the body quickly in order to immediately replenish lost energy stores

–> Protein from the milk that will help the muscles recover from the wear and tear of the on-ice (or off-ice) session.

Athletes ideally need a carbohydrates-to-protein ratio of 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 after exercise.

Chocolate milk has that ratio; unflavored milk doesn’t.

It turns out that I was on to something when I was a kid - except that I drank it by the jug and definitely did not restrict my consumption for after practices and games.

Chocolate milk just might be the perfect hockey recovery drink.

It tastes great and helps players to recover faster.

Sounds pretty perfect to me.

Until next time,

Kim

You can only push your body to the limit for so long before it starts to push back.

You will have to progressively increase the difficulty and intensity of your off-ice training program as the summer continues.

You may want to work harder each and every day,
but sometimes you need to focus on working smarter.

In order to take your performance to the next level…
sometimes you need to take a step back.

You don’t always need to run more sprints…
sometimes you run a few less, but with a higher intensity.

You don’t always need to do more repetitions of your strength exercises…
sometimes you do fewer repetitions of a new exercise, so that you have time to learn and adapt.

You don’t always need to increase the intensity of your workouts…
sometimes you need to take a few days off to rest and recover.

You may want to push yourself to the limit in each and every workout…

But sometimes you need to take a step back in order to move two steps forward.

Until next time,

Kim

There is one aspect of performance that players usually forget about.

It is also the biggest key to maximizing your summer training program.

There is an actual time of the day when you are getting stronger and faster…

And it ISN’T when you are strength training or running sprints…

It happens when you are resting!

In order to get to the next level, you have to train hard.

But you also need to train smart.

And this means giving your body time to RECOVER.

You can go as hard as possible 6 (or 7) days a week this summer.
But don’t expect to be any better in the fall.

You need to give your body the chance to adapt and to change.

Make sure that you take the time to recover and get better this off-season.

Because we all know that once the September hits, rest is hard to come by.

Until next time,

Kim