Hockey Training: Build a Better First Three Strides

For a quicker start, separate acceleration practice from conditioning. Work on your first few pushes while you are fresh, rest between attempts, and check whether you cover the same distance faster—not simply whether your feet move faster.

Off-ice training can build physical capacity. On-ice practice is where you learn to apply it through a skate edge. This routine focuses on that connection: turning a leg push into useful forward motion.

What makes a push useful?

Your leg pushes against the ice; the ice pushes back through the blade. The direction of that returning force matters. A force that mostly moves you sideways does not produce the same forward acceleration as one with a larger forward component. That does not make lateral leg extension a mistake: an angled blade allows a sideways push to produce forward motion.

The other part is time. Impulse is force accumulated over time, and net forward impulse changes your forward momentum. That is why neither peak effort nor foot speed alone tells you how effective a start is. OpenStax explains the force–time relationship.

For scale, suppose an 80 kg player, including equipment, receives an average net forward force of 200 N for 0.20 seconds:

• Forward impulse: 200 N × 0.20 s = 40 N·s.
• Increase in forward speed: 40 N·s ÷ 80 kg = 0.50 m/s, about 1.1 mph.

Those are illustrative numbers, not measured skating forces. Only the net forward component enters this calculation—not all the force supporting your weight or moving you sideways. Nor does it mean you should hold every push longer: the goal is useful impulse across successive pushes, not one prolonged push.

A start is not a cruising stride

Hockey Canada teaches the first three or four strides as short and quick, without a deliberate glide. As speed increases, strides lengthen and pushes become more lateral. Its forward-start guidance also emphasizes flexed knees, a slight forward lean and keeping the recovering skates low. See Hockey Canada’s skating teaching points.

That distinction has biomechanical support. An on-ice study of 18 varsity and recreational players compared the second and sixth strides. It found different joint-motion and muscle-activity patterns, including greater hip extension during acceleration and greater sideways hip range of motion later. It supports treating these as different tasks—not prescribing one universal stride shape. Read the original skating study.

A short on-ice acceleration block

Use this as a practice template, not a tested optimal dose. Start after a progressive warm-up, wear the protective equipment required for the session, and choose a clear lane with ample stopping space. You should already be able to stop reliably; otherwise, begin with the basic hockey skating progression.

1. Establish a repeatable start

Mark a start and finish 10 metres apart using permitted markers or rink markings whose distance you know. Make three controlled, fast attempts from the same stationary stance.

Throughout the block, rest roughly 60–90 seconds between attempts, longer if you are still breathing hard or your technique is deteriorating. Keep the starting foot, timing method and finish point consistent.

If using video, time from your first visible movement to the same part of your body crossing the finish line. Have someone film from safely outside the lane. Video can also show whether an edge slips or whether you pause to glide after the first push.

2. Practise one change

Make four to six attempts at a speed where you can still control the movement. Choose one cue:

• You stand tall immediately: keep a flexed stance through the opening steps rather than rising upright after the first push. The driving leg still extends.
• You push, then coast: connect the opening steps without inserting a deliberate glide.
• Your recovery is slow and high: bring the skate back low, ready for the next push.

These cues follow Hockey Canada’s start guidance. Do not force a particular blade angle or exaggerate a forward lean until balance breaks down. If the blade repeatedly slips, reduce speed and have a coach check edge engagement before adding effort.

3. Check the result

Repeat three timed starts using the original setup. Look for several clean attempts near your better times, not just one exceptional run. Small differences in hand-timed results may reflect timing error rather than skating improvement.

If the cue improves the movement but not the time, keep it as a technique observation—not proof of better acceleration. If times worsen and balance deteriorates, end the speed block rather than turning it into exhausted repetitions. Repeat the comparison in later sessions under similar conditions before calling it a lasting improvement.

Where off-ice hockey training fits

Off-ice strength, power and conditioning work serve different purposes from this start practice. Use them to develop physical capacity, then check whether that capacity appears in your skating.

A study of 107 highly trained teenage players found associations between off-ice sprinting, change-of-direction performance, standing long jumps and skating mechanical capabilities. But it was observational: it did not establish that improving a particular gym or running test would cause a corresponding skating improvement. Read the study and its limitations.

The practical choice is to retain both general preparation and specific ice practice. For lateral power work, the skaters workout explains bounds without treating them as a substitute for edge skills.

Keep two separate records: your off-ice exercise performance and your repeatable 10-metre skating starts. A better jump is progress in the jump. Cleaner, consistently faster starts are the evidence that matters for this hockey training goal.