Field Hockey can Help Increase your Speed, Power and Endurance

Similar to soccer, field hockey is a multi-sprint, physically challenging sport which requires equal amounts of endurance and strength. Although action on the field is intermittent for the individual field hockey team member, field hockey players must be ready to sprint and perform at maximum speed and power throughout the 70 minute game. In order to be up to par, you and your trainer should make aerobic endurance, upper body strength, and acceleration the main focus of your field hockey training.

Sprinting Exercises for Speed and Stamina

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a great way to develop your aerobic endurance as a field hockey player and burn fat for a leaner body. HIIT is a work-to-rest ratio in which the field hockey player performs an aerobic exercise (typically running) for a predetermined amount of time, and then rests for a predetermined period of time repeatedly. If you're a field hockey beginner, you should start at a ratio of 3:1 rest to work. With your trainer, find a stretch of grass or another safe area for running and mark a beginning and end spot to run within. They should be close enough together for you, the field hockey player, to go back and forth a few times within seconds, and far enough away for you get some good acceleration going. Start running back and forth for 15 seconds while holding your hockey stick. Rest for 45 seconds. If you're a more advanced player, you may do a 2:1 rest-to-work ratio (i.e. 30 seconds of rest after 15 seconds of work). The act of accelerating and decelerating quickly is crucial in field hockey, and will provide endurance and agility during a field hockey game.

Upper Body Strength Equals More Power on the Field

A field hockey player's upper body must be in tip-top shape. Many experts believe pull ups are the best upper body workout for field hockey. It may be wise for you to add a pull up bar as part of your personal field hockey equipment. The bar should be too high for you to reach without jumping; your legs should hang free. Stand below the bar, feet shoulder width apart. Jump up and grab the bar with an overhand grip. Bend your knees and cross your ankles (this will give you balance). Pull yourself up so your chin is level with the bar, and slowly lower yourself until your elbows are straight. When it comes to how many to do, keep it to however many you can in good form. You may want your trainer with you to inspect your form and keep you motivated. For field hockey players who can't do a pull up, you can certainly train to do it with a couple techniques. Your trainer can offset some of your weight by pulling on the tops of your feet while you're in the pull up position. Ask your gym if they have a pull up assist machine; this is another way to offset some weight as you build up to doing a full pull up. Half pull ups can also be done by standing on a bench or box that raises your elbows to a 90 degree angle at the bar so you only have half the distance to get to the bar.

Exercises for Efficiency with the Field Hockey Stick

You and your trainer should get together for some drills to keep your field hockey game sharp. Grab two field hockey sticks and some field hockey balls. Begin by standing about 5 meters apart and tossing the field hockey ball with your field hockey sticks as fast as you can for about 10 minutes. You may also practice as a field hockey goalie. Have your trainer roll the ball to you with a field hockey stick while you kick it back. This practice will benefit all field hockey players coordination and not just the field hockey goalie. You and your trainer can also practice shooting into the field hockey goal. While you can be the shooter, your trainer can defend as the field hockey goalie, and vice versa.