In these emails and my training articles, I always harp on the importance of the basics.

Lifting heavy.

Sleeping better.

Dialing in your diet.

And never hopping from one program to the next every three weeks.

Ya know, all the​ "unsexy​" stuff.

You see, too many hockey players get hung up on the minutiae of training, when they should focus on the stuff that actually matters.

Well, what really makes a difference in training?

I’m glad you asked.

Take this little trivia quiz comprising 11 questions and see if you can find the answers on your own…

1. Which exercise helps you gain full-body strength faster?

A) Deadlifts

B) Leg press

C) Bosu ball squats

D) Knitting

2. To get into great game shape, you will…

A) Run hill sprints

B) Jog 10 kilometers

C) Take a step class

D) Who has time to play sports?

3. What’s the best exercise for building upper body strength and muscle?

A) Weighted ring push-ups

B) Dumbbell flyes

C) Pec deck machine

D) Flexing your pecs in front of the mirror

4. Drinking plenty of ________ keeps you energetic and helps performance.

A) Water

B) Coke

C) Milk shakes

D) Jäger bombs

5. Which supplement should you take for improved gym performance?

A) Creatine monohydrate

B) Mass gainers

C) Diuretics

D) Whatever new supp they advertise in this month’s Muscle & Fitness magazine

6. You want to get faster and more explosive on the ice. You will…

A) Do power cleans

B) Do speed ladder drills for “quicker feet”

C) Squat in the Smith machine

D) Watch Usain Bolt highlights on Youtube

7. How many hours of sleep should you aim for each night?

A) 8-9

B) 5-6

C) 3-4

D) I’ll have time for sleep when I’m buried six feet under

8. Which of the following exercises has the greatest transference to the playing field?

A) Squats

B) Leg extensions

C) Calf raises

D) Riding a bicycle

9. What’s the best food for getting leaner?

A) Steak and salad

B) Big Macs

C) Chocolate cake

D) Skipping meals

10. Which training tool will build serious real-world strength outside of the gym?

A) Gymnastic rings

B) Therabands

C) Stability ball

D) Vibrating ab belt

11. What will help your progress in the gym the most?

A) Setting new PR’s as often as possible

B) Sniffing ammonia before a heavy set

C) Buying fashionable exercise clothing

D) Following Jay Cutler’s contest prep training program

It really doesn’t take a genius to get awesome results in the weight room.

If you picked A) on most questions you’re on the right path. Don’t veer off that and good things will happen.

Deadlifts.

Sprints.

Water.

Training for increased power.

Quality sleep.

Protein and fresh vegetables.

Advanced bodyweight movements.

Adding weight to the bar and getting stronger.

Do lots of those and watch your strength, body composition and athleticism improve more than you ever thought possible.

But you don’t need me to tell you so.

Because you already knew that.

Now you just have to do it.

Here’s where to start:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik

Answer:

Because I'm a lazy mofo at heart. And it'd be a gargantuan pain in my gluteus assimus - not to mention a huge time suck - to keep track of everybody who purchased a copy. Much easier to blast this newsletter out into the world instead of worrying how someone *might* have already clicked and bought.

Moreover, you shouldn't overlook the educational value most of these daily emails contain.

Even if you have read Next Level Hockey Training 2.0, I reveal methods and strategies for maximizing your strength and athleticism in these here hallowed paragraphs of my daily newsletter that I never mention in the book.

In fact, an argument could be made the info here is as useful and up-to-date as it gets. After all, these daily "blurbs" allow me to explain exactly what I'm doing with my hockey players at this very moment in time.

Not so much with a static medium (for example, a book) where it would prove to be too much of a hassle to go back and update it anytime you come up with a new way of producing better results for your athletes.

That said, the content and training programs in Next Level Hockey Training 2.0 were designed to remain evergreen, so you can use it to rapidly improve performance whether you're reading this in 2017 or 2057.

Like this bloke:

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"Thank you. I really like the program.

I definitely feel stronger and I've been going up in weight each week. Summer is coming to an end and the season is right around the corner, for sure going to keep doing your program until the season.

I follow the Upper/Lower schedule and on Wednesdays I do conditioning with some plyometrics, including 300yard sprints, etc.

Thanks"

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Now that's my kinda customer.

He sees the value of a quality off-ice training program, grabs it, uses it, benefits from it, and does not question why he’s still getting emails mentioning it on a daily basis.

