TopShelfSnipes
Registered User
So after taking my wife to a public skating session last week (first time on the ice at all in a few years), I really got the itch to get back into hockey. Background: Played through high school years and college intramurals, but basically haven't even been on ice with a stick since which is about 15 years ago. I had a toxic job for a very long time that I left last year and am only now getting back into trying to play sports regularly, but let's basically say that job left me with ZERO time for physical activity over the past 5 years other than walking around, and the very rare and non-routine activity I could do like a run or hike. After I left that toxic job I played a season of softball last year, but that's been it. So basically I'm very out of shape. But leaving that job has opened a world of possibilities that I now want to follow through on before I'm too old to, which includes getting back into hockey.
The skating session was rough, and I could not believe how I felt like I'd never put on skates before again..all the feel for my edges is gone, my balance feels off, I feel every rut in the ice, and my knees just never seem to bend as much as I want them to. My wife is an actually beginner at skating so I wasn't exerting myself really because I was just happy to be on the ice and trying to go over basics with her, but I was otherwise generally comfortable out there. So I decided to go to a stick and puck because between that and her making a committed effort to learning hockey this year (including asking me to demonstrate the different shot types last week - without a puck, of course - in our living room...I really really missed it. I decided to go in full gear so I wouldn't think about falling, and because I wanted to get the feel of playing with full gear again. Again, last time I did this was 15 years ago, game action, college intramurals. Holy hell did I feel like I sucked. Adding a stick and puck made me feel like I lost all feel for my edges. Was pleasantly surprised my hands weren't completely gone (just mostly), but I have no feel for the puck and am back to looking down for it, which was fine for stick & puck I guess. The thing that shocked me most was that my shot is gone. Like, almost totally completely gone. When I played, my wirst and snap shots were by far my greatest strength. The first two rolled off my stick and went about 2 feet wide right from the bottom of the circle. One of the greatest strengths of my wrist shot when I was playing was that I could control the height fairly precisely, now I felt like the shot would kind of roll off the stick and if I aimed top (forget top corner), there was a chance the puck would just sail on me. The weirdest thing is that in my mind I can still feel exactly what my shot used to feel like, but when I go to release, it's just not there, the hands are too slow, my shoulder doesn't want to load up enough, my weight transfer is wrong, I'm not torquing the stick enough, the gloves are too heavy, my arms are too weak, and it feels so ridiculously different. Especially the snapshot.
After a few runs though, my skating really went to hell, and everything began to be sore. Actually had to sit down for two 5 minute stretches just to get off my feet, and this was from just picking up pucks out of the net, going back to the blueline, skating in and shooting for about 45 minutes to an hour. The next day, I woke up with muscles in my hips hurting I didn't remember I had, which obviously played a role in my fatigue at the session. I'm not injured, but I feel like I'm learning to walk again right now.
I'm really looking to get back into it, and maybe even get into a noob league next season or do an adult hockey clinic at some point if one becomes available, and I'm glad I did stick and puck this week, but it's clear to me I have a long way to go before I can join even the lowest level of play anymore.
Anyway the question: the part I'm really struggling with is I have never - in my life - ever been this out of shape before. I really don't know how to ease into any kind of workouts, because I've never had to before. If I lift weights, I want to push my limits in reps and in weight...and me going easy is less weight, not fewer reps. This always leads to soreness, which, when I was younger, was much easier to work through. Obviously I get skating as much as I can, probably taking lessons to have a trained eye tell me the bad habits / things I'm doing wrong so I can get my balance and feel for edges again. But this is more about the off-ice, working out, exercise/cardio kinds of things. I'm also 25 pounds heavier than I was when I played, so adding full gear means my legs moved more weight than they ever have, while in their weakest condition.
