Exercise | Training
Workout Intensity for Hockey Players
"Work Out to Get Stronger. Play Hockey to Get Better at Hockey."
Disclaimer: The workout information on this page is for informational purposes only and reflects personal training experience — not professional fitness, medical, or sports medicine advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new exercise program. Pajer Hockey is not responsible for any injury resulting from the use of this content. Train at your own risk.
How hard should a hockey player train in the gym? The short answer: as hard as you possibly can, with a strategy built around keeping yourself healthy enough to keep going.
Train to Failure — Almost Always
Training to failure roughly 90% of the time (or more) is the standard here. The key word is strategy. Don't just load the bar as heavy as possible on every set — that's a shortcut to getting hurt. Instead, structure workouts to use lower-risk exercises early, go heavy, then move to higher-risk exercises later where pre-exhausted muscles mean you don't need to load as much weight to reach failure.
The game's brutal. Your gear should be too.
Practical Example: Quad Day
For quads, hit the leg extension machine first — multiple sets to failure. Then move to squats at a lighter weight, because the quads are already torched. You can also flip it: squats first at lighter weight for higher reps, then extension machine. Either way, the heavy compound lifts get done with some protection from the muscle fatigue you've already accumulated.
This approach keeps injury risk lower while still achieving the same intensity and stimulus. Two primary sources of injury in the gym: lifting too heavy and doing overly complicated exercises. Avoid both, and you can train at maximum intensity far more consistently.
The Takeaway
Train as hard as you can. Build a strategy around injury prevention. Recover, get back in, and do it again. That's it.
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