Simple Off-Ice Warm Up for Ice Hockey

For players, there are considerable benefits to doing a simple warm up for ice hockey, off-ice before practices and games. And just to make things clear, I’m afraid to say a few rounds of two-touch doesn’t count as a structured warm-up. 

The first obvious reasons are through Injury Prevention and Sports Performance. Performing low intensity dynamic activity in a way that mobilises joints and potentiates musculature is effective for reducing the risk of injuries such as strains and sprains. The main benefit towards sports performance is that warm-ups encourage physical and psychological readiness to perform complex powerful movements required to play the sport. 

The less obvious reasons to regularly perform warm-ups are benefits towards general Team Building and Athletic Development. For the UK based ice hockey player, ice time is almost always limited to a few hours a week, meaning players have limited opportunity to bond in a productive way. Setting aside and extra 15-minutes to warm-up as a team prior to every practice and game can add up to much more time spent together, and many more minutes over the season of work focussing on activity that prioritises ideal movement patterns.