"What are the best hockey supplements I should take??"

It's ALWAYS the skinny weaklings who ask me this question.

All 17 years of age, these guys obsess over supplements.

Why?

Because they have ZERO knowledge of how to train and eat for strength or muscle mass.

They think the world is collectively hiding a magic potion behind its back, and if only they could get their hands on some of that magic, they would gain 20 pounds of muscle overnight while skating around their opponents like Connor McDavid.

I'm now going to share a fact that's going to rock your world.

Ready?

Some of the best hockey players on the planet don't take any supplements.

That's right.

No protein shakes. No mass gainers. No pre-workouts. Not even creatine.

How do I know this?

Because I work with many of those players.

Yet, my athletes are known for packing on strength and muscle, fast.

Here's New Jersey Devils forward Aarne Talvitie trap bar deadlifting 250 kg / 550 pounds at age 18.

The point?

You don't NEED supplements to make the kind of gym progress your teammates would kill for.

Anyone who tries to argue otherwise is either a fool or hell-bent on selling you something.

In either case, you shouldn't be taking advice from them. You can't trust anything they say.

To give you an example:

There's a guy who runs a popular hockey training blog.

Mind you, this is someone who has NEVER produced a single D1 college or professional hockey player...

Yet, he portrays himself as a hockey training goo-roo on the internet, writing articles and producing videos as if he were an expert.

In one article, he listed carbohydrate powder and beta-alanine as his top supplements for hockey players looking to elevate their performance in the gym.

Gimme a friggin' break! 

Progress with weights comes down to training, nutrition, sleep, and hard work.

Those make up 99% of your results. Supplements contribute maybe 1%, if even that.

So, unless you...

1) Follow a world-class strength program designed by a top strength coach

2) Sleep at least 9 hours every night

3) Follow a high-performance diet where calories and macros are optimized for your body type and training goals, and

4) Lift balls to the wall and set personal bests for YEARS...

"Performance-enhancing hockey supplements" like beta-alanine or carb powder won't even move the needle. 

When you rock a skinny-fat dad bod and can't do a single weighted chin-up with an extra 100 pounds hanging from your waist, you're just pissing your money away on that nonsense!

Here's a picture of me from a recent photoshoot:

Guess which supplements I used to build muscle and get ripped?

NONE.

1-2 months before the shoot, I hit lifetime bests in the deadlift and weighted dip.

Then, I put strength on the back burner while leaning down for the camera.

In case I didn't make myself clear the first time...

You don't NEED supplements to post major PRs and look great naked.

Health > Performance Supplements

Having said all that, there are a handful of hockey supplements I prescribe to all my clients.

These are vitamins and minerals the modern Western diet is lacking. 

By supplementing with them, you avoid deficiency, which can lead to a whole array of nasty diseases – from cancer to heart attack.

More than anything else, these are HEALTH supplements. 

Why do I tell athletes to take them?

Because you won't enjoy great sports performance when your health is in the sewer.

Now, before I reveal my top list of hockey supplements, let me shine a light on something you probably didn't know:

The dietary supplement industry is a $30+ billion (with a "B") behemoth filled with endless promises and outright lies whose only purpose is to separate you from your money.

I laugh at the bogus claims supplement manufacturers peddle -- "Gain 30 pounds of muscle in 3 months on Mutant Mass™!"

I don't know what's worse:

Companies that can lie to the public with impunity the as they rake in massive profits...

Or the naive idiots who fall for deceptive marketing, wasting $300 per month on overpriced junk masquerading as muscle building pills.

But what I do know is that the only thing growing from that is the bank account of dubious pill pushers.

My Top 5 Hockey Supplements

Now that you know where I'm coming from, let's talk about essential supplements.

These are the top five compounds I put all my clients on – hockey pros and gen pop members.

(If you prefer video over text, watch the clip below.)

#5: Creatine Monohydrate

Most people have heard of creatine. Many have used it. But few know what it really is and what it does.

Creatine is naturally produced in the human body.

Supplemental creatine helps your ability to perform strength and power based activities, and results in increased strength, power and muscle mass when used consistently.

When I talk about creatine, I'm referring to creatine monohydrate. It’s the most tried and true, affordable, and effective version out there. 

Other variants are either not as good or they cost more without giving any additional benefit. 

Recommended dosage: 5 grams per day.

Later in the FAQ section, I talk about the drawbacks of creatine.

#4: Zinc

Not a sexy supplement by any stretch of the imagination, zinc is an essential mineral for brain function and supporting the immune system.

It’s often taken to reduce the frequency of illness and to support optimal levels of testosterone.

