how long does a hockey game last?

There are different schools of thought about hockey goalie fitness. Which school you go to probably depends on the type of goalie you are. Filing into one school are the goalies who love to work hard, they are the blue collar goalie who wants to be the fittest player on the ice. I remember one pro goalie I used to train who would do his entire workout for the day, but still wanted to go for a 40-minute run at the end of the day.

Sauntering into the halls of the other school are those goalies who feel they are more of a finesse player who can stop the puck through sheer skill, fitness is not their concern.

In my opinion, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. The hockey goalie’s fitness must allow them to play their position effectively through the entire game. They must be fit enough to handle unforeseen circumstances, such as playing into triple overtime of the championship game, without losing steam and focus.

If your personal goal is to be the fittest player on your team, then that is a personal decision and as long as your training intensity does not increase your risk of injury then go for it! Please don’t train hours and hours just for the sake of being able to brag in the locker room about how you trained for six-hours per day. All training should have a purpose and a target outcome.

The target outcome we are discussing in this article is cardiovascular fitness and I would like to share two different workouts with you. One is a more traditional ‘cardio training’ format and the other goalie fitness workout is a little more cutting edge by including more bodyweight training and exercises requiring more body dexterity. I think both have value, I would include each workout each week.

Traditional Interval Workout

Begin with a 10-minute dynamic warm-up for your hips, knees, ankles and back.
You can complete this workout on a bicycle, running outdoors or on a slideboard.
Warm-up for 3-5 minutes with light pedaling, running or striding on the slideboard.
Sprint as hard as you can for 20-seconds.
Spin, jog or stride very lightly for 10-seconds.
Repeat this sprint: recover pattern eight times for a total time of 4-minutes.
Spin, jog or stride very lightly for 2-3 minutes of active recovery
Repeat the 20s on: 10s off intervals eight more times.
Spin, jog or stride very lightly for 2-3 minutes of active recovery
Repeat the 20s on: 10s off intervals eight more times.
Cool down for 3-5-minutes and then complete stretches for your hips, quadriceps, hamstrings and lower back. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds.
Total workout time: 40-minutes including dynamic warm-up and cool-down

New School Goalie Fitness Workout

Begin with a 10-minute dynamic warm-up for your hips, knees, ankles and
You can do this workout anywhere – make sure you push yourself all the way through, do not coast. Perform the following exercises back to back without rest between.
50 Jumping Jacks
25 Burpees
50 Lateral Hops (25 each) – hopping from one foot to the other similar to a lateral crease push
25 Push Ups (go to your knees if you must)
50 Mountain Climbers – you may not be familiar with this one but you start in a push up position with one knee bent and the other knee extended. Try to keep your hips down as you quickly alternate foot positions.
25 Mini Squats in the bottom half of the range. Begin with your thighs parallel to the floor and only stand half way up.
Rest for 2-3 minutes between each cycle and repeat the cycle 3 times in total.
Total workout time: approximately 24-minutes
These hockey goalie fitness workouts are intended for athletes who are involved in regular training and injury free.