sprints/plyometrics??

[pact]

alright, i'm a hockey player looking to add sprints and plyos to my routine to increase my speed and quickness.
i think i would like to do these on my leg day, but i don't know if i should a) do them in the morning before i lift b) do them right before i go inside the gym c)do them right after lifting d) do them after lifting but a few hours later or e) do my plyos in between sets of squats and sl deads.
any help would be appreciated
thanks
pact

 

[pact]

and the reason i want to do them leg day is that if i don't know if they'll be recovered to do them on another day eg. i don't want to be sore from squats and have to sprint 2 or 3 days later.
sprints make my legs hurt!

 

[b fold the truth]

Your body will adapt my friend. Events used to make me so sore that it was nearly impossible to lift that week...I became a better athlete and don't have that problem anymore. Sure..I have to take off the next 2 days from the gym...but I can still effectively train squats 3 days after events.

Start slow, build up, train at different times. Experiment.

B True

 

[nolin]

Plyo

I am a goalie so we're in the same fraternity bro! My trainer implemented both wieght training and plyo but remember for true agility and performance enhancement the plyo is where you will see the most dramatic results. Also if you're like most hockey players your legs already are proportionally larger than your upper body so squats are just going to make them bigger. I would try making your wieght training for the legs a second priority to the plyo except for the the first 2 months of the off season. In other words do your plyo on a non lifting day and if you recover well enough to do weight training for you legs within a few days fine, if not, oh well, prioritize. Also remember periodization is important since you want to be peaking in early to mid August for training camp. When doing your plyo try to have a partner to do medicine ball work with and strenghthen your core along with your legs, if not you may develop the sports hernia syndrome. I hope this helps

 

[pact]

thanks guys, do you think its okay to do plyos 2 days after doing squats if my legs are sore. doing plyos will only be like 15 minutes a day correct?
pact

 

[Rather Be Ruggin']

and the reason i want to do them leg day is that if i don't know if they'll be recovered to do them on another day eg. i don't want to be sore from squats and have to sprint 2 or 3 days later.
sprints make my legs hurt!

I train hockey players. I specialize in power skating and checking. I have my athletes do plyometrics on non-lifting days. Trust me on this one. You'll get better results doing them on non leg days and this is why: If you do them prior to squating or any other leg exercise, then your legs will be fatigued. Meaning your leg workout won't be as intense as it should be. If you do them after your leg workout, well, it will pretty much be a wash. Your legs need to be fresh and relaxed. The main reason for doing plyometrics is to build explosiveness and/or agility,quickness/etc. Plyometrics also works on brain and nerve impulses. Your brain is telling your body to explode or jump and you do it. When your body is fatigued, it's slowing the impulses down, therefore slowing your explosiveness. IMO you'll get much better results from doing plyometrics on non-lifting days.

What type of program are you doing? I hope it isn't a body-building based program. I kind of got the feeling it was after I heard leg day. Olympic lifts will improve your quickness a great deal too. You should also consider "on-ice" plyometrics. Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

[Rather Be Ruggin']

Re: Plyo

My trainer implemented both wieght training and plyo but remember for true agility and performance enhancement the plyo is where you will see the most dramatic results. Also if you're like most hockey players your legs already are proportionally larger than your upper body so squats are just going to make them bigger. I would try making your wieght training for the legs a second priority to the plyo except for the the first 2 months of the off season. elephant:

WHAT?!?!?!? Doing squats does not necessarily make them bigger. As an athlete you should be focusing on explosiveness: IE. speed squats/power cleans/power snatch . Yes these will make the muscle grow, but it will also increase power. Squat's are probably the most important exercise for hockey players. Not only does it strengthen the quads and glutes but if done properly it stretches the hip flexors and groin (a very vulnerable area for hockey players)

WHAT?!?!?!? I would try making weight training for the legs a second priority??? Not a good idea. Leg strength and power is base or building block of hockey as well as plyometrics. You always need to be focusing on that. Leg work and plyometrics should be done to the same intensity: balls to the wall.


I hope you have been lifting for a good year or two straight Nolin. You must have very strong core strength before even considering plyos. As a rule of thumb, I normally make sure my athletes can squat their weight 5 times. That will give me a rough estimate wheather they've got the functional strength. If you can do that then you're ready to start thinking about plyos. You have to ease into them. To much at once can easily lead to injury or negated performance. 2 things you definitly don't want. Gradual increases will provide better results. I recommend doing them 2 x's a week for 6 weeks. Then take a week off and switch the exercise around. Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

[Rather Be Ruggin']

thanks guys, do you think its okay to do plyos 2 days after doing squats if my legs are sore. doing plyos will only be like 15 minutes a day correct?
pact

For right now it should on take you 15 minutes. After a while your intensity should rise and you should be doing them for 30-45 minutes due to the increase of volume (reps).

what plyos are you going to be doing? sets and reps?

 

[pact]

thanks a lot ruggin. no, i'm not doing a bodybuilding type program, leg day just simplifies things.
i'll send you an email of what im doing, okay?
it's mostly compound stuff
pact

 

[pact]

sorry, i didn't realize you don't want emails.
here you go as to my routine. the season ended about 3-4weeks ago so i'm getting back in the groove (we did lift all season but i'm not where i want to be). first off, i realize the importance of compound movements and spent a couple hours talking to a sports trainer (not a gym trainer). i read a couple of his school books and a strength training book by Tudor Bompa.
i'm pairing my exercises on upper body day
flat bench, incline bench, flat db and incline db are my chest execises
while pullups, deadlifts, barbell rows and cleans are my back exercise.
i take 2 exercises from each group and pair them eg, bench then pullups,
i rest at least 3 minutes between sets and i do NOT go to failure (just one rep before failure) i do a total of 7 working sets for chest and 7 for back. i follow this by pairing barbell curls and close grip bench for 2 working sets.

on leg day i do not pair. i had been warming up with some box jumps and lateral jumps or 4 sets of 22 strides sprints. (the sprints kill my upper quads the next day)
i then do 4 working sets of squats followed by 4 working sets of
sl deads. i also throw in 2 sets of side lunges for the groins and hips.

i do ab work 3-4 days a week (rule of thumb is if the're not sore and have had a day off i will do them) and i also do bike intervals and regular cardio about 3 times per week.
i haven't thrown i calf work yet since i'm still getting into it and i figure they get hit indirectly throughout the week.
i haven't really done shoulders yet for the same reason but i'm planning to add some standing db presses.

that's about it for now. rugger, email me if you like, i'd greatly appreciated your added help
also my training days are day on then day off.
is it okay to do sprints and plyos if my legs are sore or is it the same rules not to train a sore muscle?
thank you very much
pact