Offseason conditioning a must for NHL players
PITTSBURGH – Ron Francis and Mario Lemieux were talking shop in the early 1990s, two future Hall of Famers discussing their profession. Francis asked Lemieux what kind of conditioning he did to get ready for the season.
“On Aug. 1, I stop ordering French fries with my club sandwich,” Lemieux said.
Of course, a player with Lemieux’s talent could get away with that, at least temporarily. When Lemieux came back to the Pittsburgh Penguins at age 35 after his retirement, he was devoted to conditioning work.
Former teammate Jay Caufield served as his personal trainer and supervised some grueling workouts. So it goes for hockey players, who endure a seven-month regular season, and the possibility of two more intense months in the postseason.
If playing in the NHL isn’t a year-round proposition, it’s at least an 11-month commitment. Maybe in the old days it was possible to take it easy over the summer and round into game shape in training camp. That luxury is all but gone.
“There’s probably a very small percentage of guys who can get away with that, but I think that number is probably getting smaller and smaller all the time,” Penguins winger Craig Adams said. In fact, most players hire trainers and get busy after taking short break as soon as the season ends.
“It depends, usually if you had injuries or not,” winger Pascal Dupuis said. “Usually it’s a good three weeks. You just listen to your body.”
The first priority is often the same: Just heal from the physical toll the long season takes.
That was the situation winger Chris Kunitz found himself in after the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs in May.
“I was pretty banged up, so I started different rehabs and different programs just to try and build back stuff that I had lost,” Kunitz said.
“It was kind of a tough year for me. “Every year is different. You may have things you want to work on, whether it’s quickness or speed. You want to make sure you have enough strength to compete against guys who are bigger and stronger and taller. You have to make sure you’re ready to withstand the grind of an 82-game season.”
Some players stay off skates until August and focus on weights and running. Long before the idea of off-season training became detail oriented, the Penguins would send players home with a new pair of running shoes. These days, the process is much more sophisticated.
The physicals the team gives are extensive, with regular measures of body fat and aerobic capacity. Players not only have to work out, they have to watch what they eat.
Joe Mullen, who played until he was 40, said that he would attend neighborhood barbecues. He never got further than the aromas coming from the grill. “Everyone is having a steak or a hamburger,” he said. “I’m there with a plate of salad. That’s one of the sacrifices you make.”
Dupuis said he’s very careful about what he eats and drinks. Some of the current players fell under the influence of Gary Roberts, who would take teammates to Whole Foods to show them how to shop for healthier meals.
With the current salary structure, the right decisions can be worth millions. Players are in touch with what they need to do. Winger Mike Rupp changed his off-season routine and thinks it will help him. “I did things a little differently this summer and I feel better for it,” he said. “I didn’t do very much weight training. I did quickness, endurance and cardio stuff, and I feel better as far as my skating.”
In the summer of 2009, Dupuis added cycling to his summer work. “I try to adjust to new stuff,” he said. “There are a lot of thoughts about working out and my trainer back home stays on top of things. The last couple of years I’ve ridden the bike quite a bit, and I’ve done that on top of my regular workout.”
Question of the week:
-Did you do anything interesting over the summer?
-Chris Kunitz: “It was pretty calm this year. I make a trip back to Canada to see the family, and we had a few weddings to go to. Other than that, we spent time in Chicago, which is where my wife is from.”
-Marc-Andre Fleury: “I went to Europe, France and Italy, for two weeks.”
-Craig Adams: “I went to Miami, Boston, Cape Cod, went out to Calgary. We had some fun.
-Brent Johnson: “We were planning on doing a big trip, but just ended up going around and seeing every friend and every family member. We had fun. I always do a guys’ trip that’s now a dads’ trip. It started as my bachelor party one year, then it turned into the dads’ trip. Every one of my buddies brings his dad, then it’s golf and barbecues and sit around the fire every night and tell lies.”
-Mike Rupp: “I had a vacation with the family and did things like that, spent time with them.
– European Vacation: When the Penguins were knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in May, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury hit the road. The Montreal Canadiens upset the Penguins in the second round of the playoffs. Fleury lives in the Montreal area. The last thing he wanted was to be amid the sea of people wearing Canadiens’ red, white and blue and going crazy for their team. “I didn’t want to go back to Montreal,” he said. So he headed overseas and spent time in France and Italy. He enjoyed the trip, especially his first visit to Italy, where he sampled the wine. “It’s cheaper than water there,” he said. “And the pizza there is awesome.”