The prevailing notion about in-season hockey training is that it’s all about maintenance. But you can also strive for improvement—in your shot, speed and endurance. It just takes careful planning and time management.

I’m not here to tell you to devote your training time to shooting pucks with a band attached to your stick or to run sprints with a parachute on your back all season long. That would be overdoing it.

You first want to focus on core lifts like Deadlifts, Squats, Presses and Rows. Then, if you need to work on certain areas, you can program appropriate exercises into your routine to make gains.

Speed Workout

If you want to improve your speed during the season, add explosive-movement exercises like Med Ball Underhand Tosses and Broad Jumps to your workout.

Med Ball Underhand Tosses

• Sets/Reps: 1×10

Broad Jumps

• Sets/Reps: 3×5

Shot Workout

All hockey players would like a little more zip behind their shots, and no goalie likes to face a player with a rocket of a shot. With a harder shot, you’re likely to score more goals and rattle the confidence of the opposing goaltender.

But a program meant to increase shot power shouldn’t rely on wrist curls. A shot involves much more than just a snap of the wrists to release the puck off the stick. You need to drive force into the ice through your skates and transfer that force through your core area and into your arms and down to your hands. That’s a fair bit of your body working together.

Incorporate these three exercises into your workout to increase your shot power during the season.

Med Ball Chest Pass

• Sets/Reps: 3×25 seconds

Plate Chops

• Sets/Reps: 2×7 each side

Trapbar Deadlifts

• Sets/Reps: 4×4

Endurance Workout

Endurance is another key to a hockey player’s game. But hockey endurance is different from, say, marathon endurance, because hockey involves so much starting and stopping. You take a hard shift for a minute or so and then rest on the bench. So instead of going on long runs, focus on interval training. The slide board and the jump rope are two great interval training tools.

Try one of these interval rounds at the end of your next training session to improve your endurance during the season.

Slide Board Intervals

• 20 seconds of work
• 20 seconds of rest
• 30 seconds of work
• 30 seconds of rest
• 40 seconds of work
• 40 seconds of rest
• Repeat 4 times

Jump Rope Intervals

• Two-Foot Hop for 15 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Alternate Feet for 15 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Jumping Jacks for 15 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• High Knees for 15 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Repeat 4 times

For a more comprehensive in-season hockey training program, check out The Insane In-Season Hockey Training System.