Pros:
Tons of great information
Dozens of hockey specific exercises for training variety
Great hockey nutrition and supplement information
Includes team specific exercise planning

Cons:
Information overload
Exercises are very well described but doesn't indicate which muscle groups are being targeted

The review

For the past few months I have been trying to put together a hockey specific workout routine which has lead me to the top 2 online hockey products Hockey Speed and Power and Hockey Training University.

Hockey Training University is not so much a workout plan or specific routine, but more of a complete education in exercise.

It covers everything from plyometrics (much tougher than they look), weight training, team training, speed and agility specific training and nutritional and supplement information.

Hockey Training University was written by Kevin Neeld who is the Director of Althletics Development for Endeavor Fitness, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a Master’s degree in kinesiology & Exercise Neuroscience, and a Bachelor’s degree in Health Behavior Science & Fitness Management; needless to say the package is very well researched and developed.

The sheer amount of time it would require to even research half of the exercises provided would be staggering. This package is an exercise planning shortcut which quickly provides you with dozens of exercises to start adding to your routine right away.

The biggest problem is not a lack of information, but a lack of direction. They do provide you with very intensive existing workout plans which won’t be the perfect solution for everybody, however if you are looking to develop a top-of-line program and are comfortable with developing workout routines for yourself this in an absolutely invaluable guide.

Bottomline: the amount of time you save by using this guide to create a hockey specific workout plan is worth the money 10 times over. Incredible value for the investment.

The exercises

Hockey Training University covers just about every type of exercise that you can think of; some of the exercises even incorporate some popular crossfit type training. I didn’t end up counting the vast number of exercises demonstrated but I wouldn’t be surprised if the number was north of 100.

A lot of the exercises incorporate body weight training, which is incredibly important especially if you are working with younger, developing players.

Each exercise is shown demonstrated with starting and finishing pictures and step-by-step instructions, but for some reason no mention of the specific muscle groups that are targeted. This is one of those things where it would be convenient but really not necessary when devising your own personal workout routine.

The nutrition and supplements

This has to be one of the key areas of the package and Although it isn’t as well as developed as the exercise segments of the package it is critical reading for anyone serious about their workout gains.

You get a crash course on all aspects of nutrition, in fact the level of detail they provide will give you the information you need to create your own nutritional plan based on your specific needs.

The confidence you receive through this section will let you create meals that properly fuel you and match your specific tastes so it’s not a chore to stay on your nutritional program (which traditionally is the most difficult aspect to change).

The extras

Hockey Training University isn’t just a program for the player – it also contains very valuable information on team development.

It provides coaches with pre-planned warm up and workout routines that are age specific.

By just using this guide you’d be able to setup a week long training camp in no time, and have the confidence that the program won’t overly strain your team to injury.

We haven’t yet had a chance to implement the team training aspects of the package and as such can’t offer a complete tested review of it.