One of the greatest exercises that a person can do in order to strengthen hockey skills is to train on a hockey balance board. There are many reasons why training on a balance board is so crucial when it comes to maximizing your core strength, but we will focus on the main ones. If you have never tried working out on a balance board, maybe it is time you should start. Here’s why:
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Contributes to Overall Balance
Training on a balance board might be hard at first because your body is not used to it. If you continue to train you will find that it does not take long for your muscles to get used to the challenge of staying balanced. This is because you are training your muscles to work with your brain so that you can easily become balanced when it is time to do so. Balancing on a hockey board can help your whole overall balance in everything that you do. Walking, running, even sitting down in your favorite chair.
Engages Your Core
Training on a balance board for hockey not only develops muscle memory but also keeps your core engaged for extended periods of time. Now, you can engage your core by doing planks, or holding yourself up in an extended pull-up, but engaging your core while balancing on a board is not as brutal as holding your entire body weight up with your shoulders for extended amounts of time. Balancing on a board keeps your core engaged enough to build strength, but it does not cause quick fatigue like other core exercises. Your core remains engaged the entire time that you balance yourself, and you can feel it, but it does not exhaust you.
Strengthens Your Ankles
One of the main things that a hockey player needs in order to gracefully skate on ice is ankle strength. If you are unable to regularly ice skate on skates, just a little while each day on a hockey balance board can keep your calves and ankles strong and healthy until it is time to skate. Just like the entire time you are balanced you are using your core, your legs are engaged as well. Rocking back and forth in order to remain stable requires a substantial amount of ankle and calf strength. When you put this strength to use for extended periods of time, you build it up and make it stronger.
Conclusion
Basically, the reason why training on a balance board for hockey is so effective is that it strengthens the whole body, and helps to engage muscle memory. Balancing takes both mental and physical skills. When you strategically engage your mind and body at the same time, you build connections that automatically engage when you need them the most, like when you are out on the rink in a heated game.
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