Canadian-born hockey star Sidney Crosby may have back-to-back Stanley Cup wins under his belt with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the 30-year old NHL phenomenon isn’t slowing down any time soon. To outskate and outmuscle the bigger guys on the ice (Crosby stands at 5’11” and 200 pounds—putting him on the smaller side relative to many other players), Crosby hits the weights hard. To keep from getting muscled off the puck and smashed into the boards, he favors a legs workout that relies on compound exercises like barbell squats alternated with barbell deadlifts, walking lunges, and plyometric box jumps, as these build maximum strength.
“All this hard work and preparation is what I need to do to make sure the Penguins have the best chance to win another Stanley Cup,” Crosby says. “As challenging as it was to win the first two, it is even more difficult to win three in a row.”
Once the championship run begins in early October, Alex Trinca—the strength and conditioning coach for the Penguins—has Crosby and the rest of the team focus on lower-body power workouts. Check out Crosby’s lower-body workouts below.
Directions
Crosby performs this twice a week, with two days of rest between each session for adequate recovery. Weights stay heavy, and the reps stay relatively low.
