Field Hockey Summer Workout Program

1. Field Hockey Summer Workout Program Achieving the Level of Fitness Needed to Dominate this Season!

2. Goals of the Workout Program • Goal: To develop high performance athletes for the upcoming Field Hockey Season in a healthy, fun and safe manner that will enable them to play and feel their very best. • A high performance athlete needs to learn how to train. Fitness in the game of field hockey is just as important as passing and receiving, scoring, tackling, making saves and playing well. Fitness is key to your success both in the short and long term in playing this sport, and importantly, it helps you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, helping to minimize and prevent injuries. 

3. Why We Encourage this Type of Training / Workouts • Distance Training • When playing field hockey, it is essential that you have the endurance to play at top performance the entire game. To do so, distance running will help to build your endurance and make you a more useful and standout player. • Agilities/Plyometrics and Sprint Drills • There is a lot of changing direction in field hockey as players cut to the ball.  These types of drills will help you to be quicker on your feet and also develop your reaction time when changing direction. • Body Weight Strength Training • Increasing your lean muscle mass through body weight strength training, will enable you to be the fittest and most agile athlete on the field. You will be able to practice longer and have the most energy during games.

4. Frequently Asked Questions and Answers • Q)What will help increase my performance when working out? • A)Eating right, drinking plenty of water, and always taking care of the needs of your body will help you to increase maximum performance.  Make sure you eat breakfast in the morning, try and get your daily fruits, proteins, carbs and vegetables every day.  Drink water with every meal which will help the absorption of the nutrients you need to work out.  Finally, make sure you are always listening to what your body has to tell you.  Don't push on muscles that are painful or joints that are complaining.  If there is pain, something needs to be tended to.  TAKE CARE OF IT! • Q)It is so hot when I work out in the summer. Any suggestions? • A)Try to work out in the off heat hours. In the morning or in the evening are great times to avoid direct sunlight and excessive heat.  This will keep you from getting too over heated when you work out (plus it frees up the rest of the day for you to hang out). Also...DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! Water that is... Staying hydrated is extremely important, especially in the Virginia heat.  For every pound of sweat that you lose you need to drink two cups of water to replace it.  That means that on average you should be drinking about four sips of water every fifteen minutes during the summer.  While this seems like a tad bit of overkill, it is important for you to stay hydrated because you can quickly become disoriented and sick if you do not.  Try and drink as often as possible during the day.  Avoid soda and energy drinks as they may cause you to become more dehydrated than hydrated. • Q)After I work out I am so exhausted. What's with that? • A)If you are tired after a workout...GOOD!  You should be tired; your body is going into its rebuilding stages and you may have to rest awhile while it recoups.  However, if you find yourself excessively tired, there may be other causes.  Make sure you have had enough to drink during the day, as that will help your body recover. Also, check your sleep schedule.  If you are not getting enough sleep at night, it will make it harder for your body to function during and after a workout.

5. Exercise Reference Guide • Push-up or • Tricep Dip • Lunge • Squat • Lunge Jump and Squat Jump

6. Exercise Reference Guide • Sumo Squat • V-Feet Plank • Curtsey Lunge • Frog Crunch

7. Exercise Reference Guide • Diamond Push-up • Plank • Side Plank • Bicycle Crunch • Burpee • Lateral Hops

8. Exercise Reference Guide • Dolphin Push-Up • Squat with Side Kick • Planks with leg lift • Frog Jumps • Skater Jumps