Any athletic male who wants to build strength and size should pop some zinc.

Recommended dosage: 20-40 milligrams per day.

#3: Magnesium

Another essential dietary mineral, magnesium, plays a role in over 300 biochemical reactions in the human body.

It’s vital for bone mineral density, insulin sensitivity, proper blood lipid levels, prevention of cardiovascular disease, to name a few.

If you’re deficient, like 85% of Americans, your health and athletic performance WILL suffer.

Pay strict attention to the type of magnesium you consume, they’re not all the same.

Most products on the market contain magnesium oxide – a cheap, inferior version that does more harm than good.

Your body doesn’t absorb magnesium oxide well, which causes bloating and diarrhea. 

Never take magnesium oxide. Make sure your magnesium contains high-quality ingredients such as magnesium taurate or glycinate. 

Recommended dosage: 200-400 milligrams per day.

#2: Fish Oil

Fish oil contains essential omega-3 fatty acids called EPA and DHA which are highly beneficial to your health. They...

* Reduce symptoms of depression

* Reduce triglycerides

* Decrease blood pressure

* Improve brain function

While you can get all these same benefits from eating fish, how many of us really do so often enough?

The typical Western man eats fish maybe once or twice a month. 

That’s nowhere near enough, so you have to get those omega-3s elsewhere.

Recommended dosage: This depends entirely on how concentrated in EPA/DHA your fish oil is.

Typical daily doses include 15 ml, but highly concentrated solutions may require intakes of just 5 ml.

#1: Vitamin D

Vitamin D packs a host of health benefits – from bone health to better mood, increased brain function, and improved general well-being.

So you'd be an idiot not to take it.

Practically everyone who lives in a country where winters get dark and cold is going to be deficient in vitamin D (hello Finnish, Swedish, Canadian, Russian, and US hockey players!), so you have to take it in pill or liquid form.

Otherwise, you run the risk of getting ill or feeling seasonally depressed between October and March.

Recommended dosage: The official recommended daily allowance of 50 micrograms is pathetically low. You’re not going to see any difference from that.

Take at least 100 micrograms for vitamin D to be effective.

You can take up to 250 micrograms per day without any issues.

Also, make sure you're supplementing with vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is useless for humans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Creatine Help With Hockey?

Yes, creatine can help you build more strength and muscle, which helps you skate faster and protect the puck in board battles.

But here's the inconvenient, hushed-up truth: 

The effects of creatine are overblown.

Some people get so much creatine from a meat-heavy diet that external supplementation doesn't add anything to their lifts.

These are what you'd call creatine "non-responders". I'm one of them.

No matter how many times I've tried, I don't get any advantage from creatine. Whether I'm "on" or not, makes no difference in my gym performance. 

Even those who do experience a performance boost from it rarely benefit beyond an extra rep or two.

It's progress, I'll give you that.

But it's nothing to throw your cowboy hat in the air for, and certainly can't match the results an optimized diet and training plan produces.

Watch this video for more details:

What Vitamins Should A Hockey Player Take?

Vitamins are typically classified into two categories:

1) Water-soluble vitamins B and C

2) Fat-soluble A, D, E and K

Below is a short list of the foods containing each vitamin and the health benefits they provide.

* Vitamin A: Plays a critical role in maintaining healthy eyes and vision, neurological function, healthy skin and hormonal/reproductive health.

Where to get it: Liver, kale, carrot, spinach, sweet potato.

* Vitamin B: Bolsters metabolism, maintains healthy skin and muscle tone, enhances immune and nervous system functions.

Where to get it: Liver, grass-fed beef, avocado, banana, beans.

* Vitamin C: A powerful antioxidant, it works to improve everything from skin health to immune function and just about everything in between.

Where to get it: Kiwi, orange, strawberry, bell pepper, broccoli.

* Vitamin D3: Boosts bone strength, improves immune function and enhances mental health.

Where to get it: Sunlight, cod liver oil, wild-caught salmon, mackerel.

* Vitamin E: Prevents disease development, repairs damaged skin, thickens hair and balances hormones.

Where to get it: Almond, hazelnut, sunflower seeds, wheat germ.

* Vitamin K: Plays a role in everything from bone metabolism to blood sugar control.

Where to get it: Liver, kale, spinach, kiwi, cabbage.

For optimal health and sports performance, eat a nutritious diet based around meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. 

This gives you the best shot at hitting your vitamin intake targets.

Then supplement with the ones you can't get enough from real food.

Should I Drink A Protein Shake Before Hockey?

