Zaphod
Hall of Fame
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2013
- Messages
- 2,217
Having used both I can tell you they are very different sports. Speed skates are flat and very long, they're not made for sharp turns at all. You skate more upright, leaning forward with long efficient strides and a lot less angle.
Hockey skates are shorter, more curved, and much better for changing direction quickly. Done right you skate squatting low, more like a proper low horse stance with your upper legs parallel to the ground, your lower legs perpendicular, so basically at 90 degrees. Your back perpendicular to the ground as well (you'd be surprised the different that makes with changing direction backward and forward, side to side). So lower center of balance, straight back, ready to spring into a check at any angle and change directions at will.
Speed skating is interesting, it is taxing if done right, but it is very much endurance and you really can focus on a particular muscle group compared to hockey, where you basically twist into any awkward angle to get at the puck, take and deliver checks, and it's even more demanding I think as a goalie, you can't leave anything out, especially not rotator cuff exercises. Hockey can be a lot more intense, as a skater you go out there for two minutes and you could be dying for a line change.
One interesting factoid about hockey is that the average player loses 5-8 pounds a game, that mostly being water weight loses 6-7 pounds over the course of an 82 game season. They actually build muscle mass and lose it over the course of a season. So as one can imagine even in a non pro league it can have an impact on other workouts you may have planned just like swimming, running, biking and training for a martial art.