(
From sippy cup to Stanley Cup, hockey draws a wide age-range of some of the most loyal and passionate fans and players of any sport. Entire families grow and build memories on and around the ice. Even the greats like Gretzky started young:
“From the age of three to the age of 12, I could easily be out there for eight to 10 hours a day.”
At The Children’s Museum future hockey legends won’t have to hit the ice to start learning the fundamentals of the game. The Indy Fuel Hockey Experience in the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience® opens in March 2018. Visitors can practice their shooting and footwork skills on on faux ice-hockey surface.
Furthermore, we’re prepping your little puck-chuckers with health and fitness tips from the people who work directly with hockey athletes! We spoke with Indy Fuel Athletic Trainer George Bullock to get specific hockey-health insights:
Q: Hockey is infamous for being a collision sport, subject to high injuries. How do players stay safe?
In order to maintain flexibility and hopefully decrease the chance of injury, players use a “dynamic warm-up,” or a stretching-while-moving routine, to get blood flowing to the muscles they wish to use while on the ice. Warming up in motion enhances muscular performance and power, improves body awareness, and improves range of motion. Some of the same stretches used prior to stepping on the ice will be used on ice to further warm up the lower extremities, groins, hips, and lower back. On-ice players will also rotate their torso and spin their sticks warming up their shoulders, elbows, and wrists. An example would be a lunge with a twist, which would activate the muscles of your hips, legs, and core. Knees to chest and high kicks prepare the lower extremities including the groins and lower back for action.
Q: With heavy safety gear and a lot of moving, hockey players burn rapid calories. Are there any certain kinds of nutrients hockey players stock up on to stay energized?
Along with a well-balanced and nutritional diet, our players use BCAAs (branch chain amino acids) as part of both a pre-workout drink and post-workout recovery. BCAAs are especially helpful for maintaining muscle mass while on a calorie-deficit diet. They also use whey protein to help supplement to high caloric demands of their off-ice workouts and on-ice practices & games.
Q: Do hockey players get burns from the ice? If so, how are the burns treated?
Not necessarily called an “ice burn,” but players can get what is commonly referred to in the world of road racing, cycling, or skateboarding, as “road rash.” If a player were to fall to the ice and their protective equipment were to shift and expose the underlying skin, they could suffer an injury called an abrasion. Abrasions can be mild to severe, depending on the amount of skin that is damaged and the amount of bleeding that occurs. These are treated like any other burn, they are cleaned with soap and water, a coating of antibiotic ointment is applied, and then the wound is covered with a sterile dressing to help prevent infection.
Q: Is there any particular training hockey players do off-ice? Types of cardio or weightlifting?
Improving one’s ability to skate can really only come from doing one thing, skating. But like all other elite athletes, hockey players can always benefit from weightlifting, powerlifting, or Olympic lifting. Cardio exercise depends on what the athlete has on hand, there are stationary bikes, elliptical machines, treadmills, as well as simply running on a track or swimming.
Off-ice training is as diverse as the players themselves. Each one might have an exercise or workout that they trust and adhere to (or one assigned to them by the team they are contracted with), while others won’t do certain exercise due to a previous injury or condition.
This information, in combination with a ton of fun at the Indy Fuel Hockey Experience, will have your household hockey players ready for the 2018 Stanley Cup in no time! Follow us on social media to stay updated on the building of the sports experience.