If you are getting enough protein from your diet, protein shakes won't do jack for you.

Their major benefit lies in speed and convenience. You can whip up a tasty, liquid meal in 30 seconds by mixing protein powder in water or milk.

But that's where the advantages stop. Protein drinks don't build any more muscle or torch any extra body fat.

The supplement industry has done a FANTASTIC job brainwashing people into thinking you need a constant stream of amino acids – and, unless you pound protein 24/7/365, you'll shrivel into Christian Bale in The Machinist.

It's rare for an athlete to have to resort to protein shakes when your diet is on point.

The only exception I can think of?

Young, undersized guys who must pound down 4,000+ calories a day to grow.

That's a metric ton of food and trying to ingest it all from solid meals turns into a battle that, even if you win, can leave you nauseous. 

Whipping up a protein smoothie is an easy way to chug down an extra 500-1,000 calories without throwing up.

For anyone else, I don't recommend going down that road.

At best, you'll get the same amount of protein as you would from a steak or chicken breast without the all-important nutrients real food includes.

At worst, the lactose and sugar alcohol (such as sorbitol or mannitol) many whey powders contain turn you into a lethal protein fart bomber – earning you the awkward, but nevertheless fitting nickname "Stinky".

This video walks you through the top five natural protein sources I recommend to build your diet around: 

Conclusion

It pisses me off to see teenagers and guys in their early-20s waste $ on bunk.

Then these duds complain how they are too broke to invest in a legit strength program that can change their physique, performance, and life.

With natural testosterone levels at their peak, you are primed to make the best gains of your life. 

Don't fall for "biceps in a bottle" marketing. 

Lift hard, sleep a ton, eat real food, and add the five hockey supplements listed above to your diet.

That's all you need to make sick gains.

Yunus Barisik

"When my legs are stronger, I feel better on the ice and can skate faster."

I hear this comment from the athletes I work with ALL the time.

Stronger legs = better hockey performance.

No matter your level of play – NHL, college, junior, beer league, or something in between – beefing up your quads, glutes, and hamstrings translates to more goals, more points, and more success:

You take three explosive strides and leave your man staring at your taillights as you slingshot away on a breakaway. Forehand, backhand, top shelf, red light.

You pin the other guy against the boards in your own zone, the puck squirts loose, and you take two quick steps to pick up the change for an odd-man rush.

You park your thick hockey butt in front of the goalie, sit deep, and nobody can push you around while you deflect a snapshot from the blue line into the back of the net.

As my pro client Zach Redmond (133 NHL games, 2022 DEL Defenseman of the Year) once pointed out:

"Legs are money!"

So today, we'll make the cash register ring.

You'll discover how to develop meaty thighs and a powerful posterior chain.

And, at the end of this article, I'll share a full NHL hockey leg workout that packs on the gains in a hurry.

Let's start with a question I get a lot...

How Often Should Hockey Players Train Legs?

Before I answer that, let's talk about what NOT to do:

Training legs only once per week.

This is a MASSIVE mistake many athletes make. It kills your gains for four reasons: 

1. Lifting like a bodybuilder by splitting the body in parts and training the chest, arms, legs, back, or whatever once a week makes ZERO sense for an athlete.

You skate, run, jump using your whole body. Your muscles work in unison, not in isolation, on the ice. 

So why are you isolating them in the gym?

2. Strength is a skill just like shooting pucks or playing the guitar is.

What skill can you master by doing it once every seven days?

To improve a skill, you must do it frequently in a FRESH state.

Leading us to point #3...

3. You cram too many exercises and too much volume into that one weekly hockey leg workout, which leaves you super sore in the quads, hamstrings, and glutes the next day (often for 2-3 days).

Now your performance in speed workouts (sprints/jumps) and in hockey practice plummets.

You'll be a more tired athlete. But not a BETTER athlete.

4. Research and anecdotal experience amassed over decades has made it clear:

Higher frequencies (up to a point) increase strength more than low frequency.

Bottom line?

For optimal strength gains and fast recovery, most athletes should train legs 2-3 times per week.

I have some of my hockey clients train the wheels up to 4x/week in the off-season and the results are excellent.

Watch this video for more details.

What Are The Best Exercises For Hockey Players?

The best off-ice exercises all have a few things in common:

1. They target several muscle groups at once.

Multi-joint movements beat isolation exercises when the goal is to build an ATHLETE, not a bodybuilder.

Think: Squat over leg extension, bench press over pec deck machine, chin-up over lat pulldown, and so on.

2. You can continuously overload them.

More weight on the bar = more strength and muscle.

