Watch dvd Video one more time released in Quebec about life of Guy Lafleur a couple of yrs back.In 1969 they showed him bench pressing weights on a regular basis.In 1974 Lafleur had a 8 km track built around his house.Again educate your selves dont go by gossip.Thats why Im here for.1976 Canada cup according to team Doctor who were the two top conditioned players.Bob Gainy and Guy Lafleur.Go to your library and go through newspaper archives.Yes players are better conditioned on average but i can tell you the training camps today are a joke.
Training camps are different today because a player needs to come in already in excellent shape. I think it was around 1997 that Mike Milbury went nuts because someone in Islanders camp wasn't able to complete a two-mile run in less than 12 minutes on the first day.
What has changed over time is the incorporation of specificity into workouts. An NHL player isn't going to be skating several miles at a clip, nor will he be doing anything over that duration of time. The human body is remarkably adaptable, and it's entirely possible to train it to do all sorts of things that closely replicate what will take place in a game.
An NHL player today would be unlikely to be able to do the lengthy endurance-heavy workouts of players of just a generation ago, precisely because there's no need to. A player from a generation ago would struggle with a modern-style workout, simply because what we've learned about the body has grown by leaps and bounds since then.
So when did "modern" conditioning begin? Here is an interview with Jagr when he was with Philly on how players like Paul Coffey trained really hard in the early 90's:
With all this talk of players being better conditioned now, I find it interesting that Jagr is still considered one of the hardest working guys in the league and young players can learn greatly from him, yet Jagr admited it was guys like Coffey who taught him.
Jagr was the one who talked about doing 1,000 bodyweight squats a day starting when he was 10 years old.
"Modern" conditioning in the sense of workouts that were heavy on lifting began in some capacity around 30 years ago. There was still that whole idea of a player lifting, becoming bulky, and losing speed and flexibility that existed. I would argue that Eric Lindros coming into the NHL is what changed everything pretty quickly; he was a guy who didn't have to accelerate past or slide around an opponent, he could simply go right through them or over top of them. It's around that time that more of a football-style workout became much more common.
However, this also mirrors a couple of societal shifts. The first has to do with the deregulation of the supplement market in the United States, which caused an explosion in the sheer size and scope of what was available. The other was a redefinition of masculinity that took place in the aftermath of the more androgynous 80s. It wasn't just athletes who wanted to look like powerlifters, it was
everyone, and the opening of the marketplace made that possible in a shorter period of time. It was possible for a stockbroker to work 12 hours, then go the gym for an hour...six months later, he looks like a linebacker. I'm veering off into a different territory here, so I'll stop there.
thanks thom. And no, I wasnt aware that Lafleur had built himself an 8km track around his house. I think it more likely he scoped out an 8km course around his neighborhood & area no? I mean, the cost to build an 8K track wouldve been rather high to say the least & rather a waste of good $$$ when the roads, hill & dale would suffice just fine Im sure.... and what would make you say "todays training camps are a joke"? With the advances in conditioning, measurements & everything else from diet to sleep, seems todays training camps and the players themselves are absolutely light years beyond anything a Richard, Hull, Lafleur, Bossy, Gainey, Gretzky or really anyone wouldve experienced until at least the late 80's or so.
