Sport-Specific Strength Training with WholeFit When it comes to sport-specific strength training, WholeFit provides the developing athlete every opportunity to realize their full potential. We achieve this by combining scientific understanding of the human mind and body with effective strategies for long-term growth and strength development. This ensures results in both the near future, as well as the education to safely maintain life-long fitness – an important skill for every young athlete.

Education First: How We Empower and Measure for Results WholeFit takes an education-first approach to coaching, emphasizing the proven science behind athletics. It is one of the key components to the WholeFit Method as well as our success with athletes. Enrolling in a WholeFit program guarantees that each athlete will be coached on their overall choices and habits, both on and off the ice. We measure progress using our partner app “Woodify” where we can easily and efficiently track performance metrics to consistently monitor progress.

The WholeFit Method prioritizes building foundational elements as a necessary base to sport-specific skills: Nutrition, Mobility & Motor Control, General Strength, and finally Sport-Specific Training. It is best described as a pyramid to embody the philosophy that a strong and resilient structure can only be built on a strong foundation. WholeFit provides the training and knowledge required to improve on the three base levels outlined below, ensuring Krys and Jamie have the best foundations to build upon once athletes get on the ice.

Three-Phase Approach Our strategy for strength training is a three-phrase approach over the 11- week training period.

Phase 1: Testing and Theory (Week 1) Our first two weeks will focus on understanding movement, motor control, “gym culture” and nutrition. Lessons will include methodology for increasing ranges of motion while ensuring muscular development. We help our athletes develop strength in the end ranges to help prevent injury while training. We will cover nutrition fundamentals to support athletes in proper recovery thus maximizing their workouts and on-ice training sessions. Through a series of initial and ongoing tests, we will develop an understanding of each athlete’s base metrics, monitoring to ensure progress is made over the 11-week period.

Phase 2: GPP and Strength (Weeks 2-5) Phase 2 will prioritize building the athlete’s maximum strength. The ability to move increasingly heavier amounts of weight in short periods of time will be the main focus. The strategy implemented to decide weight increases is always relative to the testing done in Phase 1. This helps us as coaches keep athletes safe while progressing in a timely manner. Conditioninging Phase 2 will be primarily focused on improving aerobic strength and aerobic threshold. Thiswill prepare the athletes for Phase 3 of the program.

Phase 3: Sport Specific Training (Weeks 6-10) Phase 3 will prepare the athlete for game-time speeds and ultimately, the beginning of tryouts/season play. In this phase, the main priority is anaerobic strength and endurance with sessions designed to condition the anaerobic energy system. Our weightlifting component will consist of movements and weight loads that allow for more speed than Phase 2, while maintaining technique and intensity for the defined time frames. Defined time frames are based on the maximum performance capacity for hockey: 30s-1m30s windows.

Important Note on Safety Please note that our three-phase approach will be age specific for a number of health-related reasons. Recent studies suggest that weight lifting in younger ages, such as in adolescent athletes, promotes human growth hormone and other positive functions of the body that support the development of the athlete. However, like strength training at any age, technique and mobility will need to be considered when progressing athletes forward. For all groups we will be using a graduated teaching system involving benchmark levels of movement to be sure safety remains the number one priority in their development. The diagram below outlines examples of our graduated method for measuring and improving primary lifts such as the squat, deadlift, and bench press.