A few weeks ago, I posted the first phase of our off-season hockey strength program to give you a glimpse into off-ice training with the U17 team.

Here’s Phase 2 of our summer program.

Day 1

Day 2

After the initial introductory period we went through in Phase 1, it was time to throw in some more complex barbell movements such as the hang clean and front squat.

As always, loads were kept low in the beginning and ramped up individually over the course of the four weeks as technical skill and execution of these lifts improved.

The hang cleans got paired with some low intensity activation work for the glutes and upper back, and wrist mobility exercises that help guys catch the bar properly up on the front delts with their elbows high.

In comparison to the previous program, Phase 2 served as an accumulation phase with higher overall volume. 

Introducing slow five second negatives on the dumbbell bench press, dumbbell reverse lunge, chin-up and front squat served two main purposes – teaching the athletes how to control the weight on the eccentric, which makes them better lifters in the long run, and increasing time under tension, which serves as a stimulus for neuromuscular and hypertrophic adaptations.

We wrapped up each session with either feet elevated front or side planks as the final static core exercise progressions before moving on to more dynamic abdominal exercises in the next phases. On Day 1, we also did some tempo runs to improve conditioning.

Phase 3 will see an increase in loading on the bar, feature a modified strongman day and focus on rapid strength improvements now that the foundation of solid training habits has been laid.

It goes up next month. You don’t want to miss it, so be sure to check back.