Why Flywheel Training Is A Strong Match For Ice Hockey Players

March 9, 2023

As professional ice hockey teams and athletes increasingly recognize the advantages of flywheel training over traditional weight training methods, strength and conditioning coaches across the NHL are incorporating our equipment into their programs. Fredrik Correa, our CEO and former hockey coach, shares his insights on the benefits of flywheel training for ice hockey players.

UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL OF FLYWHEEL TRAINING FOR ICE HOCKEY ATHLETES

The birth of Exxentric was fueled by a passion for Ice Hockey. Co-founders Fredrik Correa and Mårten Fredriksson were working at the same ice hockey club when they identified a gap in youth hockey training. This led them to create the kBox, a versatile flywheel multi-exercise device, which quickly became their best-selling product. The goal was to provide efficient and effective training tools for both youth and professional players, helping to prevent injuries, enhance performance, and meet all strength and conditioning needs. Today, the kBox and kPulley continue to deliver on this promise.

Ice hockey is a high-impact sport that demands a balance of physical and mental abilities. Whether you are a new player or an experienced pro, training and conditioning play a critical role in your performance on the ice. With technological advancements, athletes are adopting innovative training methods, such as flywheel technology, to reach their full potential.

Flywheel technology provides a unique and challenging workout by offering resistance from a spinning flywheel. Unlike traditional weightlifting, flywheel training offers a smoother and more controlled movement, making it an ideal choice for sport-specific training, such as ice hockey.

Key advantages of flywheel training for ice hockey players:

Improved explosive movements: Ice hockey requires quick and powerful movements, such as taking shots, accelerating down the ice, or changing direction suddenly. Flywheel training provides a resistance that is excellent for building power.
Enhanced endurance: Ice hockey is physically demanding and requires players to maintain their speed, strength, and power throughout the game. Flywheel technology helps build local endurance capacity, needed to play at a high level for an extended period.
Injury prevention and recovery: Flywheel technology offers a safe way to train hard the lower limb without putting the back at risk when using a barbell. Back injuries are one of the most common Ice hockey issues among professionals that can be easily avoided by placing the load on your hips with the harness. This accessory, along with the kBox hip belt are definitely a game changer for injury relapse prevention for Ice Hockey players recovering from broken fingers, wrists, arms or shoulders. To sum up, Flywheel technology allows you to train safely, and keep up with the training routine even when recovering.

Revolutionize your hockey performance with key exercises

Take your hockey game to the next level with the kBox and kPulley flywheel devices. Incorporate exercises such as heavy squats, explosive squats, lateral squats and split squats, with the kBox to enhance strength, stride length, and stride power. The kPulley offers a variety of horizontal exercises, including rowing, biceps curls, and chest presses, to target and strengthen the upper body, lower body, and core.

Want to monitor your exercise progress? Both kBox and kPulley include the new kMeter, a measurement device connected to our updated Exxentric App, allowing you to track your progress and stay motivated with high-intensity workouts.

LEVERAGING ECCENTRIC OVERLOAD AND VARIABLE RESISTANCE IN ICE HOCKEY TRAINING

Professional Ice hockey players have seen remarkable performance improvements through eccentric overload and variable resistance training, resulting in accelerated gains in strength and power, making them perfect for pre-season preparation.

Flywheel technology allows for more accessible targeting of sport-specific angles. Two critical factors in skating performance – stride rate and stride length – can be improved through Eccentric overload and variable resistance, enabling players to extend their stride with more power and recover their legs faster.

Variable resistance training provides a more specific training stimulus that maximizes load throughout the full range of motion, activating more motor units and emulating the skating stride. This results in a higher transfer of power and strength, leading to improved performance on the ice.

In conclusion, incorporating eccentric overload and variable resistance training into your routine using flywheel technology, can provide many benefits for ice hockey players of all levels. Whether you’re looking to reach your professional goals or take your game to the next level, these methods can help you cross your own boundaries and improve your performance on the ice.

Happy DOMS!