What the research says

Three stances measured in the lab, average hip flexion

Too upright

55.6°hip flexion

The vastus lateralis works 16% harder. All the load falls on the quads, the glutes go to sleep, the push shortens.

Shin aligned with torso

59.7°hip flexion

The torso angle copies the shin angle. The most evenly shared activation between the front and the back of the thigh, and the least low-back work.

Too bent over

70.0°hip flexion

Glutes and hamstrings overloaded, low back working harder. A stance that pays on acceleration and costs when it is held all game.

High-caliber players bend more, not less

On-ice kinematic analyses show that high-caliber skaters use a greater range of motion at the hip and the knee than low-caliber skaters, which lengthens the stride. More flexion before the push means more extension range available, so more force produced in the push-off.

Upjohn, Turcotte, Pearsall, Loh, 2008, Sports Biomechanics · Buckeridge et al., 2015, PLOS ONE

Shin-to-torso alignment spreads the muscular load

Nineteen NCAA Division 1 college players skated on a slide board in three stances. In the bent-over stance, the gluteus maximus and the semitendinosus rose by roughly 20% and 17% compared with the upright stance. In the upright stance, the vastus lateralis rose by 16%. With shin-to-torso alignment, activation was the most evenly distributed, and the low-back muscles worked the least.

Pring, Solomon, O'Brien, Conners, Whitehead, 2021, International Journal of Exercise Science 14(1), 552-562

Fatigue is what stands a player back up

Fatigue in a single muscle group degrades technique in the squat position, and the authors extend the reasoning to skating. A stance that overloads one group therefore breaks down faster over a game. Roughly 70% of the injuries across an elite junior hockey season are overuse injuries, more than a third of them at the hip and the groin.

Hooper et al., 2014, JSCR · Listola, 2013 (Pring et al., 2021)

The ankle is the number one lock

Insufficient stance depth is typically limited by foot stability, ankle dorsiflexion range, strength in the low position, hip flexion range and pelvic control. A lack of dorsiflexion forces compensations, a heel that lifts or a knee that caves inward, and it cuts the hip flexion available.

Kevin Neeld, physical barriers of the skating stride · Hockey Training, ankle mobility · Nishida et al., 2020

The weight has to travel through the forefoot

In-skate pressure measurements show that high-caliber players apply more force through the front of the foot and more medio-lateral pressure, while low-caliber players press flatter. That is exactly the cue trained with a shin angled forward.

Buckeridge et al., 2015, PLOS ONE · Trumper, 2006 · Renaud et al., 2017

Safe plyometric dosing for teenage athletes

Systematic reviews in youth athletes recommend starting at 50 to 60 ground contacts per session and not exceeding 80 to 120 contacts, with 3 to 4 exercises, 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 15 reps, two sessions a week over 8 to 10 weeks and 72 hours between sessions. This program stays inside those limits.

Bedoya, Miltenberger, Lopez, 2015, JSCR · NSCA, SCPE

Warm-up, 5 minutes

The same five movements before every session, in this order. Knee to wall is both the test and the first drill.

É1

Knee to wall

10 per side

Foot about one inch from the wall, heel glued to the floor, drive the knee toward the wall while keeping it lined up over the second toe. Walk the foot back to the greatest distance where the heel stays down.

Key pointThis is the test and the drill at the same time. Log the distance in inches, it should grow week over week. The skate already limits dorsiflexion, so every degree gained off the ice is a degree of depth gained on the ice.

É2

Lunge with torso rotation

5 per side

Long step forward, back knee toward the floor, then rotate the torso toward the front leg. Open the hip on the back side by pushing the pelvis forward.

Key pointIt frees the psoas. A stiff hip in flexion blocks depth just as much as a stiff ankle.

É3

Bodyweight squat, tempo

10 reps, 3 sec at the bottom

Three seconds down, a three-second pause at the bottom, normal speed back up. Heels down from start to finish.

Key pointThe pause at the bottom teaches the nervous system that the low position is a stable place, not a place to escape from.

É4

Lateral walk in a hockey stance

2 x 10 meters

Low position, chest tall, side steps without the hips rising and falling. A resistance band around the knees if you have one.

Key pointIt wakes up the gluteus medius, the muscle that keeps the knee from caving inward on landing.

É5

Pogo jumps

2 x 15 sec

Small hops in place, knees nearly straight, all the work coming from the ankle and the foot. Ground contact as short as possible.

