Hockey workouts at home

Updated October 17, 2026

You don't need a gym to get stronger for hockey. A bit of open floor, a pair of sneakers and 20 to 30 minutes, two or three times a week, is enough. Here's how to train safely, a warm-up, the bodyweight exercises that matter most for skating, three ready-made sessions, and how much rest you need.

Safe training comes first

Strength training is good for young players when it's done right. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says children of all ages can benefit from resistance training with proper supervision, and it stresses good technique. The National Strength and Conditioning Association says a well-designed, supervised program is relatively safe for young athletes.

1. Learn each move slowly. Ask a coach, trainer or gym teacher to check your form before you add speed or reps. Younger players should train with a parent in the room.
2. Stick to body weight. Don't add weights until a qualified coach teaches you how. The AAP advises against maximum lifts (the most you can lift one time) until you're fully grown.
3. Form beats numbers. End a set when your form slips, even if you haven't reached the number.
4. Clear the space. Sneakers on, nothing to trip over, no slippery floors.
5. Pain means stop. Tired, burning muscles are normal. Sharp pain, joint pain or pain that's still there the next day is not. Tell a parent and see a doctor or athletic trainer.
6. Check with a doctor first if you have a health condition, such as a heart problem, high blood pressure or seizures, or you're coming back from an injury.

Warm up: 5 to 10 minutes

Never start cold. A dynamic warm-up means moving, not holding stretches.

1. Jog in place or do jumping jacks: 1 minute.
2. High knees, then butt kicks: 20 seconds each.
3. Leg swings, front to back and side to side, with a hand on a wall: 10 each leg.
4. Walking lunges, reaching your arms overhead: 6 each leg.
5. Hip circles (lift a knee and draw a big circle out to the side): 6 each leg.
6. Inchworms (walk your hands out to a push-up position and back): 5.
7. Side shuffles: 2 rounds of 15 seconds.

Legs and power

The AAP's general guide for young athletes is 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps, and the numbers on this page stay close to that. Rest 30 to 60 seconds between sets. If you're new, start with one or two sets at the low end and add a set every week or two, as long as your form holds.

• Bodyweight squat: 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15. Feet about shoulder-width apart. Sit back and down as if into a chair, chest up, as low as you can with your heels down. Knees point the same way as your toes, never caving in.
• Split squat: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 each leg. Take a long step forward and stay there. Lower straight down until your back knee almost touches the floor (put a pillow under it), then stand back up.
• Lateral bound: 2 to 3 sets of 5 each side. Push off one leg sideways and land softly on the other. Hold the landing for two seconds, knee bent over your toes, then bound back. Start small and add distance once your landings are quiet.
• Skater jumps: 2 to 3 sets of 20 seconds. The same move without the pause, side to side in a low skating stance, arms swinging. Stop the set if your landings get loud or sloppy.
• Wall sit: 2 sets of 20 to 40 seconds. Back flat against a wall, knees bent to about a right angle. It builds the endurance you need to stay low on the ice.

For the on-ice side of a strong stride, see how to skate faster.

Core

Your core links your legs to your upper body. It helps you stay balanced in battles along the boards and when you shoot.

• Plank: 2 to 3 sets of 20 to 45 seconds. Forearms down, elbows under your shoulders, body straight from head to heels. Don't let your hips sag or poke up.
• Side plank: 2 sets of 15 to 30 seconds each side. On one forearm, feet stacked, hips up. Too hard? Bend your knees and rest them on the floor.
• Dead bug: 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 each side. On your back, arms up, knees bent over your hips. Slowly lower one arm and the opposite leg toward the floor, bring them back, switch. Keep your lower back pressed into the floor.

Upper body: push-ups

• Push-up: 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 15. Hands a little wider than your shoulders, body straight. Lower until your chest is about a fist from the floor, then push up. Too hard? Put your hands on a couch or a sturdy bench. Too easy? Take three seconds to lower yourself.
• Y raise: 2 sets of 10. Lie face down, arms overhead in a Y, thumbs up. Lift your arms a few inches, hold a second, lower. It works your upper back to balance all the pushing.

Balance and edges

Skating is a one-leg sport: on every stride you balance on one blade while the other leg pushes.

• Single-leg balance: 3 sets of 30 seconds each leg. Knee slightly bent. Once it's easy, turn your head slowly side to side, play catch, or stand on a folded towel.
• Single-leg reach: 2 sets of 8 each leg. On one leg, hinge forward at the hips as your free leg goes straight back, reach toward the floor, then stand tall. Keep your hips level.
• Stride and hold: 2 sets of 8 each side. From your skating stance, push one leg out to the side like a stride and hold for three seconds balanced on the other leg.

Agility and quick feet

Hockey is played in short bursts, and USA Hockey suggests training speed the same way: short, sharp efforts that match a shift. Go all out for the time listed, then rest 30 to 60 seconds. A line of tape or chalk works as a ladder.

