Last updated on February 5th, 2024 at 02:55 pm

The game of hockey is all about speed!  The faster you can skate the more success you’ll experience on the ice. Performing exercises for skating faster will be your best bet to help improve on-ice performance.

These 7 exercises give you the most bang for your buck in regard to increasing skating speed on the ice.

Trap Bar Deadlift

Bulgarian Split Squat

Lateral Lunge

Lateral Hop

Lateral Bounds

Pallof Press

Sprinting

These exercises take into consideration improvements in strength both bilateral and single leg, core stability, lateral power, and speed. Everything you need to become more explosive on the ice.

Increases in Strength, Power, and Explosiveness = Faster Skating

  Maximizing on-ice performance is a top priority for any hockey player. Achieving faster skating speeds involves more than just technique—it’s about harnessing strength, power, and explosiveness. These fundamental elements play a pivotal role in propelling skaters forward. When focused training targets these areas, the outcomes are transformative.

Increasing strength not only enhances stability, but also generates the force necessary for powerful strides. Combining this with improved power results in the ability to accelerate swiftly. Moreover, explosiveness amplifies these efforts, translating into quick bursts of speed and agile movements on the ice.

Understanding and refining these aspects are the key to unlocking greater speed and why performing exercises for skating can be a game changer.  These exercises fit in perfectly with sprint training, which could be the grandaddy of them all.  Now let’s take a look at these exercises for skating faster and explain their importance and application.

Exercises For Skating Faster Begin with Trap Bar Deadlift

The trap Bar Deadlift is my favorite bilateral leg exercise for improving strength.  The reason why this exercise made the list is due to its safety on the lower back and the stress it applies to the Quadriceps which are the main muscles used during a skating stride. Also this exercise is great for beginners and experienced lifters.

 To perform this exercise properly make sure you have a neutral spine and an upright posture.  Knees should be driven out and feet shoulder width apart.  Apply some tension to the bar before lifting it off of the ground to avoid any jolting through the body from the driving up of the movement.  I like to control the bar on the way down to take advantage of the eccentric contraction of the Quad muscle which gives you great strength benefits.

View the video for this exercise

Bulgarian Split Squat Adds single Leg Strength for a Stronger Stride

Another one of the best exercises for skating faster is the Bulgarian Split Squat or sometimes referred to as the Rear Elevated Single Leg Split Squat.  This movement provides more sports specificity because of only have one leg experiencing the majority of the load.  Skating and running/sprinting are performed on one leg which makes single leg movements ideal for improving sports performance.

This exercise is performed by elevating your rear foot onto a bench with the other foot planted completely on the ground a couple feet in front of the bench.  You then lower the raised knee towards the ground feeling a comfortable stretch in the front of your leg.  Follow this by lifting yourself back up off the ground with the majority of the force coming from the heel of the front planted foot.  

View the video for this exercise

Do you want to get quicker, more explosive, and faster?

 The Lateral Lunge Is One Of The Best Exercises For Skating Faster

The Lateral Lunge is another great strengthening exercise and trains your legs in the same plane as the skating stride.  This is another very sport specific exercise because of that fact. The Lateral lunge is performed by stepping out to the side and immediately pushing back to the starting position making sure to push the hips back as you lower yourself towards the ground.

View the video for this exercise

A More Explosive Skating Stride With The Lateral Hop

Power exercises for skating are extremely important.  Speed is built on a foundation of strength and power.  The Lateral Hop is a great Plyometric exercise to develop the power needed for a fast and explosive skating stride. It can also be performed inside or outside which makes it very versatile.

The Lateral Hop is performed by balancing on one leg and hopping forcefully on to the other leg by pushing sideways or laterally.  After sticking the landing, you hop back in the opposite direction side to side.

View the video for this exercise

Exercises for Skating, Don’t Forget Lateral Bounds

Powerful Lateral Bounds take Lateral Hops to the next level.  This movement is very reminiscent of a skating stride and is one of the top rated exercises for skating.  Bounds are another great example of a Plyometric movement to improve the skating stride and enhance explosiveness.

Lateral Bounds are performed in the same manner as Lateral Hops.  The only difference is that instead of hopping directly sideways, you are hopping in a slight diagonal line moving forward.  You are also immediately upon landing hopping in the other direction.

View the video for this exercise

Core Stability With The Pallof Press

In order to demonstrate speed, you need to be able to transfer the force you put into the ground or ice through the rest of the body.  This is only successful with a strong stable core. Without core stability, you are basically a wet noodle slowly moving down the ice unable to generate any type of speed or explosiveness.

The Pallof Press is performed by kneeling on one knee and extending a power band out in front of you which is attached to a bar or pole.  You must resist the pull of the band to twist you around.  By doing this you are strengthening your core musculature that will keep everything stiff and powerful.

View the video for the exercise

Sprinting Exercises for Skating Faster

To skate fast you need to move fast.  Therefore one of the most common ways of expressing speed is through sprinting.  By actually trying to move your body as fast as you possibly can you will inevitably improve your skating speed.  

Simply perform sprints repeated several times with complete rest between bouts to allow for muscle and energy system recovery.  Sprinting at 90% plus intensity will definitely create improvement. Timed sprints are actually really good to measure progress.

View the video for the exercise

How to Skate Faster

Performing exercises to improve Strength, power, and explosiveness are definitely important to in turn improve skating speed, however there are a few more areas you would want to focus on.

These areas would include skating posture, stride length, and stride frequency when looking for other beneficial pieces to the puzzle in regards to how to skate faster.

Skating Posture

Let’s look at skating posture first. Your posture should be slightly upright. Not perpendicular to the ground, but definitely not bent all the way forward. In-between at a roughly 45 degree angle is perfect.

Hinging at the hips slightly with a knee bend will allow you to obtain a full length stride and take full advantage of your leg strength and power.

Stride Length

Stride length should be full with complete extension of the leg and don’t forget to extend all the way through the ankle to the toe in order to not leave any power on the table. You’re missing out on speed and explosiveness if you are kicking up the heels early and not pushing through to a toe flick at the end.

Stride Frequency

Stride frequency deals with how many strides you can perform in a particular period of time. The quicker your stride frequency the faster your skating speed. Breaking it down further, you can think of how quickly you can perform a complete full extension stride and then bring your leg back into position to produce another stride and repeating this process as quickly and as powerful as possible.

To summarize, by performing these top 7 exercises for skating faster as part of your hockey training, along with improvements in skating posture and stride you should have no problem increasing your skating speed and stride explosiveness.  Through the benefits of increased strength, power, and speed off the ice, you will definitely notice the difference in your on ice performance.

If you are definitely interested in increasing skating speed, explosiveness, strength, and power then you definitely want to check out Tier One Hockey Training! This is the most comprehensive hockey off ice training program you’ll find anywhere! Gym or no gym, rookie or vet, Male or female, weights or bodyweight? It has it all!

Do you want to get quicker, more explosive, and faster?

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