Key pointIt preps the Achilles tendons before the real plyometrics. It does not count toward the ground contact total, the intensity is low.

Day A · Vertical and linear plyometrics

30 minutes58 ground contactsrest 60 to 90 sec

Warm-up5 min

Plyometric block12 min

Strength block10 min

Core3 min

Plyometric block, always first

Box jump, stuck landing

4 x 4

A 16-inch box to start, 24 inches from week 4 on. Load into a half squat, arms swung back, jump off two feet, land on the box and freeze for 2 seconds. Always step back down, never jump down.

Key pointThe landing has to reproduce the hockey stance, shins angled forward, hips back, chest tall. If he lands with straight legs, the box is too high and he is only tucking his knees up instead of absorbing.

Broad jump, frozen landing

3 x 4

Feet shoulder width, arms swinging back, explode forward as far as possible. Land and freeze for a full 3 seconds.

Key pointIf the player takes a step or falls forward on landing, the rep does not count. Shorten the distance until every landing is stuck. It is the control, not the distance, that transfers to the ice.

Skater bound with a full stop

3 x 5 per leg

Balanced on one leg, knee bent. Explosive lateral jump, landing on the other leg only, a full 2-second stop without the second foot touching the floor.

Key pointThis is the movement that best copies the biomechanics of the stride. Watch the landing knee, if it caves inward, shorten the distance right away.

Strength block, as a superset, 60 sec rest

Bench press

4 x 6superset with A5

Controlled load, he has to finish every set with 2 or 3 reps still in reserve. Shoulder blades pinched, bar touching the lower chest.

Key pointNothing to do with the stance, but a strong trunk and upper body are what let a player protect the puck and win the battles along the boards without standing up.

Hockey stance iso hold

4 x 30 secsuperset with A4

Standing, no wall. Sink until the thighs are below parallel, shins angled forward, torso leaning at the same angle as the shins. Hold a 10-pound plate at arm's length in front of you to help balance.

Key pointThis is the most direct drill in the program. Get filmed from the side, the shin and the torso have to form two parallel lines. If the torso is more vertical than the shin, he is too upright. If it is more horizontal, he is too bent over.

Session finisher, 3 minutes

Dips

2 x 8

Controlled descent until the upper arm is parallel to the floor, no lower. If it is too easy, slow the descent to 3 seconds before adding weight.

Key pointEnd the set as soon as the shoulders roll forward.

Dead bug

2 x 8 per side

Low back pressed to the floor the whole time. Opposite arm and leg extend slowly, then return.

Key pointPelvic control is what keeps the low back from arching when the hip folds to 60 degrees. Without it, the depth gets stolen from the lumbar spine.

Day B · Strength, squat dominant

30 minutesno plyometrics90 sec rest on the squat

Warm-up5 min

Squat12 min

Superset10 min

Low back, core3 min

Main block

Back squat in the rack

4 x 5

Bar on the upper back, heels down, controlled descent to parallel or below. With a growing player you never chase a maximum, he has to finish every set with 2 or 3 reps in reserve. Safety bars set at lower-chest height.

Key pointThe squat builds strength in the low position, and the research shows the hip angle of a well-aligned stance is comparable to that of a squat. If the heels lift at the bottom, it is the ankle, not strength, and knee to wall becomes the priority.

Superset, 60 sec rest between rounds

Bulgarian split squat

3 x 8 per legsuperset with B3

Back foot on the bench, dumbbells in hand. Slow descent, the front knee tracking the line of the foot. Torso leaning slightly forward, not vertical.

Key pointSkating is a one-leg sport. This is the best unilateral strength transfer in the program, and the forward-leaning version recruits more glute, exactly like a low stance.

Romanian deadlift with an EZ bar

3 x 8superset with B2

Knees slightly bent and fixed, hips pushing back, bar sliding along the thighs. Go down until you feel the hamstrings stretch, back flat, then come back by driving the hips forward.

Key pointThe glutes and the hamstrings are what hold the torso leaning forward. When they quit, the player stands up. It is also the best protection against groin and hamstring strains, the most common overuse injuries in hockey.

Session finisher, 5 minutes

Roman chair back extension

3 x 12

Controlled descent, coming back up to body alignment only, never into hyperextension. No jerking from the hips.

