Aerobic Conditioning for Hockey: Building the Engine

Hockey Horizons Staff Writer | Fitness Kits

The information in this article is for general educational purposes only. The author is not a certified personal trainer or strength and conditioning specialist. Always consult a qualified fitness professional or sports medicine provider before beginning or modifying a training program, particularly if you have any existing injuries or health concerns.

Hockey is commonly described as an anaerobic sport, and there's truth to that description — the explosive shifts and brief rest periods of competitive play put primary demands on the anaerobic energy system. But this characterization misses something important: the aerobic system is what recovers the anaerobic system between shifts. A player with a strong aerobic base recovers faster between explosive efforts, maintains power output later into games, and arrives at the bench after a hard shift ready to go again sooner. Aerobic conditioning is the foundation on which anaerobic performance is built.

Summer is the ideal time to develop aerobic base conditioning because the relatively lower training intensities required don't compromise the strength and power development work happening simultaneously. Aerobic conditioning sessions — runs, bike rides, rowing, swimming, or any sustained activity at moderate intensity — performed three to four times per week for thirty to sixty minutes build the cardiovascular and respiratory capacity that supports everything else you're doing in your summer program.

The intensity of aerobic conditioning sessions matters. True aerobic base work is performed at relatively low intensity — a pace at which you can hold a conversation, roughly sixty to seventy-five percent of your maximum heart rate. Many athletes train too hard on their aerobic days, pushing into a middle intensity that is too hard for efficient aerobic adaptation but too easy to develop anaerobic capacity. The polarized training approach — most conditioning work at genuinely easy intensity, with some high-intensity interval work — has strong research support for developing both the aerobic base and the anaerobic capacity that hockey demands.

How Aerobic Conditioning Shows Up on the Ice

Here is the practical hockey argument for aerobic conditioning: the player who can get on the bench after a hard shift, bring their heart rate down quickly, and be ready to go again in sixty to ninety seconds is worth more to their team than a player who needs three to four minutes to recover. That recovery rate is determined primarily by aerobic fitness. Build your aerobic base this summer, and you'll notice the difference in how you feel in the third period of a close game in December — when the players who didn't train aerobically are running out of gas and you're still going.

At Hockey Horizons, we believe that physical preparation is one of the most controllable variables in a player's development. The work you put in away from the rink is reflected in every shift you take on the ice.

For guidance on the complete development picture, visit us at hockeyhorizons.com.