🔎 It’s always interesting to get to know how the elite athletes train.🏒 Today we will look at the training approach in the off-season period of YEGOR CHINAKHOV, one of the NHL 2023/24 top performers. According to the NHL Edge Tracking Data, 🚀 Yegor performs more speed bursts over 32 km/h than 97% NHL players, his top skating speed is higher than 95% players have, 🏌️‍♂️ and top shooting speed is above 92% of the NHL athletes [1].

🤸🏼 Besides hockey sense, skills and mental toughness, to reach the highest level of play, one should be a round-developed athlete.
From my point of view, training exercises should be simple and safe. As the players spend more time on ice, it is enough to be proficient at basic 🏃‍♂️ track and field, 🏋🏻‍♂️ weightlifting skills to develop general preparedness. 📊 To do so the order of training modalities and their compatibility, intensity and volume should be set in a scientifically proven manner. As the program is designed, the athlete must buy-in to stick to it. 📈 According the the research, consistency is one of the key factors in determining long-term progress [2]. This is clear and is often discussed in scientific papers, books, seminars and social media.

💡 But there is one more crucial aspect of the training process which often gets less attention. Is the athlete’s body ready to adapt to the training load? Nevertheless, it is a cornerstone: if there is no adaptational reserve left, everything above-named makes no sense.

To analyze current state of our players we use the following biochemical markers on the first day of every microcycle in the off-season period [3]:
- Urea: biomarker of the body's stress under various psychophysiological changes in strenuous or unaccustomed exercise, competitions, overtraining, and improper recovery in sports. The end product of protein metabolism characterizes kidney and liver function.
- Creatinine: characterizes the degree of fatigue. The end product of the creatine phosphate reaction in the muscles. The greatest changes are noted after speed-strength training.
- Creatinine Phosphokinase: a criterion for evaluating the degree of muscle damage. An enzyme necessary for muscle contraction. The greatest changes are noted after strength training (especially involving the muscles of the upper body).
- Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST): a criterion to diagnose cardiac overstrain. An enzyme whose greatest activity is noted in the heart muscle.
- Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT): a criterion to diagnose liver overstrain. An enzyme localized in liver cells.
- Testosterone:Cortisol Ratio: reflects the level of physiological stress. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. Cortisol is the catabolic and steroid hormone involved in stress reactions of the body.

Thank you for reading!

References:
1. https://edge.nhl.com/en/skater/8482475
2. Raysmith, B, Drew, MK. Performance success or failure is explained by weeks lost to injury and illness in elite Australian track and field athletes: a 5-year prospective study.
3. Rybina, IL, Gunina, LM. Laboratory markers for monitoring and controlling the training process of athletes: science and practice [in Russian].