Should I Put Weight On My Stick and My Ankles?

We tend to be a "more is better" society. If a pound is good then two pounds must be better. This is not the case. What happens when things get too heavy is that it affects your technique. The body had to overcompensate and use muscles that aren't intended for the primary purpose. It can also create uneccessary tension in the body that is counterproductive for a goalie.

Here are some guidelines:

How to properly weight your goalie stick. I'm guilty when I was young of filling my shaft with sand. Now I know that wasn't a really good idea. Not only was it too heavy the weighting of the stick was all off and if probably really screwed up my technique. Fishing weights come in ounces. There are sixteen ounces in a pound. Start with two ounces. Don't go any higher than six ounces. You don't want the stick to feel heavy in your hands. The added weight should almost be imperceptible. Go to the fishing tackle store and buy half ounce weights and tape them evenly to your stick from the scoop to the butt-end. Take them off on game day.

If you want to weight your body don't use ankle weights. By weighting your limbs you can really screw up your technique. The best way to do this is to wear a weight vest. There is a great company called X-vest that makes the best weight vests around. If you are in high scool I would recommend the ones that go up to twenty pounds. If you are in college you can do more than that. If you are a woman I wouldn't go higher than twenty pounds.

But Jonathan, you just said that you shouldn't use more than ounces? That's right, on your stick. There is a difference between putting weight on your body and putting it on the thing you are using. Big difference.

By putting weight on your core you are not affecting your technique on how you move to the ball. You will if you put on twenty pounds right away. Start with two pounds. And every week add another pound. On every fourth week take the vest off. Use only in practice and scrimmages. On game day take it off. Wear it all the time if you like.

What about ankle weights?

Unless you want to look like some sort of Eighties aerobics unstructor I wouldn't wear them at all. Wear the X-vest if you like. It's especially fashionable in inner-city schools wear kevlar vests are appropriate. Ankle weights will just screw up your form. Some guys ask me if they should wear ankle weights during the day and then play without them. I'm not a fan. Again, walking with ankle weights is much different than trying to run with them and we don't want to be running with them. The benefits are not there. Don't bother with them.