Now, if you truly abhor daily communication and can't stand a constant onslaught of top-notch training information in your inbox, simply remove yourself from this mailing list by clicking the unsubscribe link below.

I just can't think of a single good reason why you would.

Alrighty, on to the mandatory sales pitch you knew was coming:

Next Level Hockey Training 2.0 is the premier off-ice training program available online. Hundreds of junior, college and pro hockey players have successfully used it to gain strength, size and speed that allows them to compete at a higher level.

For more information, check out:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

​Yunus Barisik​

Several readers have emailed me after getting their hands on Next Level Hockey Training 2.0.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive and I graciously thank everyone who picked up a copy. I'm really looking forward to hearing how you guys progress on the program.

That said, my inbox has also seen its fair share of questions, so let's get down and dirty with it...

Question: Hey, I've been thinking about buying your program. Can you post a sample workout?

Answer: Here's a lower body workout from week #3 in Phase 3 of the off-season Pro program:

1) Power clean from hang 5x5

2) Squat off pins 4x5 (4-1-1 tempo)

3a) Toes elevated Romanian deadlift 4x8 (5-0-1 tempo)

3b) Lateral DB step-up 4x6

3c) 3-way ab wheel 4x AMAP

Question: Yunus, thanks for the program. The workouts look really intense and I can't wait to run through them.

I notice you don't really touch on how to warm up before lifting. What's your take on this? 10-15 minutes on the bike or maybe some dynamic warm-ups?

Answer: Unlike many trainers busy inventing yet another cool new warm-up sequence to impress their clients and colleagues, I prefer warming up with the same main strength exercises that you're gonna do in your workout anyway.

That said, depending on how tight/sore you're feeling today, spending a few minutes working on your hip, shoulder and ankle mobility is fine. You can also use a foam roller or lacrosse ball to get rid of some kinks and what not before stepping inside the power rack.

With that out of the way, let's say your first exercise for the day is the trap bar deadlift for 3 sets of 5 and you're going with 315 on the first set.

Ideally, I'd like to see you perform several warm-up sets with ascending weight and descending reps. This primes up the nervous system without causing a drop-off in performance on your work sets. Here's one way to do it:

* 60 kg / 135 pounds for 5 reps

* 80 kg / 175 pounds for 4 reps

* 100 kg / 220 pounds for 3 reps

* 120 kg / 265 pounds for 2 reps

* 130 kg / 290 pounds for 1 rep

After this, go up to 140 kg / 315 pounds for your first set of 5. Depending on how heavy that feels, adjust the weight up or down for your next sets.

Which brings us right to the next Q...

Question: Hi, coach! When you write something like "bench press 4x5", do you want us to stick to the same weight for all sets? Or work up to a heavy set of 5, then do three back-off sets?

Answer: This depends on how advanced you are as a lifter.

With a beginner, I'd have him start with a light weight for five reps, closely observing his technique and bar speed. After making sure his form is where I want it to be, we'd add 10-20 pounds to the bar and keep repeating this until we hit a weight the athlete no longer can coast through on the last couple reps.

So you're basically doing a bunch of fives as warm-up sets until you hit a moderately heavy weight. That counts as your first work set. Keeping the weight constant for the remaining sets works well in this scenario. Here's what this could look like with real numbers:

* Bar x5 (warm-up)

* 40 kg / 90 pounds x5 (warm-up)

* 50 kg / 110 pounds x5 (warm-up)

* 60 kg / 135 pounds x5 (warm-up)

* 70 kg / 155 pounds x5 (set #1)

* 70 kg / 155 pounds x5 (set #2)

* 70 kg / 155 pounds x5 (set #3)

* 70 kg / 155 pounds x5 (set #4)

With someone who has been training with me for a while and whose true 5RM I already know or can estimate based on his past lifts, we'd go directly to a heavy set after the warm-up, as explained above in the previous answer.

If the athlete crushes their set, we're gonna add another 5-10 pounds. Assuming he hits his limit for the day on that second set, we'll then dial things back a bit on the remaining two sets. If not, you can always go heavier until you hit your true 5RM for the day. But generally speaking, we'll be lifting our heaviest set within the first two sets of the exercise because that's when you're at your freshest.