Key pointEndurance of the spinal erectors. They are what keep the chest tall when the hip is folded, and they quit late in a game before the legs do.

Cable Pallof press

2 x 10 per side

Standing side-on to the cable, in a low hockey stance. Press the handle straight out in front of you and resist the rotation. Return slowly.

Key pointDo it in the low position, not standing tall. The trunk has to learn to resist rotation while the hips are flexed, which is exactly the demand of a shot or a body check.

Day C · Lateral plyometrics and agility

30 minutes71 ground contactsrest 60 to 90 sec

Warm-up5 min

Plyometric block12 min

Strength block10 min

Finisher3 min

Plyometric block

Depth drop from a 16-inch box

3 x 5

This is not a jump down. He steps off into the air and lets himself drop, lands on two feet and absorbs into a deep hockey stance, held for 3 seconds.

Key pointThis is the drill that teaches the body to accept the low position under load. Stay at 16 inches, height adds nothing here, the quality of the absorption is everything.

Continuous lateral bound

3 x 6 per side

Unlike day A, here you do not freeze. Ground contact as short as possible, straight back the other way, like a pendulum.

Key pointThe body has to stay low between the bounds. If the hips rise between reps, he loses the elastic spring and the drill turns into cardio.

Single leg hop and stick

2 x 5 per leg

Small forward hop on one leg, landing held for 3 seconds on the same leg, arms out for balance.

Key pointThis is the balance test of the program. If the knee collapses inward or the player has to hop to catch himself, cut the distance in half.

Strength block, as a superset, 60 sec rest

Wide-grip lat pulldown

4 x 8superset with C5

Chest tall, pull the elbows toward the ribs rather than pulling with the arms. A one-second pause at the bottom of every rep.

Key pointA strong back holds the chest tall when the trunk is leaning. That is what separates a low stance from a rounded back.

Step up onto a 16-inch box

3 x 8 per legsuperset with C4

Dumbbells in hand, a slow climb without pushing off the back foot, then a controlled 3-second descent.

Key pointThe 3-second descent is exactly the eccentric work used to brake and change direction on the ice. It is the part most players skip.

Finisher, 3 minutes

Jump lunges

2 x 20 sec

Start in a lunge, jump straight up, switch legs in the air, land softly in the opposite lunge.

Key pointThis is muscular endurance in the bent position. It is precisely what the player who stands up in the third period is missing. End the set if the lunges get shallower.

Side plank

2 x 30 sec per side

Body in a straight line from head to heels, hip high, no tipping forward.

Key pointLateral stability of the pelvis. It is the link between a one-leg push and the rest of the body.

Progression over 12 weeks

Period	Goal	What changes
Weeks 1 to 3	Learn to land	A 16-inch box, every landing held 3 seconds, light loads on the squat, absolute priority on technique and on a silent landing. About 55 contacts per session.
Weeks 4 to 7	Add height and load	A 24-inch box on day A, squat at 5 x 5, one extra set on one plyometric drill per day, continuous lateral bounds. About 75 contacts per session.
Weeks 8 to 12	Reactivity	Shorter ground contacts, combinations such as a lateral bound followed immediately by a box jump, squat at 4 x 4 and heavier. Maximum 100 contacts per session. The low position should have become automatic.
In season	Maintenance	Two sessions a week, one set less on every plyometric drill. Keep day B intact, it is the strength maintenance that protects against injuries.

The rules you do not break

Surface

Grass, rubber matting or a gym floor. Never plyometrics on bare concrete.

Order

Always plyometrics before strength, never after. The nervous system has to be fresh.

Rest

60 to 90 seconds between plyometric sets. If the player is out of breath, he stands up.

Stop

As soon as technique degrades, the set is over. A bad rep teaches bad mechanics.

Growth

With a growing player, never a maximum on the squat. Two or three reps in reserve on every set.

Pain

Knee or Achilles pain that lasts more than 48 hours, pull the plyometrics and keep the strength work.

Spacing

At least 48 hours between days A and C, ideally 72.

Measuring progress

Test	What is measured	Target
Knee to wall	The greatest distance between the toe and the wall where the knee still touches with the heel down, measured in inches, both sides	Gain at least one inch in 8 weeks, with no more than a half-inch gap between the two legs
Hockey stance iso hold	Maximum time in the low position with shin-to-torso alignment, filmed from the side to check the angle	Go from 45 seconds to 90 seconds, which is two full shifts
Broad jump	Distance in inches, a stuck landing required for the attempt to count	The distance goes up without the landing quality going down. A distance that rises with missed landings is a step back, not progress.

