Strength and Conditioning: Tony Greco's Principles of Strength
Ice Hockey demands countless skills to be successful, and one of the most crucial abilities to have as a great hockey player is power. Every sport demands its specific strengths, but hockey is a different animal.
Hockey
is difficult to train for as a sport that is played at extremely high
speeds and has as many physical demands as football, but Tony Greco
knows how to develop hockey players' strength like no other.
Off-ice
training can be challenging to determine what exercises and coaches to
listen to, but Tony is a trainer with outstanding expertise. These
circuits are not only beneficial for on-ice abilities but teach players
the pace and difficulty they should be training with for many
off-seasons to come.
As Canada’s leading fitness
specialist, Tony has worked with some of the biggest names in the NHL
including; Claude Giroux, Brandt Clarkea and Jack Quinn. He is a top
graduate of the Sports Performance Institute, and certification from his
academy surpassed the National Fitness Leaders Advisory Council
policies in all of personal, strength and aerobics training.
Not
only does Tony offer outstanding opportunities for players to succeed
on the ice but also provides knowledge as to how players should be
eating, resting, and treating their mindset. Tony truly supplies players
with the capability to become the top one percent of hockey
players.
This 12-week program is for any position from
goaltender, defenseman, or offensive player. Tony’s course is for those
who refuse to cut any corners and are determined to become not just
great, but exceptional hockey players. Pro Hockey Academy introduces you
to the limits beyond the ones you already have and guides you on how to
stay at that level for the rest of your career.
Tony’s main principles of the Pro Hockey Academy 12-week Program include:
Metabolic Conditioning
Mobility
Speed
Nutrition
Linear and Lateral Movement
Mindset
Upper Body Strength
Lower Body Strength
Go here to view Tony’s entire Pro Hockey Academy Program Course
Speed Training
Tony
has varied training focus points varying from week to week throughout
his 12-week program, but what he centers the majority of his training
around is speed.
While there are various exercises and
methods Tony does to exploit speed in hockey for his students, this
circuit provides students with a great workout that focuses on
explosiveness. Being able to escape your defender can be difficult if
you don’t have the power, and this circuit provides you the tools to
escape anyone.
Tony’s workouts are all quick-paced with
multiple exercises in each round, and this circuit is no different.
Despite all of these circuits being challenging, find the beauty in the
pain and the capability to push as hard as you can.
This circuit is 5 rounds, 5 reps for each exercise, including; back split lunges
weighted
squat jumps, plate overhead lunges, lateral squat to knee drive, and
stiff-legged eccentric deadlift. Take a look for yourself.
Mobility
Strength is certainly an important aspect of hockey, but flexibility and mobility are also incredibly essential.
To
perform at the highest degree your body has to be warmed up, and Tony
teaches his students how to appropriately do so. We often try to jump
into training very quickly, but Tony acquaints his students with how to
warm up properly and apply it to not only off-ice training but could
also surely be applied on the ice before games.
Tony may
have a large focus on strength in his course, but he prides himself on
teaching his students the importance of being loose and flexible. So
every player is fully able to train safely and also perform to the best
of their ability.
Here are some of Tony’s favorite warm-up routines and stretches.
Strength Training
Strength is the main focus for anyone getting into off-ice training, and this module will do you justice.
Gaining
strength is not easy, and this module equips participants with the
power every player wants in the game of hockey. And while gaining
strength is something every athlete desires, this circuit is not for the
faint-hearted. These workouts make you earn it, no doubt about it.
These
exercises are quick and challenging, but undoubtedly routines you can
imagine aiding you to become a great hockey player. Tony encourages you
to push beyond your limits, and this will indeed introduce you to your
limits.
This circuit is five reps for each exercise, and
four rounds with the following exercises; hang clean to press,
alternating splitter hang cleans, split lunges to press and finishing
off with splitters to skaters. May sound like some peculiar training,
but make sense once you watch the video here.
