So You Want To Outskate The Competition?
Jump on a ProSpeed R.S.S. training rink, and you'll immediately notice that its twice as hard to skate on as ice, exposes every flaw in your technique, and forces you to actually skate to get where you want to go. ProSpeed creates a unique, hockey specific resistance that corrects weak skating and builds longer, more powerful, and explosive strides in our students giving them the edge over the competition!
What makes ProSpeed the best hockey training surface?
- NATURAL RESISTANCE. Resistance training on frozen ice requires you to add something "unnatural" to your skating: dragging a net, another player, wearing weights, using elastic bands, or even parachutes. While all of these methods will add resistance and make you work harder, and potentially strengthen your legs, they all share an unsurmountable disadvantage: external apparatus pulls you out of your hockey position. Players that are dragging things around with them are basically fighting against opposing forces. They promote poor posture and require improper form to overcome the apparatus ... if something is pushing against you, or pulling you back, your shoulder position is going to chage. Your center of gravity (c.o.g.) also changes, which changes your core skating technique. Skating on a ProSpeed rink gives you a proportional amount of resistance without changing your C.O.G. In short, you get stronger, you skate harder, and you can maintain perfect posture (hockey position) thoughout every maneuver.
- CONSTANT, CONSISTANT RESISTANCE. ProSpeed offers the skater resistance the entire time you skate on it: Resisted is given during all stops, starts, crossovers, turns, shuffles, c-cuts, transitions and pivots. These are skills that simply cannot be done with resistance on frozen ice using external tools, all of which limit you to straight line skating.
- EVERY FLAW EXPOSED (AND FIXED). On frozen ice, you can get away with too much bending at the waist and not enough knee bend. You can cheat the corners by leaning and keeping your momentum going. Not so on a ProSpeed rink. If you're knees aren't properly bent out over your toes you'll go nowhere fast. If you're bending too much at the waist, you'll end up face first on the ice. If you think you can simply pump your legs and get going, forget it. If you're not in a proper hockey position, you're going to lose your balance, and if you don't keep your feet moving, you're going to stand still. ProSpeed will not allow you to cheat, glide, or otherwise fake-it. As it exposes your flaws, it forces you to fix them.
All of this translates into very obvious changes in your game when you jump back onto the ice:
You'll be in a much better hockey position which gives you better balance, leverage and a longer stride.
You're going to be much stronger and in better overall condition, thanks to the constant resistance.
When everyone else is gliding around, your feet, (having been forced to move) will be moving, and you'll blow their doors off!
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Common Questions
I've heard that skating on Synthetic Ice will ruin or shorten your stride.
Actually, the opposite is true. When you're in a proper hockey position, with your knees bent out over your toes, you have a much greater potential leg extension (stride length) than you do with a straighter leg. ProSpeed forces you into a proper hockey position at all times, which has you setup and loaded to make a long, powerful stride. This is something that we as coaches are militant about with our students.
This myth stems from the idea that because you do not easily glide on ProSpeed that players are forced into keeping their feet moving. Quicker feet means a shorter stride. In theory, this is true. We don't allow that to take place with our students. Part of our teaching mission is to create perfectly balanced, powerful skaters with long, strong strides.
Can you really skate (stop, start, etc) on plastic?
Absolutely. Anything that you can do on Frozen Ice, you can do on ProSpeed. It's a little harder to do, and you'll probably feel a little bit off-balance until you get used to the surface. Once you improve your hockey position and with it, your C.O.G., you'll be on your way to vast improvements.
Does skating on Synthetic Ice (ProSpeed) ruin your skate blades?
Only if you don't take care of them. Skating on plastic with metal blades creates a lot of friction. This heats up your blade and can cause 2 things to happen:
1) It will dull faster as the heat will soften up the edge. Regular maintanence makes this a non-issue. Puckmasters recommends use of a "Sweet Stick" after every session. This will keep your edges "up" and prevent the mushroom effect (below) from ever happening.
2) If you do not take care of your blades properly over the course of multiple sessions, they will mushroom out. Fixing this requires a re-profiling of your skate blade, which can be done at NW Pro Hockey, Play It Again, or Firstline hockey shops. This is entirely preventable. |
Get the ProSpeed Advantage!
Our Resistance Skating Surface gives our students a unique 3-in-1 workout! Youčll get a muscle workout, a cardio workout, and learn a whole new hockey skill! You'll hate it, but you'll wonder how you ever trained without it!
"We love you guys, We attribute Stephen's success to Puckmasters, both Lia and I are forever grateful, we would fall on our swords for you guys."
- Gregg Jenner
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