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4-week block · 3-4 days a week

Training program for former hockey players

Hockey built enormous hip strength in one narrow range and left you with tight hip flexors, cranky groins and almost no running history. This block fixes the range, not just the strength.

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What hockey left you with

Ex-hockey players are strong, dense athletes with a specific problem set: hip flexor and adductor restriction from years in a skating posture, a lower back that took the load the hips couldn't, and impact tolerance for running that never existed because the sport happens on ice.

The plan pairs heavy hinge and squat work with dedicated adductor and hip flexor loading, and reintroduces running in small, sub-maximal doses. Conditioning uses the bike and rower, which map cleanly onto the shift-based repeat-effort work you already know.

What still carries over

  • Lower-body strength

    Squats and hinges load quickly. Most former hockey players are within a block of their old numbers.

  • Repeat-effort conditioning

    45-second hard / 90-second easy intervals feel like shifts and produce fast fitness gains.

  • Physicality

    Carries, sleds and dense circuits suit how you like to train.

What the plan has to rebuild

  • Hip flexor and adductor length

    Half-kneeling and split-stance work opens the range that skating shortened.

  • Running tolerance

    Short accelerations are added conservatively — calf and Achilles tissue is genuinely untrained for it.

  • Trunk anti-extension

    Dead bugs and planks take load off a back that has been compensating for tight hips for years.

The training week for former hockey athletes

Three sessions is the working minimum; the fourth is optional and can be replaced by a game, a skate or a pickup run. Every set is logged with load and RPE so the next week has a number to beat.

Day 1

Lower strength

Squat and hip opening

  • Hip mobility flow — 3 rounds, emphasis on half-kneeling
  • Back or goblet squat — 4 x 6
  • Rear-foot elevated split squat — 3 x 8 each side
  • Romanian deadlift — 3 x 8
  • Dead bug — 3 x 10 each side

Day 2

Upper strength

Press, pull, carries

  • Bench or dumbbell press — 4 x 6
  • Single-arm row — 4 x 10 each side
  • Pull-up or lat pulldown — 3 x 8
  • Overhead press — 3 x 8
  • Suitcase carry — 3 x 40 yd each side

Day 3

Power and lateral work

Jumps and hip-dominant power

  • Pogo hops — 3 x 12
  • Broad jump — 4 x 3
  • Kettlebell swing — 4 x 15
  • Step-up — 3 x 8 each side
  • Pallof press — 3 x 10 each side

Day 4 (optional)

Shift conditioning

Repeat effort on the bike or rower

  • Bike or rower — 8 x 45s hard / 90s easy
  • Front plank — 3 x 40s
  • Hip mobility flow — 2 rounds

How the four weeks progress

  1. Week 1

    Open and load

    Full mobility warm-ups, strength at RPE 7, no running yet.

  2. Week 2

    Add load and light running

    Main lifts up ~5%, four short accelerations at 80%.

  3. Week 3

    Peak

    Strength at RPE 8-9, six accelerations, longest conditioning session.

  4. Week 4

    Deload

    One fewer set per lift, keep the mobility work at full volume.

Hockey background: common questions

Other sport backgrounds

Get this block built around your schedule.

Six questions covering goal, experience, equipment, days per week, session length and anything you're working around. Your first week is scheduled in about two minutes.

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