Option 2: 

Hi everyone! I am thrilled to be responding to today’s fan mail on DetFalcons.com. Today’s question, posted here on our website, from Juan in Quebec, asked me to elaborate on some of the leg work we do to train you skating strength and fitness level. Well Juan, this is a great question and there’s a lot that goes into it – in fact I’m still learning myself, having made great improvements to my own skating over this past summer. For me, it’s not just about the gym and ripping out squats, or about skating blue lines or board sprints. At least, not exclusively. Personally, I’ve seen the most growth since incorporating a lot of dry land training, specifically plyometrics. Different types of lunges, jump squats, other work with weighted vests and specialty moves that incorporate some core work, like medicine ball squats with trunk twists are some of the basic moves that I think have led to some of my recent gains. Obviously, some of the moves are a bit tricky and get more elaborate as you build on those basics and require a certain amount of foundational strength especially in the core to pull off – so I won’t go into too much further detail, but I think you get the idea. The key with all these movements is to try to be explosive and not casual, this helps get my fast twitch muscles engaged in the workout the way I want them engaged in my stride. Anyway, thanks again for your question and I’ll be back in a couple weeks to answer another one! And if this is the same Juan I already know in Quebec, good luck with the rest of your season!