If you start stretching exercises in early childhood, the results are excellent. Children have more flexibility in their bones, muscles, and joints than adults. With a bit of effort, children can make a big difference in their flexibility. It’s especially when it comes to Hockey Stick handling techniques. On the other hand, older athletes have to work harder and find it more challenging to achieve the mobility needed for ice hockey. Now, let’s find out how to properly stretch your body when having an ice hockey workout session.
Always Warm Up First
Agility is a crucial component to your success on the ice. Even if you are strong, fast, agile, and have many core strengths, it can be challenging to execute well. Before you go out on the ice, you should do some stretching exercises. Before stretching exercises, you need to warm up. Warming up allows your muscles to relax so that you can stretch more easily. These exercises can also be done at the end of field hockey drills to improve flexibility.
Focus on Your Body Alignment
When stretching, don’t neglect the alignment of your body. You can’t just stretch one area of your body. Other parts need to be correctly aligned as well. If you do not maintain proper body alignment, you may experience extreme fatigue or even muscle tears. You can damage ligaments when you try to strengthen or stretch a joint or muscle. You will hurt yourself more than you gain.
Control Your Moves and Stretches
When doing your stretching exercises, be sure to control your movements and stretches. There are two types of stretching exercises: static and dynamic. For static stretches, go slowly. Keep moving and exercise regularly. Static stretches should last no longer than 30 seconds and should be performed 3 to 5 times per round. Professionals and athletes should extend their static stretches for a few minutes.
Agility exercises on ice are the second type of dynamic stretching workout. There should be no wobbling during dynamic stretching exercises. Players who do not know how to stretch correctly or incorrectly may suffer from pain or even injury. This is especially true when the game has just begun. Under such circumstances, a doctor should be consulted.
Stretch Up With Slow Pace
There’s a fine line between stretching past the breaking point and stretching to the end of pain. This exercise is designed to improve flexibility. You can only do it at a slow pace. You may find yourself lying in bed, trying to achieve maximum flexibility in one session. It is essential to take things slow and careful. Start with simple movements and short sessions. If you keep practicing every day, you will eventually be able to stretch more and more. You will see positive results if you practice patience and wisdom. If you follow the rules above, you can be flexible and still be safe.
After taking several stretching exercises, it’s time to get some gameplay training and drills. One thing that you need the most in this training session is the hockey stick. To get the best result of your training, make sure to use the best ice hockey stick. You can try to find the right size that fits your hands and your body posture. Also, make sure to consider the stick’s flexibility. Finally, find out where the stick kicks and check the blade.