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What Do Kim Kardashian and Jaromir Jagr Have in Common?

Answer…..

A big butt.

As much as I enjoy viewing that round derriere of Kim in a body-hugging cocktail dress in the tabloids… (nod your sleazy little head if ya know what I mean)

… I’m more interested in how big booties help increase performance on the ice.

Take Jaromir Jagr, for example.

Does he stuff his legendary #68 jersey inside pants covering a pancake ass?

Nuh-uh.

Dude’s rockin’ a real “hockey butt”.

And he’s been using it to power past, through and around defenders and goalies for well over two decades.

Here’s why that’s so important…

The benefits of strong hips and glutes for a hockey player are a-plenty:

– skate faster

– change directions quickly

– protect puck along the boards and in the corners

– power through sticks and opponents

No wonder Jagr still breaks scoring records at age 44.

Ya think having a big, strong butt would improve your performance too, mi amigo?

You bet your gluteus assimus it does!

Check out the Next Level Hockey Training System (www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com) for more info on how to build brutally strong hips and butt.

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Steven Stamkos’ Off-Ice Training Secrets

I came across an interview of Steven Stamkos (2x “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner) this morning where he explained the off-ice workouts he does under former NHL player Gary Roberts.

In case you haven’t seen it already, I’ll share the key points here…

– trains 3-4 days per week in the summer

– favors heavy lower body exercises (here’s a video of him trap bar deadlifting 500 pounds for reps – dude’s strong!)

– sprints

– jumps

– LOTS of explosive stuff

– belt squats instead of barbell back squats

(sidenote: I’ve been programming belt squats for my guys for some time, had no idea Gary & Steven were doing them as well… great minds think alike – ha!)

– big focus on hamstrings and glutes

– it’s not about how much you weigh but how strong you are
(perhaps the BIGGEST TAKEAWAY in the article)

So to wrap it all up…

Yes, to become an elite level player, you need to have elite level talent.

No denying that.

But even the most talented guys work their asses off to play in the NHL and make those highlight reel plays the rest of us gawk at.

Steven Stamkos is no exception to that.

Despite his natural flair for goal scoring, he still needed to gain strength, size and power to reach his max potential as a hockey player.

And if you’re ready to fulfill YOUR potential like Stammer, power your way over to:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

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Back Squats, First Step Quickness & Off-Season Glory

Let’s do a bit of “Q&A” action today.

First question…

QUESTION: Yunus, I notice you don’t include barbell back squats in your training programs. Why?

YUNUS: The back squat is a good exercise, don’t get me wrong.

What makes it problematic for many is that they don’t possess the mobility to hit proper depth (crease of hip below knee) without their low back rounding over.

Putting a heavy barbell on someone’s back when their lumbar spine enters flexion increases injury risk too much for my liking.

My job is to make guys strong, yes.

But I’m also responsible for keeping each of my athletes healthy. So they don’t miss practice or games.

And if you want to know how to get freaky strong without nasty injuries, check out my off-ice training system Next Level Hockey Training (http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com).

Next question…

QUESTION: Best way to gain first step quickness on the ice?

YUNUS: This one’s easy, chief.

– heavy lower body exercises
– Olympic lifts
– jumps
– short sprints

Okay, one more…

QUESTION: Yunus, love your stuff.

I’m a Jr. A player in Ontario, Canada and looking to go pro or semi pro next year, so your training methods are helping me to get to my dream.

I have four months in the off-season to prepare for that higher level. How should I train?

YUNUS: Sounds like my off-ice training program Next Level Hockey Training would be the perfect solution for you.

It’s a scientifically planned system where every exercise, set and rep has been laid out for you through the entire summer.

I’ve used it to create some strong, jacked dudes who went on to play the best season of their career.

You could be next.

More details at:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

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Finally… Our 2015-2016 In-Season Training Montage

I finally compiled some highlights from our U20 team’s in-season strength program in this video.

Just in time for the playoffs starting next week.

Hope it’s gonna be a deep run this year.

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CSCS Test – Quick and Easy Study Tips for Success

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Awesome Ab Exercise!

I’ve been burning the midnight oil (literally!) working on a cool new project. More on that in a couple weeks.

My own training has taken a hit because of that, which sucks big time – but that’s the price you pay when you’re busy creating wicked content through sleepless nights.

I did, however, manage to come up with an awesome new ab exercise.

I had seen some peeps doing fallouts on the TRX on Youtube, but couldn’t find anyone doing them on rings. So I decided to be the first.

This is basically a standing ab wheel performed on rings. I do think the rings make the movement slightly easier, since they hang in the air, and thus provide less friction than an ab wheel rolling on the floor.

Obviously, this is a fairly advanced core exercise. Just as you wouldn’t jump straight into doing standing ab wheels, you gotta work your way up to ring fallouts over time.

I first tried this exercise about a year or two ago – and completely bombed. I couldn’t even straighten out my arms with the rings at hip level.

But I’ve been hitting the abs in training with laser-like focus recently, hammering dragonflags, bodysaws and various ring exercises, so I thought I’d give these suckas a try again.

For those of you wondering, my progression scheme was extremely simple…

Dipped my toes in with the rings hanging at about upper thigh level a few weeks ago, and was surprised to see how easy it felt. Then I gradually lowered the rings a few inches every workout until I got all the way down to being parallel to the floor.

Put these bad boys in your bag of goodies and you’ll be one step closer to a core that’s not just all “show”, but 100% “go”.

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Cool New Ring Push-Up Variation

Many of you have requested more training videos on this site.

And looks like I invented another awesome ring movement to kick off 2016.

So to appease the masses, here’s a cool new ring push-up variation.

Holy chest pump!

I’m dubbing this the Around the Clock Ring Push-Up.

Why?

Imagine your head is a clock and your arms the hands of that clock. As you go down into a push-up, the right arm remains close to the body while the left one goes straight forward – or 12 o’clock.

Next, your left arm goes forward and slightly to the side – at 10.30. Then, directly to the side, at 9 o’clock. And finally to the side and back, around 7.30.

Now you come back to 9, 10.30 and 12. That’s seven total reps. Then you repeat the same thing on the right side… 12 – 1.30 – 3 – 4.30 – 3 – 1.30 – 12 for another seven reps before moving back to the left side – if you still got enough juice to go on as your chest will be on fire at this point.

I got 24 reps in the video above, which isn’t too shabby considering it was the third time I tried this exercise.

This is a fairly advanced ring movement, so make sure you build up to it over time by first mastering these 6 ring push-up variations.