The sideways hockey stop is the proper and most efficient way to stop on while skating. As mentioned in the previous article, the snowplow stop (the beginner’s stopping technique) uses the outside edge of both skates to slow down the skater.
In contrast, the sideways hockey stop uses inside edge of the leading (front) skate blade and the outside edge of the trailing (back) skate blade. For example when stopping to the right, you’ll need to use the inside edge of your left blade and the outside edge of your right blade.
One final and important point: stopping involves scraping across the top layer (s) of the ice, not digging directly into it. Even very quick stops have a small amount of slide across the top of the ice.
Balance and Momentum
The greatest obstacle to overcome with stopping is the mental aspect. Most people are worried about falling and therefore are hesitant to turn their feet 90 degrees while stopping. However by using a low centre of gravity and shifting weight, it is possible for anyone to learn how to stop. Bending the knees and spreading the feet further apart while stopping will lower one’s centre of gravity and gives the skater more stability and balance.
It may seem very difficult to turn the skated 90 degrees while digging into the ice but this can be overcome by leaning back together with bending your knees and ankles. Use the leverage from the knee bend to help turn your skates while remembering to lean back. The momentum from the stop will bring your body back to the upright position after stopping.
Remember to always practice stopping on both sides!
Back by popular demand, this program is a tried, tested, and true way to safely rid your body of toxins by enhancing the body’s own natural detoxification systems. Participants from last year’s program claimed higher energy levels, better sleep, and improved digestive function.
“I decided to do the group detox program to investigate food sensitivities. Over the course of the three weeks, my stomach issues cleared up, and much to my surprise, my sleep drastically improved! I have continued with a number of the strategies we learned and continue to have great digestive function – especially with respect to my running.” HB
Our very own Cristian Ganea RMT masages in a CBC news spot! Be sure to check out the video below for some interesting facts about massages and recovery.
Maximum strength capacity reaches a peak sometime around the 2nd or 3rd decade of life and by the fifth decade begins a gradual decline. The good news is that 20 weeks of resistance training in older adults can result in a 1 kg increase in lean body mass. This is in contrast to a 0.18 kg annual decline that often occurs with a sedentary lifestyle beyond 50 years of age.Remarkably it is never too late to improve muscle function. Significant strength adaptations have been shown in subjects aged 85 to 97. Procrastination however is not recommended as it is expected that early intervention will translate to better outcomes.
Whether you’re playing hockey, figure skating, or just skating recreationally, knowing how to stop properly and safely is of utmost importance. All skaters should learn how to do a 2 foot hockey stop regardless of ones skill level. Here is a general guide on how to stop properly. It should be noted that nothing can replace the act of practicing yourself on the ice.
Before learning how to stop:
Have sharpened, properly fitting skates. Having dull edges will make stopping much more difficult.
Make sure you have the balance required to stop. Falling is normal when you are first learning, but if you have some ability to skate around the ice without falling it will be much easier.
Don’t be scared. Start off slow and progress to faster speeds. If you are too hesitant to use your edges or are too afraid of falling then you will never learn how to stop. Learn to trust your edges and your balance.
Find ice time where you can practice pressure free and as often as possible.
Know about the skate edges. Skate blades are curved, not flat. As can be seen in the diagram, each skate has 2 edges, an inside and outside edge. When you skate, you will always be on one (turning/stopping) or both (gliding) of those edges.
The Snowplow stop:
This kind of stop should only be utilized by beginners, and is primarily a tool to get new skaters comfortable with using their edges and being balanced. However, this method of stopping is not practical for anything beyond learning and, in my opinion, should not be promoted as more than just a beginner’s tool.
General how-to:
Begin by gliding on two feet with your knees slightly bent. Bending your knees and keeping your center of gravity low and centered is vital for any stopping technique.
Press both feet against/into the ice and let your legs slide slightly out to the sides, ending in an upside down V position. As can be seen in the picture below, the stop should be made using the outside edges of both skates.
