Super Quick Hockey Workouts

Finding a quicker “time saving” solution to fitness has always been a popular topic.

Working out without needing any equipment at all has also always been a popular topic.

And then if you can combine these two together and still get excellent results, you’re going to have a lot of heads turning in your direction from the people who want to save time on those crazy days, save money on gas going to and from the gym, and save money on a gym membership or from buying a bunch of home gym equipment.

In most cases most of the time, the “quick workouts” have just been a bunch of garbage. Terrible workout designs, embarrassing marketing strategies, and usually aimed towards the fat loss industry as some sort of gimmick.

It wasn’t something you would ever see in the hockey industry.

We already turned the hockey industry on its head quite a bit when we offered our Bodyweight Only At-home Hockey Program as well as our At-home Follow Along Workout Videos that required no equipment whatsoever and yet they were producing serious sport-specific results that were translating into greater speed and strength out on the ice.

Although those workout programs are some of the most popular plans here at Hockey Training, they still required a chunk of time – usually about 30 minutes or so of your time invested to crush one of these sessions.

But, what about those days where you have next to zero time available for training?

Work, school, travel, responsibilities, practice, and games can take a ton of our time and not always leave much left over to get geared up for an hour long session in the gym plus about another half-hour or so of commuting there and back.

Are there techniques we can use to cut our workout time way shorter, but still get a good result?

Science would suggest yes…

There are ways to train for LESS than 10-minutes and still achieve a hockey specific result.

Don’t believe me?

You don’t have to. We’ll look at the research together.

The Science of Super Quick Hockey Workouts

If you’re familiar with the data on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), you are already well aware of what type of benefits you can expect to receive within a very short timeframe.

For example, in a very ground-breaking study from the Journal of Applied Physiology in Nutrition and Metabolism (Volume 37(6):1124-31), Canadian researchers compared two different protocols of training for four full weeks of programming.

Group A ran for 30 minutes straight at 85% of their max heart rate (for those who aren’t familiar with 30 spent at certain heart rate measures, this is hard cardio).

Whereas Group B did 8 rounds of 20 seconds of a single bodyweight exercise (burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, or squat thrusts) with 10 seconds of rest in between rounds.

The results?

Both training groups increased their aerobic fitness levels the SAME amount (which was about 7-8% within a month). That’s right, the sort bodyweight workout (only 4 minutes long) worked just as well as the 30-minute workout even though they were SEVEN times shorter.

But, there’s even more here…

It was only Group B (the 4-minute bodyweight only workout) that also increase their muscular endurance in the common movements such as chest presses, leg extensions, sit-ups, and push-ups.

This is very relevant for hockey athletes because muscular endurance and cardiovascular aerobic capacity are two different measures – and hockey athletes need both.

Lastly from this same study, Group B also reported better overall workout enjoyment ratings in comparison to the cardio group.

Need some further convincing?

In 1996, a man named Dr. Izumi Tabata published a research paper on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) that changed the way hundreds of thousands of people exercise.

It was one of the most impactful moments in strength and conditioning history.

The study compared the effects of 60 minutes of moderate-intensity steady-state cardio to four minutes of ultra-intense cardio intervals consisting of 20 seconds of all-out effort followed by 10 seconds of rest.

Dr. Tabata and his team found that the shorter workouts were equally effective in improving aerobic capacity and more effective in increasing anaerobic capacity.

The shocking results of this data sent a wave through the industry and gained a ton of publicity. Gyms and trainers everywhere started incorporating “4-Minute Workouts” into their classes and with their clients.

That was over 20 years ago now, and it’s still wildly popular today.

The best part?

Well, you already read it.

They measured differences in performance (both aerobic and anaerobic) and not just body composition change. This has also been repeated multiple times within the research in order to validify the results – they all come back with similar findings.

Let that sink in for a minute.

We aren’t just talking about “health” stuff here, we are talking about statistically significant improvements in actual physical performance.

Of course, the health add-ons don’t hurt, I just want to point out that these workouts are still forms of training for hockey players, and not just “exercise”.

It doesn’t just end there though, those are just a couple of the studies I wanted to articulate in order to make a point, but is there much more science here and even an entire body of evidence already demonstrating that this training style of doing very intense, very short duration activity aids in aerobic performance, anaerobic performance, and major fat loss.

Although I haven’t touched on the fat loss benefits much yet, the research is unequivocal in this area as well as there is excellent data demonstrating that these super quick workouts can burn anywhere from 240-360 calories per session – and since normal weight individuals only burn 100 calories per 1-mile of jogging, these numbers start to look very impressive, especially due to the time invested and overall convenience of not having to leave your home.

Using Super Quick Workouts in Real Life Application

Although it’s tempting to throw away all the barbells, dumbbells, and gym memberships we have – my professional opinion is that although these short workouts are both effective and productive, they don’t compare in long-term results to properly periodized programs that include weights, medicine balls, bands, a place where you can sprint/do tempo runs, and of course have access to ice time.

But, that doesn’t make them “not usable” by any stretch of the imagination.

Like I opened this article up with – so many people are incredibly busy or are on a tight budget that restricts them from using the big fancy equipment. Knowing this, a rule that you should always follow is…

Something is always better than nothing.

If you can’t get a regular-length training session in today – don’t skip it!

Do a short hockey workout created by me so that you know you are doing hockey specific exercises in the correct dose and sequence.

Bodyweight-only, super quick workouts are amazing for:

  • Anybody who is on a tight budget
  • Anybody who lives far away from the gym
  • Anybody who wants to “amp up” their current program by adding in a couple of extra quick sessions to bring up their weaknesses
  • Anybody who travels frequently and needs quick hockey specific workouts that they can do in their hotel room
  • Anybody who has a very busy schedule and doesn’t always have time for a full workout but feels guilty/like they are letting themselves down by not getting a workout in
  • Anybody who has an unpredictable schedule and needs a “Plan B” that takes less time but is still effective in every way that they want

And if I’m being completely honest, I think that every hockey player on the planet should be using these workouts.

We all need something in our back pocket in case of emergencies, and it doesn’t get any better than performing workouts that are less than ten minutes in duration with no equipment or space needed at all and to still gain the training adaptations that are going to allow you to be faster, stronger, and more conditioned out on the ice.

This is why we’ve created the 9-Minute Hockey Trainer Program, which provides you with no equipment needed 9-minute workouts specifically designed for hockey performance.

Check out all of the details on the 9-Minute Hockey Trainer Program here.

Example 9-Minute Hockey Workout

Warm-up:

Go through this warm-up circuit twice while resting 30-45 secs between rounds.

Prisoner Squat x 10

Mountain Climbers x 6/Leg

Cossack Squat x 6/Leg

Push-Ups x 10

The Workout:

Run through this as one 9-minute circuit.

Prisoner Bulgarian Split Squats x 30 secs per leg

Close Grip Push-Ups x 60 secs

Alternating Forward Prisoner Lunges x 60 secs

Burpees x 60 secs

*Completely rest for 60 secs*

Supermans x 60 secs

Bicycle Abs x 60 secs

Pike Push-Ups x 60 secs

Alternating Split Squat Jumps x 30 secs

Vertical Jumps x 30 secs

Want More Quick Hockey Workouts?

If you’re ready to add these super quick hockey workouts that you can at home with no equipment to your hockey training toolbox so that you ensure you are always becoming a better hockey player you need to get started with our 9-Minute Hockey Training Program.

9-Minute Hockey Training Program
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