3. You have a high degree of stability.

Instability is the ENEMY of strength and muscle gain.

So no stupid BOSU ball exercises where you can't use anything heavier than a pair of 30-pound dumbbells because most of your effort goes into balancing your body on a wobbly surface!

For these reasons, hockey athletes should build their training programs around basic barbell, dumbbell, and bodyweight movements.

Such as...

Barbell: Squat, bench press, deadlift, clean, snatch.

Dumbbell: Bench press, overhead press, row, split squat, lunge.

Bodyweight: Weighted chin-up, dip, push-up.

But what if I could pick only a handful of movements to build a stronger and faster hockey player?

Check out the video below for my top 5 lower body exercises.

Hockey Leg Workout For Strength & Muscle

You should have a general idea of how to train for hockey by now.

Let's put some meat on the bones next with a sample strength workout, so you can see how the pros lift for real.

This workout is part of an off-season program I designed for Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick Kasper Björkqvist when he was playing college hockey at Providence. 

I walk you through the full session in this video:

The workout takes place during the first week in Phase 2, which is our first heavy strength phase of the summer.

If you don't know what that means, read more about program design in my book Strength Training For Ice Hockey. 

Here's the workout with notes and technique cues:

1) Trap Bar Deadlift 3x5 240-300s.

This session begins with one of my all-time favorite strength exercises, the trap bar deadlift, for three sets of five reps.

Weaker athletes can get away with shorter rest periods of 3-4 minutes.

Once you're repping out 400+ pounds, that no longer flies. Each heavy set takes a toll on you, so cutting breaks short will cause your performance to drop, fast.

So take the full five minutes for full recovery.

2A) DB Reverse Lunge 3x6 75s.

After our main lift for the day, continue with a superset for the quads and hamstrings.

Grab a pair of dumbbells and perform six reverse lunges.

Rest 75 seconds and go to...

2B) Valslide Leg Curl 3x6 75s.

This one lights up the hamstrings big time.

Keep your ribs down and DO NOT let your lower back arch!

Just so you know...

Even many pro guys won't be able to do these off the bat with great technique. So take your time to perfect your form on two legs first.

Strong athletes can bang out regular reps all day long, so they'll progress to the single-leg version (and, eventually, to a resistance band for extra difficulty). 

If the jump from two legs to one is too much, you can do 2:1 reps where you lower with one leg and pull back up with two legs.

3A) Med Ball Adductor Squeeze 3x6 1-3-1-0 60s.

The session ends with a superset for the adductors and obliques, two overlooked areas in many hockey training programs.

Weak adductors are the #1 reason for groin strains.

That's where the med ball adductor squeeze comes in.

Same as with the Valslide leg curls, keep your butt up and ribs down.

Squeeze a med ball HARD between your knees for three seconds (that's the "3" in the 1-3-1-0 tempo), then bring your butt down for one second before the next rep.

Six reps, take 60 seconds off, then continue with...

3B) 1/2 Kneeling Cable Lift & Punch 3x6 60s.

Set up in a half-kneeling position with your feet shoulder width apart, and your outside knee up.

Using an overhand grip on a rope attachment, pull your lower hand to your chest, then straighten it.   

This makes the obliques (especially on the inside) work HARD to maintain good posture. 

Six reps here, 60 seconds off, then back to med ball adductor squeezes.

Three sets on each, and that wraps up this hockey leg workout!

For full off-season and in-season programs that get you jacked and blazing fast, check out Next Level Hockey Training 2.0.

It has produced more D1 college and pro hockey players, and World Champions than any other off-ice program available online.

More details about Next Level Hockey Training 2.0 here:

NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik

Most hockey speed workouts you find online are garbage.

They're written by armchair experts who have never made a single elite (D1 or professional) athlete faster.

This isn't one of those articles.

Everything you read over the next few minutes has been time-tested and proven to work.

These methods have produced dozens of pro hockey players, D1 athletes, and even World Champions.

With the backdrop out of the way, let's dive in.

"How Can I Increase My Hockey Speed?"

This is by far the most common question I get from hockey players all over the world.

This 5-minute video reveals the three best types of off-ice hockey workouts for blazing speed.

In short...

If you want to gain freaky speed that lets you split the D and score on a whim, you must:

• Get strong as hell in the gym
• Eat a nutritious diet to pack on muscle and strip away fat
• Sprint and jump to improve speed and explosiveness

For more info on the strength training programs I have used to develop players and prospects from 13 NHL organizations, check out my book Strength Training for Ice Hockey.

In this article, I'll cover the jumping and sprinting parts of the speed equation.