The progression is to increase the speed and digging the edges into the ice more, all while keeping your balance.
Stay tuned for advanced hockey stopping techniques as well as some new exercises to strengthen those important gluteal muscles.
We all know the importance of warming up before physical activity. Whether you are going for a run, lifting weights in the gym or hitting the ice for a hockey game. A warm-up has long been part of an athlete’s pre-game routine to help increase performance and decrease injury potential. A good warm up has been recommended to prepare the body for action by increasing muscle temperature and priming both the cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems. Traditionally, a warm up has included some form of light aerobic exercise like jogging followed by stretching. In recent years there has been much research done in the field of stretching and the results are very interesting.
In the past, stretching was considered an important part of all warm-up routines to improve range of motion and flexibility and decrease the chance of injury. Static stretching which consists of stretching individual muscles or muscle groups to the point of slight discomfort and holding for 15-30 seconds was the preferred choice. Today there is a shift towards a more active approach known as dynamic stretching that involves movements through the full functional range of joint motion in a controlled and coordinated manor. Dynamic stretching more closely resembles the movements we perform during physical activity and doesn’t involve an isolated hold. This shift follows a substantial body of evidence which suggests that static stretches may impair performance when done before activities that require a large amount of power, strength or speed (e.g. Weight-training, Sprinting and Jumping activities).
Static isolated stretching may still play an important role in recovery or cool down from activity when the muscles are more extensible, warm and full of blood. Additionally, static stretching can be an important part of an injury prevention or rehabilitation program targeting a particular muscle imbalance that you may have, as identified by a qualified Sports therapist. Regular static stretching can still be useful but it appears the timing is important. Current research suggests that dynamic stretching should be utilized just prior to sporting activity as part of your warm up.
Make an appointment today with Osteopath Luke Fuller who can perform a musculoskeletal screen to identify any muscle imbalances or areas that require more flexibility. Luke can teach you the dynamic stretching exercises that professional athlete’s use, which will enhance your performance today.
Purpose: A quick guide to running injury prevention. This article is a lead in to an almost complete e-book that runners can use to keep healthy and improve performance.
Preamble:
Injury prevention for runners is not rock-solidly founded in science… and may not even be possible. With runners it is more injury management. You are going to get injured and you are going to have some aches and pains. The ideal is to minimize your lost training time and avoid some of the nasty injuries that can jeopardize your long term running and goals.
As I said, injury management is not a science. What works for one person often does not work for another. Unfortunately, there are few strong statements that we can make about injury prevention.
If a therapist tells you that you must do “x” to prevent injuries then for the most part they probably don’t know what they are talking about. Injury prevention articles tend to glom onto whatever is fadish (e.g. core stability, dynamic warm ups, stretching, minimalism).
This article will be some opinion that is informed by some research. All of the suggestions can help some of the time.
We can roughly categorize injury factors into extrinsic factors (something outside of yourself) and intrinsic factors (things about you).
There is a strong trend within running circles and sporting communities toward minimalist or even barefoot running. These dirty feet minimalists argue that running in the comfy and bulky shoes marketed to us by the shoe companies cause us to run with strides that are too long and to land with our heels. These two features lead to a high impact force upon landing and may lead to future injuries…at least according to proponents of minimalist running. On the other foot, those that run barefoot (or at least with a minimal shoe, think Vibrams or shoes with the heel the same height as the forefoot) will automatically run with shorter steps, will land on their forefoot and will have a no significant impact force when their foot first strikes the ground. The argument is that this is how nature intended and our shoes are getting in the way of us running “naturally”.
I’m currently a 28 year old men’s league hockey player who plays twice a week in a fairly competitive division. For almost a year, my right hip was progressively getting more and more painful after every game. I had never had these issues before and I started wondering what was going on. I had heard through a friend that Dr. Weinberg had developed a screening system to help identify specific issues with hockey players, so I decided to give it a shot.