So just asking for any of the middle aged or older crowd in here...how do you train off ice from a position of compltely out of shape to ease back into it. People who recovered from surgery? People who like me did nothing for most of a decade+ then decided they missed it, but weren't top players beforehand? Do I send it like I did when I was 21 and just deal with the soreness and my body will get used to it? Do I baby myself with weight and reps then gradually work up. Do I work out more frequently for shorter duration in the beginning? I'm just struggling with needing to be able to do physical things around the house and yard, wanting to get stronger/back in shape, but not wanting to feel like a stiff mummy for a week at a time every time I do something. Any advice welcome.
The skating session was rough, and I could not believe how I felt like I'd never put on skates before again..all the feel for my edges is gone, my balance feels off, I feel every rut in the ice, and my knees just never seem to bend as much as I want them to. My wife is an actually beginner at skating so I wasn't exerting myself really because I was just happy to be on the ice and trying to go over basics with her, but I was otherwise generally comfortable out there. So I decided to go to a stick and puck because between that and her making a committed effort to learning hockey this year (including asking me to demonstrate the different shot types last week - without a puck, of course - in our living room...I really really missed it. I decided to go in full gear so I wouldn't think about falling, and because I wanted to get the feel of playing with full gear again. Again, last time I did this was 15 years ago, game action, college intramurals. Holy hell did I feel like I sucked. Adding a stick and puck made me feel like I lost all feel for my edges. Was pleasantly surprised my hands weren't completely gone (just mostly), but I have no feel for the puck and am back to looking down for it, which was fine for stick & puck I guess. The thing that shocked me most was that my shot is gone. Like, almost totally completely gone. When I played, my wirst and snap shots were by far my greatest strength. The first two rolled off my stick and went about 2 feet wide right from the bottom of the circle. One of the greatest strengths of my wrist shot when I was playing was that I could control the height fairly precisely, now I felt like the shot would kind of roll off the stick and if I aimed top (forget top corner), there was a chance the puck would just sail on me. The weirdest thing is that in my mind I can still feel exactly what my shot used to feel like, but when I go to release, it's just not there, the hands are too slow, my shoulder doesn't want to load up enough, my weight transfer is wrong, I'm not torquing the stick enough, the gloves are too heavy, my arms are too weak, and it feels so ridiculously different. Especially the snapshot.
After a few runs though, my skating really went to hell, and everything began to be sore. Actually had to sit down for two 5 minute stretches just to get off my feet, and this was from just picking up pucks out of the net, going back to the blueline, skating in and shooting for about 45 minutes to an hour. The next day, I woke up with muscles in my hips hurting I didn't remember I had, which obviously played a role in my fatigue at the session. I'm not injured, but I feel like I'm learning to walk again right now.
I'm really looking to get back into it, and maybe even get into a noob league next season or do an adult hockey clinic at some point if one becomes available, and I'm glad I did stick and puck this week, but it's clear to me I have a long way to go before I can join even the lowest level of play anymore.
Anyway the question: the part I'm really struggling with is I have never - in my life - ever been this out of shape before. I really don't know how to ease into any kind of workouts, because I've never had to before. If I lift weights, I want to push my limits in reps and in weight...and me going easy is less weight, not fewer reps. This always leads to soreness, which, when I was younger, was much easier to work through. Obviously I get skating as much as I can, probably taking lessons to have a trained eye tell me the bad habits / things I'm doing wrong so I can get my balance and feel for edges again. But this is more about the off-ice, working out, exercise/cardio kinds of things. I'm also 25 pounds heavier than I was when I played, so adding full gear means my legs moved more weight than they ever have, while in their weakest condition.
So just asking for any of the middle aged or older crowd in here...how do you train off ice from a position of compltely out of shape to ease back into it. People who recovered from surgery? People who like me did nothing for most of a decade+ then decided they missed it, but weren't top players beforehand? Do I send it like I did when I was 21 and just deal with the soreness and my body will get used to it? Do I baby myself with weight and reps then gradually work up. Do I work out more frequently for shorter duration in the beginning? I'm just struggling with needing to be able to do physical things around the house and yard, wanting to get stronger/back in shape, but not wanting to feel like a stiff mummy for a week at a time every time I do something. Any advice welcome.
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