Should Goalies and Hockey Players Be Doing HIIT?

Hey, Dr. Jamie here.

I’m doing a 30 email in 30 day thing in order to bring as much value as I can to everyone, especially leading into the offseason.

This will (hopefully) eliminate all the questions I get asked from athletes and their parents.

Or who knows, maybe it will 10x them. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Let’s talk HIIT. High-intensity interval training is everywhere. Quick, intense bursts of work followed by short recovery—it’s tough, time-efficient, and backed by solid research.

But here’s the question: Is HIIT actually helping you become a better hockey player.

The answer? It depends. Like anything in training, context matters.

What HIIT Actually Is

HIIT is built around short periods of maximum effort followed by controlled recovery. Think sprinting hard for 20 seconds, walking for 40 seconds, and repeating that cycle.

Sounds familiar, right? Hockey is a stop-and-start sport. So in theory, HIIT makes sense.

But just because something looks similar on the surface doesn’t mean it’s always the best fit—especially when it comes to the specific demands of hockey and goaltending.

HIIT for Hockey Players: Where It Works

Here’s where HIIT can help players on the ice:

1. It mirrors game-like conditioning

Shifts are high-output bursts followed by rest. HIIT trains you to recover quickly between efforts.

2. It builds both aerobic and anaerobic capacity

You’ll develop the engine to go longer and harder without gassing out early.

3. It’s efficient

When you’re juggling practices, lifts, and school, HIIT gives you a solid training return in a short amount of time.

4. It builds mental toughness

I hesitated to put this one in but awe well. We all need to toughen up.

Pushing through high-effort intervals transfers to those late-game, pressure moments.

Bottom line: if you’re looking to improve your conditioning, HIIT has a place—especially in the offseason when building capacity is key.

The downsides:

1. Too much HIIT can fry your nervous system

You’re already on the ice a lot. Adding a bunch of high-output intervals on top of that can tip you into fatigue or even injury.

2. Precision matters more than fatigue

Your job is to be sharp and explosive, not to be the most tired guy in the room.

That doesn’t mean goalies should avoid intensity. It just means your version of HIIT should look more like short, powerful reps—resisted lateral shuffles, quick pushes, low-volume jump work—with full recovery built in.

3. HITT for the Sake of HITT

HITT needs to be programmed intelligently into your training. Just doing it to do it, is both a waste of time and energy.

I don’t like my athletes wasting time.

Very Simple Tips if You Don’t Have a Program:

FYI, these are simple nuanced tips. Ideally, follow a strong training program that takes all the guess work out of this for you.

• Use HIIT during the offseason or early preseason to build your base.

• Stick to intervals that match game pace: 20–40 seconds of work with 1:1 or 1:2 rest.

The Bottom Line

HIIT isn’t bad. It’s just a tool. If it fits the goal and the context, great. But if you’re using it just because it’s trendy or hard, you might be missing the mark.

It can build real on-ice conditioning.

Train smart, not just hard.

If you’re looking for summer training program, I’m dropping my off season programs, at the end of this week.

As newsletter subscribers, you’ll have early access because I cap the number of spots.

-Dr. Jamie