I was listening to a fitness podcast where a trainer said jump training doesn't really carry over onto the ice because there is no plyometric activity in skating.

And that Olympic lifting would be a much better choice when training for power and explosiveness.

Now, personal preferences are one thing...

But how someone who supposedly trains professional hockey players at the NHL/AHL level could make such a blatantly non-educated claim is beyond me.

By that same logic, you could also argue how the Oly lifts have zero transfer since there's no bilateral triple extension (simultaneous extension of the hips, knees and ankles) in ​skating either.

But that would be nothing short of silly. Just like dissing jumps for power development is.

Guess this trainer has not familiarized himself with the research on jump training out there...

One study noted a significant correlation between the vertical jump and skating speed. The higher you jump, the faster you skate.

A second study found the standing broad jump to be a significant predictor when assessing overall hockey potential.

A third study concluded that Olympic weightlifting and plyometric training both produce similar improvements in vertical jump height.

Yet another study showed trap bar jumps are *at least* as effective as a simple Olympic weightlifting derivative for increasing vertical jump height -- and might even be better.

Not to mention how jumping involves a rapid deceleration followed by a fast acceleration of resistance (your own body) that you don't get with a clean or snatch. Being able to stop and change directions quickly is a huge part of today's game.

So it's not a question of whether Olympic lifts are better than jumps for hockey or vice versa.

They are both useful and they both have their place in a performance-boosting off-ice training program.

Like this one:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik