›› | CONDITIONING | WITH A. J. ZEGLEN
WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME?
Off ice training is more popular than it has ever been, and for good reason. It can have a significant positive impact on your hockey game.
I often get asked by parents,“ What is the correct age to start lifting weights?” or“ What are the ideal workouts my kid’ s off season?” It seems like every time you turn around another self-proclaimed expert is advising something or there is always a guy“ who knows a guy” who is spreading some self-serving information that will fill his next camp. Here ' s some information that will help give parents some direction and dispel the rumours and misinformation.
There is NO magic age as to when athletes are ready to work out. All kids develop at their own pace. Because of this, we have both an athlete’ s chronological age( actual age) and his / her training age. The training age is determined by the athlete’ s experience in the gym and playing sports.
For example, we have two clients come into the gym. Client No. 1 is 14-years-old and has been playing sports since he was five and had two previous years of experience in a gym training with his team during the season. Client No. 2 is 19 and has very limited
experience with sports and has never been in a gym. You can see that despite the fact client No. 2 is technically older, he would not be ready to lift weights yet. He would have to start at bodyweight progressions and work his way up while client No. 1 might be able to externally load some exercises with weight despite being, chronologically, five years younger.
Speaking of weight, there is also a concern regarding when young athletes should start lifting. Rumours about having to wait until bones are finished growing are pretty common. Again, the age at which an athlete starts weight training is linked to his / her training age. There are bones in the human body such as the scapulae( shoulder blade) and collar bone that are not done developing until your early 20s. You are not going to have athletes wait until they are 25-years-old before they start lifting weights.
As long as the athlete is coached and has progressed properly through the fundamentals then risk of injury is very slim. Truth is, the initial loads for athletes are probably the same or even lighter than other things they already carry. The young athlete performing a perfect squat with a 20-pound weight while he is aware of his form and technique, poses less risk for injury than that same
Sam Court, a defenseman with the Bantam 2 Triple A Monarchs already trains at Focus Fitness.
athlete slinging his 30-pound hockey bag over his shoulder and walking with no attention to form or technique.
Another common question,“ What is the best thing for my kid to be doing in the off season?” For young athletes( ages 7-12) my answer might surprise you – go play another sport. These are prime years for the development of many athletic attributes that will form a youngster’ s athletic foundation. Hand-eye coordination, re-action time, balance, proprioception( the awareness of his / her body in space) are aspects which, when developed, improve athletic performance and are prime for development at these ages.
There are drills you can do in the gym to better these attributes for sure and if hockey is all the kid wants to do then it can be done. But even better, I would argue, is get out there and play other sports. All those athletic attributes will be developed and the kids will experience the benefit of both competition and being part of a different team. Plus all the other great values that sport teaches us! Until next time, Strength, Courage, Hustle, Commitment
Photo by Chris Lewis
60 | GAME ON | DECEMBER 2017