Best Hockey Workouts For Speed

Outside of the kitchen and gym, you must do only two things to get faster:

1. Run over short distances as fast as possible

2. Jump as high/far as you can

That's it!

Hockey Sprint Workouts

Every hockey player sprints in the off-season.

But why do so few get any faster over the summer?

Watch this video to learn the TRUTH about hockey sprint workouts and avoid the biggest speed training mistakes that leave you stuck in the mud year after year.

Run at 100% effort over 5-30 meters.

Hockey is a multidirectional sport, so also perform drills with changes of direction.

And by the way...

"Quick feet drills" on the agility ladder are USELESS for speed development. Stop wasting your time on that Mickey Mouse shit!

Explosive Speed Training For Hockey Through Jumping

Jumping bridges the gap between the strength you gain in the weight room and being able to express it on those first few crucial steps to win a loose puck.

Add these exercises and their variations into your routine:

• Vertical jumps
• Broad jumps
• Hurdle jumps
• Depth jumps
• Lateral bounds
• Forward bounds

Keep volume (sets x reps) low and rest periods long to maximize the training effect.

For more in-depth jump training info, check out this article series.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do NHL Players Get Faster?

Unless you're blessed with excellent speed genetics, you have to bust ass in the gym, on the field, and at the kitchen table to get faster.

You'd be surprised how many NHL players (especially the younger ones) are skinny or skinny-fat weaklings. 

Two or three summers of slinging heavy iron and eating big goes a long way in transforming wiry athletes into studs.

When I say heavy iron, I'm not talking about goblet squats, wall sits, crossover step-ups, or any of that crap peddled all over the internet by clueless "hockey training experts".

I'm talking about training like a man and making real gains!

Here's Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kasper Björkqvist hang power cleaning three reps with 130 kg / 286 pounds when he was still at Providence College.

And this video shows New Jersey Devils forward Aarne Talvitie trap bar deadlifting 250 kg / 550 pounds at age 18.

Want to pack on strength and lean muscle in a hurry, just like Kasper, Aarne, and all my other athletes?

Then check out this training program. 

It's the perfect workout plan for any hockey player who wants to step up their game against bigger, stronger, faster guys.

How Do You Get Speed Like McDavid?

You don't.

Connor McDavid is an anomaly.

No matter how hard you train on or off the ice, you won't come close to catching up to him on skates.

That doesn't mean you can't get much faster than you're right now.

Despite all the natural gifts McDavid possesses for out-of-this-world speed, he still lifts heavy and follows a high-performance diet to gain an edge on the ice.

Watch him talk about his training routine under former NHL player Gary Roberts.

Conclusion

Now you know what it really takes to improve your speed off the ice.

Next steps?

1. Read Strength Training for Ice Hockey

2. Follow the workouts inside Next Level Hockey Training 2.0 and Hockey Jump Training

3. Create more chances, score more goals, and triple the number of back pats you receive from your teammates this season.

Yunus Barisik

Heads up:

It's kinda like Rambo 2... only more violent.

Quick announcement:

My new book The Hockey Player's Guide to Peak Performance: Volume 1 is out.

It's a compilation of my best, most popular and most lesson-dense articles on physically preparing hockey players for the demands of today's fast-paced game.

The book is divided into four main chapters. Main topics include:

* Building strength and muscle

* Speed training

* Developing young athletes

* And so much more...

The book contains over 25 articles and 200+ pages of timeless training advice.

It explains pretty much everything you would ever need to know to create stronger, faster and more injury-resistant hockey players.

And, it's SUPER affordable.

Here's where to get it:

https://Next-Level-Athletics.com/Performance

Yunus Barisik

In case you missed it, I was interviewed by DK Pittsburgh Sports the other week.

As part of their in-depth coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins, they wanted to know how Pens prospect Kasper Björkqvist (who has been training with me for the past five years) was able to smash the club's strength and conditioning records at age 21.

So, I spilled the beans on his dryland training methods throughout his junior and college years.

These are just some of the things we covered in the interview:

* The big jump Kasper experienced in the juniors thanks to off-ice training

* The 3 factors behind his exceptional fitness

* The 4 exercise categories that translate into more explosive skating

* How Kasper's training changed this summer after his shoulder surgery

* How he was able to build stronger legs than ever despite undergoing shoulder rehab

* How he increased his power clean loads from 110 to 275 pounds

* And much more...

Here's the link to the interview again.

Yunus Barisik

P.S. Looking for a training program to achieve exceptional fitness?

Then check this out:

https://NextLevelHockeyTraining.com