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EXPLORE THE STICK SKILLS LAB

SKATING TREADMILL

Improve stride length, efficiency, power, speed and endurance through technique and conditioning work on HEAT's incline hockey skating treadmill (HST)

The Hockey Treadmill’s lubricated ice-like surface trains hockey players to become more powerful and efficient skaters. It tilts to a 32% grade and reaches speeds up to 16 mph. Research proves that incline treadmill skating helps athletes produce more power on each stride versus rink skating. Regular use enables athletes to enhance their breakaway speed, develop quicker cuts, improve their power in the first three strides, and gain overall conditioning. 

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INTERVAL INCLINE TRAINING

Traditional interval workouts help recruit intermediate and fast-twitch muscle fibers. By being used together, these two fiber types learn to interact more efficiently.

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Hill sprints and maximum effort sprints help recruit the maximum amount of fast-twitch muscle fibers. Speed work is important to make each stride more explosive, helping you get more bang for your buck with a maximum efficiency stride.

W - O - R - K  ETHIC & CONFIDENCE

There is no shortcut or hack to skating through a treadmill workout. In order to execute each rep players have to focus, dig deep, and push hard stride after stride. When back on the ice, muscles will remember and confidence will grow knowing the work has been done. 

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INSTANT FEEDBACK

1-1 coaching and a mirrored environment allow players to receive feedback to improve skating mechanics in high rep

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Hockey Treadmill Studies

https://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/15086/Brock_Lamers_Dylan_2021.pdf?sequence=1

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14763140701322952

Additional Benefits of the Skating Treadmill

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  • Improvement of skating technique as well as being more effective. Beginners learn fast the introductory/basic hockey stride.

  • Learn and/or improve multitasking during skating - stickhandling, shooting, etc.

  • Learn how to shoot in stride, improvement of accuracy.

  • Development of peripheral vision.

  • Increase your skating speed and condition. Very important; serves also as a tool for prevention of groin injuries.

  • Use in individualized preparation of a player in a certain area, which is important in the overall preparation.

  • possibility of immediate feedback from the coach (the coach moves around the skater)

  • possibility to adjust the difficulty of the exercise in real time (speed, inclination, complexity of the exercise)

  • Possibility of precise control of load intensity during fitness or technical training (speed, inclination, complexity of exercise)

  • artificial ice resistance forces players to skate as efficiently as possible (the development of optimal technique is assured)

  • the possibility of continues skating during any exercises (never run out of the space as on the ice sheet)

  • the necessity of continuous active skating during the puck handling, passing and receiving.

SKATING TREADMILL FAQs

Does it ruin your skate blades? 

The newest synthetic ice has built in lubricants that wear your skate blades in a similar fashion that skating on regular ice would. From our experience , we've found that a 200lb player will not need to sharpen skates until after 4-6 treadmill sessions. But, personal preference plays a factor. If you like grip, make sure to sharpen your skates before treadmill sessions and test them afterwards at an on-ice practice before going right into a game.

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What do I wear while training on the treadmill?

You are welcome to wear lowers to train, but most of our athletes wear athletic shorts and shirts. 

Should I bring a stick to training?

Yes, beginner to advanced skaters can benefit from using their stick during specific treadmill drills. 

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