Warm-Up, 5 of 9. Straight from the Hockey IQ book appendix.
From the locker room: Goalie here. The groin routine is not optional for me, it’s the first thing I do after every skate. The butterfly is only as wide as your adductors let it be.
Goal: Target the inner thigh, stabilize. Time: 10 minutes.
When: After skating, on rest days, and every day if you’ve ever felt a groin tweak. Goalies: this is your routine.
- Dynamic Frog Stretch (in and out) – 2 min
- Lateral Leg Swings – 1 min
- Cossack Squats (deep side lunges) – 2 min
- Groiners (from plank, step foot forward) – 2 min
- Knee Hugs to Quad Pulls (balance) – 1.5 min
- Sumo Squat + Reach – 1.5 min
Why it works: Your adductors (inner thigh) pull your leg back under you after every stride and every push. They’re also the most common soft-tissue injury in hockey. Long, strong adductors are the difference between a wide, powerful stride and a strained groin in November.
Do it right: Go to where you feel it, not past it. Breathe out as you go deeper. The frog stretch should feel like the inside of your thigh is waking up, not tearing.
Every warm-up and stretch routine here is in the back of the Hockey IQ book, with the full 9-week hockey-bag program. Back to Warm-Up.
FIND. A. WAY.