Example below:

* Bar x5 (warm-up)

* 40 kg / 90 pounds x5 (warm-up)

* 60 kg / 135 pounds x4 (warm-up)

* 70 kg / 155 pounds x3 (warm-up)

* 80 kg / 175 pounds x2 (warm-up)

* 90 kg / 195 pounds x1 (warm-up)

* 100 kg / 220 pounds x5 (set #1, fairly easy)

* 105 kg / 230 pounds x5 (set #2, 5RM for the day)

* 100 kg / 220 pounds x5 (set #3, slightly lighter)

* 100 kg / 220 pounds x5 (set #4)

For the latest, most cutting-edge strength and conditioning information for hockey players, and to learn in just a few hours what has taken me several years and tens of thousands of dollars over the last decade, check out Next Level Hockey Training by clicking here now:

NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

​Yunus Barisik

Reader Greg Riley chimes in with a question:

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​"Hey Yunus

I just bought 2.0.

Thanks

Can you recommend a box jump depth jump routine to increase skating power and acceleration?"

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The training programs in Next Level Hockey Training 2.0 contain several jump variations, including depth jumps.

If you’re looking for a separate jump routine in addition to that, you should remember a few things before we can talk about programming.

* Start with low-level variations such as box, broad and vertical jumps until proper take-off and landing mechanics become second nature.

* Once that’s taken care of, every rep should be explosive. The goal here is not to bob up and down quickly like Jenna Jameson in her prime. You want to generate maximum force.

So, with a vertical jump, you’d try to put as much distance between your feet and the ground as possible. Jump right through the roof.

This is not a difficult concept to grasp but sometimes athletes need to be reminded of such things instead of having them go through the motions with 90% of effort, and thus not getting a ​desired training effect.

* Jumping, especially for more advanced athletes using more advanced methods, is highly taxing neurally.

Any time you see a ​"plyometrics​" workout with short rest periods and/or higher reps (let’s draw the line at 6+ reps per set), turn around and run in the other direction. You won’t gain an iota of explosiveness following such nonsense.

In fact, sprinting to get the hell away from it will do more for your ​first step quickness than what this so called ​"plyo program​" ever could.

With that general disclaimer out of the way, let’s look at how to construct your jump sessions.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to perform up to three jump exercises for 3-6 sets of 3-5 reps per workout, 1-3 times per week.

In most cases, I like to combine both single- and double-leg jump variations performed in a linear/lateral/vertical fashion in one session.

If you only do jumps one day per week, here’s what this could look like:

1) Double Leg Linear – Depth Jump Over Hurdle

Week 1 – 3 x 5

Week 2 – 4 x 5

Week 3 – 5 x 5

2) Single Leg Lateral – Diagonal Bound

Week 1 – 3 x 3 per leg

Week 2 – 4 x 3 per leg

Week 3 – 5 x 3 per leg

In a twice weekly scenario, I like to use one linear/vertical exercise and one lateral exercise per workout. Example:

Day 1

1) Double Leg Linear – Hurdle Jump 3-5 x 3-5

2) Single Leg Lateral – 1-Leg Medial + Lateral Low Hurdle Hop 3-5 x 3 per leg

​Day 2

1) Single Leg Linear – 1-Leg Hurdle Hop 3-5 x 5

2) Single Leg Lateral – Lateral Bound 3-5 x 3 per leg

​With my advanced athletes, we do lots of reactive jumping in multiple directions and also include rotational jumps. A 2x per week example:

Day 1​​​​​

​1) Double Leg Lateral – 4-Way Hurdle Jump 3-5 x 5

​2) Single Leg Rotational – Repeat 90 Degree Bound 3-5 x 2 per leg

Day 2

1) Double Leg Linear - Depth Jump to Hurdle Jump to Broad Jump 4-6 x 1

​2) Double Leg Rotational - 90 Degree Hurdle Jump to Vertical Jump 3-5 x 2

You can also combine a jump variation with sprints, which opens up a whole slew of possibilities regarding power and acceleration training. A few examples:

* Linear Hurdle Jump to 10-20m Sprint

* Lateral Hurdle Jump to 10-20m Sprint

​* Lateral Bound to 10-20m Sprint

* Depth Jump to 10-20m Sprint

And I haven’t even mentioned resisted jumps using a straight or trap bar, dumbbells, or resistance bands yet. So the variations become endless.

However, at the end of the day, jump training doesn’t need to be complicated.

Follow a low volume, moderate frequency approach with appropriate work-to-rest ratios, and you’ve already won the half the battle.

The rest is simply including suitable exercises that challenge your body in a linear, vertical, lateral and rotational fashion.

Good luck.

For a strength program that perfectly complements your jump training to improve skating power and acceleration, hop over to:

NextLevelHockeyTraining.com