Training is important for young hockey players. For one thing, it makes them faster and stronger. But training also ensures that players are less likely to get injured and helps them heal more quickly if they do get injured because their bodies are healthier. But if a young player can’t get on the ice for some power skating, there are off-ice exercises they can do that are just as effective.

Young people who are still growing shouldn’t overload growing muscles and joints by exercising with weights. Instead, they should use their own body weight as resistance because the body is used to using its own weight. PowerPlay has a few inexpensive and easy exercises tailored to building strength in hockey players.

Two areas of the body that are used the most by hockey players are the core and the legs. Legs serve as the body’s roots and the hips, waist, stomach and lower back serve as its trunk, or core. A strong core helps hockey players skate faster, twist and turn on a dime, shoot harder, work their way through checks and stand their ground in front of the net.

The best way for young players to strengthen their core is by doing lower abdominal exercises because hockey players don’t want to be top-heavy. Training with an exercise ball is a simple and easy way to make traditional core exercises a little more difficult. A beginner can start by lying on the ball with their feet flat on the ground and doing sit-ups. Once they get the hang of those, players can move on to more difficult strength and balance exercises such as crunches. The key for hockey players working with exercise balls is to use their stomach muscles for balance. A strong and balanced core helps prevent back injuries and acts as the body’s basis for movement.

To strengthen legs, hockey players should do walking lunges, squats, one-leg balance exercises, and bridge and plank exercises. When combined with simple calisthenics—jumping jacks, push ups, short sprints, etc.—in a training circuit, players can create their own fun and effective workouts.

There you have it; a few inexpensive and easy exercises that young hockey players can do to take their games to the next level.