Trainer Pete Demers. (Photo: L. Marczak)

When you are waiting on the bench for a line change, do you ever wonder from where your next breath will come? Improving your game through proper pre-game and offseason conditioning not only improves your performance, it can make ice hockey easier and more enjoyable. Because hockey is a cardiovascular sport, there is a significant demand placed on your heart and lungs during play and while you are recovering on the bench.

Cardiovascular exercise, by definition, is any activity which uses large muscle groups and which is rhythmical and continuous in nature. Hockey uses the two largest muscle groups in your body, your quadriceps and hip flexors. Because of their large size and placement, these two groups of muscles generate more strength and power than any other muscle group in your body. During play, you rely on your hip and quadriceps muscles to propel and maneuver you, your stick and the puck in multiple directions around the arena. The bottom line? If you want ot play hockey longer and stronger, you’ll need to get your heart and lungs into better condition.

Peter Demers, Head Trainer for the Los Angeles Kings and president of the Professional Hockey Trainer’s Society, says, "Aerobic fitness develops a very efficient heart and circulation, helps burn fat and enhances one’s general health."

Conditioning programs for hockey vary, depending on the time of year, amount of playing time you get per week and per game. Offseason, a six-week preseason conditioning program is ideal. If you play in a league which provides year round league play, you can still condition in-season, you will just need to make sure that you do not train heavily on game days. Instead, use the same time slot for improving your flexibility, and to mentally prepare for the game.

For an off-season summer conditioning program, Demers says, "Stationery cycling gives the most transfer for hockey, but bicycling and running are also effective in the summer. (Also) continuous exercise for 35-45 minutes does give good aerobic benefit. It burns over 500 calories per session and should be done in the early part of the summer." Demers also recommends high intensity interval training, but says it should be phased-in as the summer progresses.

Note: Keep your heart rate at 80% to 85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) while training. This percentage is called your "Training Heart Rate," (THR), and is represented in heart beats per minute (bpm). The American College of Sports Medicine provides the following formula for figuring out your maximum heart rate:

MHR = 220 - age (years)

Example: MHR = 220 - 35 (years) = 185 beats per minute

THR = 80% X (220 - age)

Example: THR = 80% (220 - 35) = 148 beats per minute

Elite recreational athletes may train at a higher heart rate, but only after medical clearance by a licensed physician. All athletes, especially those over 35 years old who are statistically at a higher risk for heart disease, should consider taking a stress EKG test before beginning any fitness program. We can't emphasize this strongly enough. Once cleared to begin a program, start with a Level One workout. When this workout is obviously too easy (after a few weeks of training), progress up to the Level Two workout. Use this rule of thumb to progress to each higher level of training. Another good rule is to never increase the intensity of your training by more than 20% at each step.

The invention and subsequent popularity among consumers and manufacturers of the inline skate has served the ice hockey player well. Gone are long summer days when players must pensively await winter so they can practice in the frozen outdoors. Today, sport-specific training can be as easy as strapping on a pair of inlines. Below is a sample inline cardiovascular workout.

One of the best ways to make your heart and lungs operate less efficiently is to smoke cigarettes. Though smoking has made its resurgence back into the general population and into the hockey community, its ill effects have not disappeared. Here are some of the ways smoking negatively affects you:

Improvement in conditioning makes players stronger, better coordinated and less subject to injury. Well-conditioned hockey players can also recover from orthopedic injuries faster, because they started out physically stronger (so there is a reduced amount of muscle atrophe during the period of rest and recovery, assuming you rest and don’t play through your injury), and are able to rebound sooner. Players need to commit to a complete conditioning program in order to safely improve game performance, muscle strength, power, endurance, and flexibility.

It delivers oxygen to your active muscles, replenishing the oxygen supply being used-up by hockey. It does this through a series of electrical and mechanical events, pumping and circulating the oxygen-carrying blood throughout your body.

It redistributes your blood supply. The further you go into your game, your heart’s need for oxygen increases and there is a major rerouting of blood. Instead of sending much of the blood to your vital organs, it redistributes that blood to your working muscles.

It clears out carbon dioxide from your active muscles at the same rate your muscles produce it. This is good because carbon dioxide and other waste products associated with exercise may have a "toxic" effect on your muscles, contributing to muscle soreness and spasm.

It allows your body to give off the heat that playing hockey produces by increasing the blood flow (circulation) to your skin, functioning much like the radiator and coolant in your truck. (Though you may be one of the rare players who owns a sedan).

• It helps you recover faster between sprints, shifts and periods.

• It helps you recover faster from soft tissue and bone injuries.

• It helps you do more strength and power training.

• It helps you handle heat stress more effectively.

• Your immune system is enhanced, so you can resist minor infections and colds better.

• Aerobic exercise uses the most calories and therefore helps keep an optimal body weight.

LEVEL ONE

BICYCLE INTERVAL TRAINING PROGRAM

a. 5 minute easy ride (warm-up), then stretch.

b. 5 minute easy ride + alternate 1 minute fast, 1 minute slow X6.

c. 5 minute easy ride + alternate 45 seconds fast, 1 minute slow X6.

d. 5 minute easy ride + alternate 30 seconds fast, 1 minute slow X6.

e. 5 minute easy ride (warm-down), then stretch.

LEVEL TWO

BICYCLE INTERVAL TRAINING PROGRAM

a. 10 minute easy ride (warm-up), then stretch.

b. Alternate 20 seconds full speed / 20 seconds rest / 20 seconds full speed X4.

c. Alternate 15 seconds full speed / 15 seconds rest / 15 seconds full speed X4.

d. 10 X 100 meters full speed, 300 meter easy ride rest.

e. 10 minute easy ride (warm-down), then stretch.

LEVEL THREE

BICYCLE INTERVAL TRAINING PROGRAM

a. 10 minute easy ride (warm-up), then stretch.

b. 6 sets of 20 seconds full speed / 30 seconds rest / 15 seconds full speed / 60 seconds rest / 10 seconds full speed.

c. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets.

d. 10 minute easy ride (warm-down), then stretch.

INLINE CROSS TRAINING WORKOUT

Train for 30 minutes total, maintaining your THR.

Do for approximately 60 seconds at a fairly hard pace / 60 seconds at an easy pace. The lengths of the intervals will depend on the outdoor or indoor environment that you are training in, so never sacrifice safety for speed.

HOW SMOKING EFFECTS YOUR ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

It decreases your "lung capacity," so your lungs are a less effective container of oxygen, as they are unable to hold as much oxygen per breath and per minute of breathing.

The carbon monoxide from the smoke basically steals the oxygen from your blood, so less of the oxygen you breathe in actually makes it to your muscles to fuel them.

Your blood is generally less able to deliver adequate quantities of blood to all of the tissues in your system, and, therefore, many of your other body tissues (beside your muscle tissue) will suffer.