• Line hops: 3 sets of 10 seconds, front to back, then side to side. Small, fast hops on the balls of your feet.
• Quick feet: 3 sets of 10 seconds. Tiny, fast steps in place in an athletic stance.
• Ladder drills: 3 times through each pattern. One foot in each square, two feet in each square, then sideways with in-in-out-out steps.
• Shuffle and touch: 3 sets of 15 seconds. Shuffle between two markers three or four big steps apart, staying low and touching the floor at each one.

Mobility for hips and groin

Skating puts your hips and inner thighs in deep, wide positions, so keep them moving freely. The AAP recommends finishing a workout with gentler stretching. Go slowly, to mild tension, never pain.

• Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch: 2 sets of 30 seconds each side. Kneel on one knee, squeeze that glute and shift your hips forward a little.
• Adductor rock-back: 2 sets of 8 each side. On hands and knees with one leg straight out to the side, rock your hips back toward your heels and forward again.
• 90/90 hip switch: 2 sets of 6 each side. Sit with both knees bent at right angles, one leg in front and one to the side, and rotate both knees to the other side.
• Deep squat hold: 2 sets of 20 to 30 seconds. Heels down, elbows gently pressing your knees out. Hold a door frame if you need to.
• Butterfly stretch: 2 sets of 30 seconds. Soles of your feet together, knees dropping toward the floor.

Three sample sessions (20 to 30 minutes)

Each starts with the warm-up and ends with mobility. Rotate through them.

Session 1: Legs and power

1. Squats: 3 sets of 12.
2. Split squats: 2 sets of 8 each leg.
3. Lateral bounds: 3 sets of 5 each side.
4. Wall sit and plank: 2 sets of 30 seconds each.
5. Hip flexor stretch, adductor rock-backs, butterfly stretch.

Session 2: Quick feet and balance

1. Line hops, quick feet, and shuffle and touch: 3 sets each, with full rest.
2. Single-leg balance: 3 sets of 30 seconds each leg.
3. Stride and hold: 2 sets of 8 each side.
4. Dead bugs: 2 sets of 8 each side. Side plank: 2 sets of 20 seconds each side.
5. 90/90 hip switches and a deep squat hold.

Session 3: Full-body circuit

1. Three rounds, resting 1 to 2 minutes between them: 10 squats, 8 push-ups, 6 skater jumps each side, 8 dead bugs each side, a 20-second plank and 6 single-leg reaches each leg.
2. Y raises: 2 sets of 10.
3. The full mobility routine.

How many days a week

Two or three days a week, with at least a day off in between, is the standard advice for young athletes.

• In season. USA Hockey's dryland plans use about 30 minutes, at least twice a week. Keep hard leg sessions away from the day before a game.
• Off-season. Three sessions a week is plenty. USA Hockey also suggests playing other sports, like lacrosse or tennis.
• Every day. Light skill work, like stickhandling drills at home, is fine daily. Strength sessions are not.

A sample in-season week: Session 2 on Monday, practice Tuesday, Session 1 Wednesday, practice Thursday, rest Friday, game Saturday, and Session 3 or a day off Sunday.

Rest and sleep

Rest days are part of the plan, not time off from it, and sleep matters most. These are the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's guidelines, which the AAP supports for kids and teens:

Signs you're doing too much: soreness that lasts more than a couple of days, feeling tired all the time, heavy legs on the ice, or not wanting to go to the rink. USA Hockey warns that too much can lead to burnout. Take a few easy days and tell your coach. Food counts too: see what to eat before a game.

How it changes with age

• Under 10. Play is the workout: tag, hopping, jumping, balance games, bikes and other sports. The AAP notes that children as young as 5 can build strength with one-legged hops or frog jumps. For 8U, USA Hockey's development staff suggest 20 to 30 minutes twice a week.
• 10 to 12. Learn every move here with clean form, at the low end of the sets and reps.
• 13 to 15. Growth spurts arrive. Keep up the mobility work and don't compare yourself with teammates who grow earlier or later. USA Hockey says to build the muscles that help you on the ice, not the ones that look good in a mirror.
• 16 to 17. Add sets and harder versions. If you want to start lifting weights, do it with a qualified strength coach who teaches technique, as USA Hockey advises.
• Adult beginners. The same exercises work. Start at the low end, build up slowly, and check with your doctor first if you have a health condition or haven't exercised in a while.

Common mistakes

• Skipping the warm-up.
• Rushing reps instead of controlling each one, down and up.
• Knees caving in on squats and landings.
• Sagging hips in planks and push-ups.
• Hard workouts every day with no rest.
• Training through pain.
• Copying a pro's weight-room program, which was built for a fully grown adult.

When to ask a coach or doctor

• Before you add weights or bands.
• When you're not sure your form is right. A short phone video helps.
• When something hurts for more than a day or two, or a joint swells.
• After any injury, illness or concussion, before you start training again.

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