I had an email from one of the hockey players I train online last week and he was in a bit of a panic – he felt really tired, even when he was on the ice, he felt sluggish, like he didn’t have the pop he wanted.

I saw it in the gym this past week too when we tested Standing Long Jump – despite some of our athletes hitting huge PRs, overall, the average score was down slightly.

10 or 15 years ago, I would have panicked too.

But it is something I see at this point in the off-season every single year.  It is fine, I would even say it is good.

Here’s why…

Our athletes are working hard, the hockey players are spending more time in the gym and outside working on their speed and agility than they do during the in-season.

Even though they don’t have games or practices, they are working harder and their body is getting pooped.

This is the ONLY time of the year that they can fill (over-fill) their envelope of strength, speed, power, stamina, etc., so we go for it.

Being tired is okay, you are not battling for the championships in July.  Most of you aren’t even in tryouts or main camps for another couple months; so don’t panic.

But do listen to your body a bit, find a time when you can take 2-3 days off in a row.  Enjoy that time, get your rest, stay hydrated, take a mental break (i.e. don’t go off on a party camping weekend with your friends as your “unloading” phase) and then get back to work for the last 6-8 weeks of the off-season.

You should be tired in July – if you aren’t then you are probably not training hard enough, but give yourself a little time to recover so you can finish strong.

Happy Training!

Cheers,
M