3 Essential Foam Rolling Exercises for Hockey Goalies

Hockey goalies must stand on the ice for 60 minutes in heavy equipment and move in every direction to stop the puck. To maintain your performance and prevent injury in this extreme position, you must take care of your hips. Your body takes a beating; and your hips are a particular area of concern, because they can get tight from your squatting, ready stance position and from overuse. Sitting down all day at school makes matters worse.

If you are tight and immobile, it's very difficult to perform the extreme saves that are required throughout a game. Imagine trying to do a split with a tight groin. You are probably cringing in pain at the thought. Plus, tight muscles are at risk for injury if you push them beyond their limits.

I recommend performing foam-rolling exercises, which address these concerns of a hockey goalie. The exercises release tight muscles and increase range of motion so you can perform your full repertoire of saves. (Find out more about foam rolling.)

Perform these three exercises on off-days, before workouts or before a game. Your teammates will thank you when you make a highlight reel save.

Hip Flexor Foam Roll

• Lie face down on ground with foam roller under front of your leg by your hip
• Roll up and down along hip flexor and upper quad for at least 30 seconds, or until you feel your hip flexor loosen up
• If you feel like you hit a bump in your leg, it's probably a knot in your muscle, so spend some extra time rolling that spot
• Repeat on other leg

Adductor Foam Roll

The adductors are the muscles on the inside of the leg, whose job is to pull the leg in toward the middle of the body. These muscles are incredibly overused by goalies, so it's critical to roll them to prevent a dreaded groin injury.

• Lie face down on ground
• Bend right knee to side and place foam roller under inner thigh
• Roll inner thigh from slightly above knee up to groin
• Focus on tender areas
• Repeat on other leg

Abductor Foam Roll

The abductors are the muscles on the outside or lateral part of the thigh, responsible for pulling the leg out and away from the body. They are particularly important for goalies, because they allow you to flare your legs to the side for a kick save.

• Lie on side with foam roller under outer thigh
• Place top leg on ground in front of bottom leg for balance and to help move body up and down roller
• Roll from slightly above knee to slightly below hip
• Repeat on other leg

For more information on hockey training, click here.

Photo: ingoalmagazine.com