stronger legs = better push = faster goalie

During my last open hockey outing I did really well, but I noticed something that I seem to have trouble with. I won't bore you with the details, but I was discussing it with the friend I mentioned a while ago who was a pro prospect up until this summer, and once again he hit the nail on the head. He said I need to be quicker. I surmised that meant I need stronger leg muscles and he agreed, saying plyometric training is the way to go. I didn't say much, thinking what I've read about plyometrics is confusing, but the next thing I knew, my inbox was blinking at me; he'd sent me his personal off-ice training program from when he was actively training for pro hockey. I thought that was really cool of him, and of course being the sponge that I am when it comes to soaking up goalie knowledge, found it fascinating. Of course, it's obviously designed for someone who's job it is to train all day, so this is not something I could fit into my schedule. Nor is it something that would be physically possible for my body to do, as it would require about 3,000 calories a day PLUS protein drinks. However, we discussed how I could break it down and pick it apart for my needs, and turn a 6 day a week training regimen into 2 to 3 workouts per week that will greatly benefit my reaction, endurance and strength on the ice.

I cannot wait to get started. As much as I loathed getting up early on a Monday morning so I could be at the rink getting my butt kicked by 6:30, I really miss it. I miss the instruction and I miss the workout. Once the post-practice food hit my system I perked up and felt great all day. So my plan, and he agreed this was probably the best way to do it, is to get up early and do the workouts in the morning before work. All I need now is the motivation to actually get my butt out of bed and do this. It's easier when you know someone's waiting for you at the rink (and you have to pay them to torture you), than when the only person you have to answer to is yourself. But discipline is also an important part of athletics so I guess that's all part of the package.

Incidentally, looking at this training program, I think to myself... wow, I would absolutely love for that to be my job. But as he pointed out "that's my work week", and he got paid hardly anything for it, and there's always someone behind you waiting to take your place... I can see that there is a lot more to being a pro athlete than the glamour everyone thinks of. Still, it looks like heaven to me. I think I'll be ready to start tomorrow morning; I just need to work on some details of what I'm going to do and when, and just bite the bullet and do it. When the instructions on the exercise say "repeat until muscle failure", you know you're in for a good workout.