Recently started playing in a Men’s Hockey league twice a week, and I was wondering if there are any cross-over benefits (aside from being a blast) from skating to cycling as I remember Eric Heiden and some other speed skaters went on to race bikes after their speed skating careers were over.
My boyfriend is a speed skater that made the transition to cat 3 bike racer very easily. The cycling team he was on was actually all speed skaters that decided to race bikes several years ago. The leg strenth from skating seems to be direct benefit to cycling. I have a pair of speed skates and am hoping to use them indoors this winter as cross training for cycling.
I see a local speed skating crew riding their bikes up the canyons around here all the time. Enormous thighs on those animals.
There is definitely some crossover value of skating over the winter and cycling during the summer. Skaitng and cycling stress most of the same muscles. Skating is infact a better workout than cycling because you must support your own body weight when skating.
However…
The kind of skating you will be doing in a men’s hockey league will not do much to develop any aerobic power that speed skating would. Most likely you’re be on a team with 2-3 lines which means out of a 60 minute (running clock) game, you might see 15-20 minutes of icetime at most. Of those minutes, they will be high-intensity and anaerobic for the most part.
Come spring-time, you will find you might be able to out-kick your compatriots in a sprint, but your endurance and stamina will probably not be up to snuff in comparison.
That being said, hockey is the most intense and enjoyable winter sport there is. Have a blast. Just don’t neglect the trainer over the winter.
Addendum:
If you are really interested in using hockey as a quality workout, I would suggest finding Drop-in sessions. You generally get more ice-time and you can get away with longer shifts. Hell, I’ve been in some drop in sessions where I was on the ice, skating for more than 1 hour. OUCH!
"The kind of skating you will be doing in a men’s hockey league will not do much to develop any aerobic power that speed skating would. Most likely you’re be on a team with 2-3 lines which means out of a 60 minute (running clock) game, you might see 15-20 minutes of icetime at most. Of those minutes, they will be high-intensity and anaerobic for the most part. "
That is why, even though I didn’t get home form my game until 10pm last night, I was on the trainer at 7am followed by a 4 mile run. Not to mention, it helps to loosen up the sore muscles after spending most of my ice time literally on the ice. And I thought I was a bad swimmer.
Hah! You’re fortunate. Some leagues I’ve been in 1/3 of my games started at 11pm or later. Made for a rather crappy workout the next day. If I managed to wake up at all that is.
I remember when I first started playing (a couple years after college). I thought it was neat when I just mastered going forwards, backwards, and doing a stop. Then I tried doing all that with a puck in tow! It was rather comical for a while.
Read her bio
.