The Russian Box Skating Specific Dryland Training By Jack Blatherwick (excerpts) Everyone has a limited amount of time and energy to devote to training, so it follows that you want to spend your efforts in the most productive way. You can't do everything, and there will be experts at every turn selling their personal bias. So, making intelligent decisions and planning your off-season training will ensure your effort is rewarded. Remember, you are training to be a hockey player - - not a distance runner, a competitive cyclist a body builder, or an Olympic lifter. These are great sports, but not your chosen field, so make sure you focus on your goal when planning your training.

That is why, I believe the Russian box is the best off-ice training tool for skating I've seen in four decades of searching - - THE BEST! You are changing your comfort zone, developing strength and muscular endurance in a range of motion that is difficult to achieve on the ice. NO matter how often you remind yourself to skate corners with greater knee bend, there are distractions - - pucks, opponents, fatigue, and competition - - distractions that prevent you from maintaining optimum knee bend.