Training Camp Is Three Weeks Away: What to Do Right Now

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.

September is close. If you've trained well all summer, this is a moment to feel good about the work you've put in and to shift your focus from building fitness to arriving at camp in the best possible physical condition. If the summer didn't go exactly as planned — and for most players, some things got in the way — this is still a window where smart choices make a meaningful difference. Three weeks is enough time to sharpen what you have. It is not enough time to build what you haven't.

The most important thing to understand about the two to three weeks before camp is that this is not the time to push your hardest. The biggest training error players make in late August and early September is trying to cram in a summer's worth of conditioning in the final few weeks. The result is arriving at camp fatigued, potentially nursing a training-related injury, and underperforming relative to the fitness level they actually had because they never allowed their body to recover from the last hard training block.

The concept you need to understand and apply right now is the taper — a planned reduction in training volume while maintaining intensity, designed to allow accumulated fatigue to dissipate and underlying fitness to express itself fully. Reduce total training volume by twenty to thirty percent compared to your peak summer training weeks. Maintain the intensity of what you do — still lift with good loads, still sprint with max effort — but do less of it. Get more sleep. Eat well. Hydrate well. Show up to camp with energy in the tank.

On-Ice Time Becomes the Priority

In the final two to three weeks before camp, skating sessions should become your highest training priority. Skate as many times per week as ice access allows. The neuromuscular patterns of skating are different from any off-ice movement, and even players who trained extremely well off the ice all summer need to rebuild the skating-specific movement patterns and fitness that only time on the ice develops. Skating sessions now are not just skill work — they are the final phase of your pre-camp physical preparation.

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.