Now that the Hockey Heart Study and it’s critique has cautioned me to do some pre-season training , also known as exercise, perhaps I should clean off my equipment rack - also known as an elliptical trainer - and start using the thing. But first, we must procrastinate! Sure this contraption will make me sweat! But will it really help?

Off I go into the realm of the intraweb searching through articles, risking downloads and compiling information regarding the physiological benefits of working out on the elliptical trainer all in the name of Beer League Hockey.
continue reading "Evaluating Elliptically"

When it comes to exercise, one of the hardest things, for me anyways, is to drag your butt out of bed 40 minutes before your alarm usually goes off so that you can subject your body to rigorous exercise. But if you can wake up early to watch World Juniors or World Cup games when they’re hosted in Europe, then you can do this. Besides, exercising in the morning does have it’s benefits…
continue reading "Morning Motion Means More Moxie"

According to one author, hockey is not a religion or a way of life.

I’m still having trouble comprehending that statement but let’s humour that thought and consider what else he has to say.

Games, he says, are not useful for increasing or maintaining physical fitness

In the league I play in now, we have 35 regular season games spread out over 8 months. This calculates to approximately 1.5 games per week over the season. Our team is seriously beer-league meaning that there is no such thing as practice time, and no one but our goalie and our “franchise” player make a habit of sparing for another team. The issue here is other life commitments, not laziness or lack of passion. For most of our players these games, unfortunately and obviously, are the sole source of exercise that they receive.

Sure there are stories bandied about the dressing room of attempts to create and stick to a self-imposed jogging program or the like, but after a few weeks when questioned about the success of their commitment… the responses are usually a quiet shake of the head and any verbalization is drowned out by the crack-and-hiss of an opening beer can.
continue reading "Hockey Not a Game For Fitness"