The gym sheet

One page to print and fold into the bag. The three days, in order, with the doses.

Lower your stance

12 weeks · 3 sessions of 30 min

Warm-up, before every sessionKnee to wall 10 per side · Lunge with torso rotation 5 per side · Bodyweight squat, tempo 10 reps, 3 sec at the bottom · Lateral walk in a hockey stance 2 x 10 meters · Pogo jumps 2 x 15 sec

AVertical and linear plyometrics

Box jump, stuck landing4 x 4
Broad jump, frozen landing3 x 4
Skater bound with a full stop3 x 5 per leg
Bench press4 x 6
Hockey stance iso hold4 x 30 sec
Dips2 x 8
Dead bug2 x 8 per side

30 minutes · 58 ground contacts · rest 60 to 90 sec

BStrength, squat dominant

Back squat in the rack4 x 5
Bulgarian split squat3 x 8 per leg
Romanian deadlift with an EZ bar3 x 8
Roman chair back extension3 x 12
Cable Pallof press2 x 10 per side

30 minutes · no plyometrics · 90 sec rest on the squat

CLateral plyometrics and agility

Depth drop from a 16-inch box3 x 5
Continuous lateral bound3 x 6 per side
Single leg hop and stick2 x 5 per leg
Wide-grip lat pulldown4 x 8
Step up onto a 16-inch box3 x 8 per leg
Jump lunges2 x 20 sec
Side plank2 x 30 sec per side

30 minutes · 71 ground contacts · rest 60 to 90 sec

SurfaceGrass, rubber matting or a gym floor. Never plyometrics on bare concrete.OrderAlways plyometrics before strength, never after. The nervous system has to be fresh.Rest60 to 90 seconds between plyometric sets. If the player is out of breath, he stands up.StopAs soon as technique degrades, the set is over. A bad rep teaches bad mechanics.GrowthWith a growing player, never a maximum on the squat. Two or three reps in reserve on every set.PainKnee or Achilles pain that lasts more than 48 hours, pull the plyometrics and keep the strength work.SpacingAt least 48 hours between days A and C, ideally 72.

References

Every number on this page comes from one of these sources. The links lead to the original text.

Pring N, Solomon S, O'Brien A, Conners R, Whitehead P (2021)
The effect of shin-torso alignment on muscle activity and joint angles of the lower extremity in collegiate ice hockey players
International Journal of Exercise Science, 14(1), 552-562
The slide board study of the three stances: it supplies the 55.6, 59.7 and 70.0 degree hip angles and the muscle activation gaps.
Read it
Buckeridge E, LeVangie M, Stetter B, Nigg S, Nigg B (2015)
An on-ice measurement approach to analyse the biomechanics of ice hockey skating
PLOS ONE, 10, e0127324
In-skate pressure measurements: it supports the forefoot finding and the greater range of motion in high-caliber players.
Read it
Upjohn T, Turcotte R, Pearsall D, Loh J (2008)
Three-dimensional kinematics of the lower limbs during forward ice hockey skating
Sports Biomechanics, 7(2), 206-221
Three-dimensional kinematics of the stride: the source of the link between hip and knee range of motion and stride length.
No verified free link
Bedoya A, Miltenberger M, Lopez R (2015)
Plyometric training effects on athletic performance in youth soccer athletes, a systematic review
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Systematic review in youth athletes: the source of the ground contact, set and frequency limits used in this program.
Read it
Be Elite High Performance Therapy
Skating biomechanics, push-off effectiveness
Renaud 2017, Pearsall 2008, Trumper 2006
A synthesis of push-off effectiveness research, used to connect medio-lateral pressure to skater caliber.
Read it
Neeld K
Analyzing the skating stride, physical barriers
kevinneeld.com
Lists the physical barriers of the stride: foot stability, dorsiflexion, strength in the low position, hip flexion, pelvic control.
Read it
Hockey Training
Ankle stability and mobility drills for hockey players
hockeytraining.com
Supports the role of ankle dorsiflexion as the first limiter of stance depth.
Read it

This program is not medical advice. If joint pain persists, see a physiotherapist or a kinesiologist before continuing.

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