2012 NHL® ALL-STAR FAN BALLOTING

2012 NHL® ALL-STAR FAN BALLOTING

Goldies Special Eggs

Check out the clip from Rogers Daytime where I talk about Goldies Special Eggs, THE breakfast of champions

Rogers Daytime - Lorne Goldenberg on Healthy Breakfast


See the ingredients below.  A great source of protein and healthy fats.  Try the options, like hemp seed, cranberries, almonds or walnuts.

Dangerous Exercises For Marketing Purposes - Buyer Beware

Playing at the AAA or Junior level is challenging.  Being the best you can be so you can get to that next level, is an even a greater challenge.  Physical preparation for playing hockey is not something you should take a chance on.  In my 20 plus years in the NHL and OHL I have seen many players who made the mistake of participating in a training program that decreased their strength, speed, and agility…yet their body fat was low and they looked good.  The problem was a performance decrement that cost them draft positions and their ability to stay at a high level.

If you have been following this blog you know I DO NOT APPROVE of the use of DANGEROUS exercises just to show a player how difficult it is or that he cannot do it, so you better work with that trainer.  We KNOW that physical development is a process that includes: evaluation, program creation to meet evaluation results, and effective coaching to ensure your training gets you to where you need to be.  Too often I see young players being pushed with inappropriate exercises that results in poor form, and leads to injuries.  Note the picture below.  This is an OTTAWA AREA NHL player whose picture is used as a marketing tool to attract young players into its local hockey fitness program.  The problem is that the exercise execution is completely wrong, resulting in severe stresses in the lower back, hips, shoulders and results in poor posture.  I have highlighted the poor biomechanics with the yellow lines.  Most importantly the torso lines should not have any kind of severe bend.  They should be straight as demonstrated by the picture on the right. Exercises such as this sap training resilience, and do not contribute to a positive result.

The very fact that this picture would even be posted demonstrates the fact that the trainer has no idea how to coach.  This player should never be put in this kind of position.  A blown disc will not further his career in hockey.

The Next Level On Rogers OHL TV

Check out the Rogers TV link to Coach Goldenberg's Next Level segment, seen on the OHL Rogers broadcasts.

There are a some great exercise video's for hockey along with excellent exercise analysis.

http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?lid=12&rid=5&sid=4174

High End Sport Performance event in LA

My good friend and colleague, Peter Twist is hosting a great event with Todd Durkin in Los Angeles for Combine 360.  If you are interested in getting educated in sports conditioning this is the place to be!  These guys are the best.

2011 Summer Training at the ACC

Here are some great clips of what went on at the ACC this past summer.  All were taken with blackberry, but as you will see some great examples why our athletes succeed.

Off Ice Pre Game Preparation - What To Do?

By Lorne Goldenberg BPE, CSCS, CEP – Athletic Conditioning Center

 

This article is the complete article with warm-up prescriptions as outlined in November 2011 issue of Center Ice Magazine......

Have you ever stepped on the ice in the first period and found you had a hard time finding your legs until your 3^rd or 4^th shift?  At the NHL level, there is no excuse for not being prepared the moment you step on the ice.  The difference between minor hockey and the NHL is that the pros don’t have to worry about homework, getting the right nutrition, or having the appropriate equipment to get themselves ready before the big game.  Although stress from school can be a factor, and not eating right can be a huge factor, this article is going to focus on the physical part of pre game preparation.

The routine that many kids follow is to arrive at the rink 20-30 minutes before the game, stretch for a few minutes, dress, and hop on the ice for what may only be 2-3 minute skate before the drop of the puck.  From a physiological viewpoint this is not nearly enough to properly prepare the body for the quick starts, stops, acceleration, body contact, and skating at maximum speed.  These movements that are so important to success on the ice MUST be worked on off the ice if you want to be really ready to play.

The first mistake that most players make is static stretching before they put their gear on.  Now most people think that stretching and holding the stretch for a period of time will loosen you up and get your muscles ready to play.  It actually does the opposite.  Most of the recent research on pre competition stretching demonstrates that there is a loss of anywhere from 4-12% of your power and strength.  Yes that is a correct, stretching will cause a decrease in your power and strength.  In simple terms what the stretching does is kind of like putting your brain to sleep, and dampening the ability of the brain to communicate with the muscle.  So the question is “why would you do something right before a game that might slow you down?”  For most players they just don’t know or were given poor advice by an uninformed trainer.

So what can you do to prepare for a game, when you don’t have a training facility available at every rink you go into?  LOTS!!  You can actually get an NHL style pre-game warmup with little or no equipment that you can do anywhere.  This warmup will take approximately 15-20 minutes to perform, so make sure you get to the rink on time to complete this.

1. Jog or skip rope for 5 minutes – this provides the body with a good overall warmup raising core temperature.
2. Walking lunges – 2 lengths down the dressing room corridor- provides dynamic stretch to the hips and knees
3. Lateral Crossover lunges – 2 lengths down the corridor – provides dynamic stretch to the rotators in the hip
4. Reverse Hip Extension with Toe Touch Walk – 2 length down corridor – provides dynamic stretch to the hamstrings, glutes and lower back
5. Power Skipping – 4 lengths down the corridor – provides explosive challenge to the hips and glutes
6. Short Sprints – 5, 10 yard sprints – provides a speed stimulus to the brain.
7. Lateral line hops – 2 sets of 20 – place tape on the floor or jump over a hockey bag. Provides explosive stimulus to the body
8. Tuck Jump – 2 sets of 10- Jump straight up in the air, bring your knees to the chest, explode back off the ground as quick as you can.
9. Lateral Bounds – 2 sets of 16 foot contacts – This is like skating in place, moving laterally, back and forth as fast as you can.

Number 1-4 should be done consecutively with no rest.  Number 5-9 should have 20-30 seconds rest between each set.

Try this routine before your next game, and you will feel the power when you step on the ice for your first shift.   Play hard from start to finish!!

Line or small box jump

Walking Lunge

                                   

Lateral Crossover Lunge 

Tuck Jump