Hockey is a game that tests your athleticism, cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength, all during the same game. Hockey players must be in top form in order to compete, which means training on and off the ice. If you're planning on playing hockey but aren't sure about your fitness level, consider the amount of cardiovascular endurance you'll need to play for the entire game. You may find that off-ice training can help increase your endurance levels to become a better competitor.
Game Length
A regulation NHL game lasts for 60 minutes -- three periods of 20 minutes each. While there is a 15-minute intermission allowed between each period, it still means that hockey players must have enough cardiovascular endurance for over an hour of game play. Since there can only be six players from each team on the ice during the game, players will get substitutions for rest during the game. Even with rest and intermissions, ice hockey is a physically grueling sport.
Physical Activity
A North American hockey rink is 200-feet-long by 85-feet-wide. The size of the hockey rink affects your cardiovascular endurance in the sense that hockey is a quick-moving sport. It takes only a flick of the wrist to send the hockey puck sailing down the length of the rink, awaiting recovery by a player. This means that you'll spend much of your time speed skating up and down the rink to challenge opponents. This movement requires oxygenated blood to be pumped to your working muscles, resulting in a faster heart rate and the need for greater cardiovascular endurance.
Muscular Endurance
Your cardio endurance while playing hockey is directly related to your muscular endurance. You need strength to put power behind your passes and shots, help you move your body around the rink and even take hits from members of the opposing team. The more you move and exert your muscles, the harder your heart has to work to supply those muscles with blood. As you call upon your muscles to help give you strength and power around the rink, you're also firing up your cardiovascular process to sustain that power.
Hockey Training
To achieve a higher degree of cardiovascular endurance in hockey, on and off-ice training is typically employed to strengthen the heart for more efficient pumping. While hockey players do train by skating laps and completing drills, running at the track and performing other cardio exercises such as biking and hiking can help to build up a player's cardiovascular endurance. Training helps to simulate the strain put on the heart during game play for more efficient cardio output while playing hockey.
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