events if time permits. A high-carbohydrate meal
should be consumed following the completion of
the events, in addition to the 100 g of carbohy-
drates within the first 2 h after competition dis-
cussed above, so that muscle glycogen levels are
replenished for the next day of competition.
Fluid should be readily available at all exercise
and competition sites, and should be consumed
according to a predetermined schedule but also
as needed, as the thirst mechanism does not
always indicate when the body is in the early
stages of dehydration. Monitoring body weight
before and after exercise sessions can be used to
detect dehydration via weight loss. Through the
use of these guidelines and constant education of
the athletes regarding food intake and supple-
mentation, especially that of carbohydrates, the
speed skater’s diet should be appropriate for
their exercise and training needs.
Ice hockey
Canadians began playing ice hockey in the early
1800s and it became an Olympic sport for men in
1920 and for women in 1998. An ice hockey
oval is approximately 61¥30.5 m and is usually
indoors. The ice hockey game consists of three
20-min periods, with a 12-min intermission
between periods. Six players are on the ice at one
time for each team: three forwards, two defence-
men and one goalie. A team generally has 9–12
(3–4 lines or shifts) forwards and 4–6 (2–3 lines)
defencemen. The most recent time–motion
analysis has shown that the average skating time
per shift is about 40 s, with a large number of
shifts in the playing rotation (Montgomery 1988).
As there are fewer defencemen on a team,
defencemen generally play for more minutes, at
a slower velocity (62% of forwards’ velocity)
than forwards.
Even though the ice hockey skate (shorter
blade, stiffer/taller boot) is different from the
speed skate, the ice hockey skating stroke, like
that of the speed skater, involves three compo-
nents: (i) glide with single support, (ii) propul-
sion with single support, and (iii) propulsion
with double support (Marino & Weese 1979).
Propulsion during the stroke therefore occurs
using both one and two legs.Characteristics of ice hockey players
As ice hockey is a relatively new sport for
women, very little information is available con-
cerning women ice hockey players; therefore, the
characteristics referred to will be those of men.
Ice hockey players tend to weigh approximately
80 kg, are 180 cm tall and have about 10% body
fat (Green & Houston 1975; Houston & Green
1976; Orvanova 1987; Agre et al. 1988). Ice hockey
players, even more so than speed skaters, tend
to have relatively ordinary aerobic abilities
(55 ml · kg–1· min–1). Finally, as was observed with
the speed skaters, the maximal aerobic ability of
ice hockey players was slightly less while skating
than while running.Training practices
A typical ice hockey season can last from 5 to 8
months and may involve upwards of 100 games.
Two to three games can be played in a week
during the season, with practices usually held on
non-game days. During the season, practice
sessions generally involve developing skill and
getting ready for the next game, as games occur
frequently. During a typical practice, a short
warm-up period will occur along with repeat
bouts of high-intensity skating, instruction,
special plays and controlled scrimmages, all
within 1.5–2 h (Daub et al. 1982). As with a
number of athletes, during the season aerobic
ability and muscular strength and endurance are
generally not enhanced in ice hockey players,
and can actually be lower at the end of the season
than after preseason training (Green & Houston
1975; Cotton et al. 1979; Green et al. 1979; Quinney
et al. 1982; Daub et al. 1983; Johansson et al. 1989;
Poschet al. 1989).
In an attempt to increase the aerobic and/or
muscular ability of ice hockey players during the
hockey season, additional on-ice or non-ice
training was incorporated into the training pro-
gramme for a short period (6–7 weeks), with