Before you begin training please note that these are progressive programs intended for a wide range of individuals with varying abilities, so it is best to start with the basic exercises (without weight) if you are a beginner to strength training. I strongly advise that you have supervision or seek guidance from a professional and to get physical clearance from a medical doctor just as any sports program requires.

COMMOM MYTH (FEMALES):

Some women have a fear of bulking up or putting too much muscle on when doing weights- I can tell you now that it is really very hard for women to put on muscle due to the nature of the female hormonal make-up. Men possess about 10x more testosterone, which is the muscle building hormone (after the age of 12) than women and is natural for them to have more muscles than women, so females shouldn't have any concern with becoming bulky when doing weights, I promise! I have trained with weights since 2005 with very heavy weights and I have never looked like a bodybuilder (and neither will you unless you are training 7 hours a day and on some form of drugs). The benefit of doing strength training will help you massively in your game, but always make sure you use the correct technique by following the guidelines or getting supervision.

Below are some recommendations of equipment which will be useful in your training. It is a personal choice of what you prefer but I would choose at least one of the below pieces of equipment (depending upon budget) to help you with your training goals. The aim is to build a solid strength base which is one of the most important aspects of improving as a hockey player.

I have provided example links to give you an idea of price, what you looking for in a product but you could possibly get some of the stuff cheaper by buying second hand from sites like gumtree, ebay, etc.

This is my favourite piece of equipment because of it's adaptability and the functional nature of the exercises. I recommend at least two kettlebells of different weight to allow for progression. Here is a guide of the weights based on experience:

This is my 2nd favourite piece of equipment and together with kettlebells are ideal for at home workouts. There are expensive versions such as TRX (£150/$200) but there are now cheaper variations which essentially do the same thing (in the region of £40/$60).

Example of what to look for

* Beginners: Minimum total weight of 50kg

* Intermediate: Minimum total weight of 70kg

* Advanced: Minimum total weight of 90kg

Example of a weights set

Please see video below for resistance training advice and suitable exercises which you can use to adapt some of the exercises in the sample programs. There are a couple of options but I recommend at least 2-3 different strengths of elastic bands to use for different exercises and for progressions (light, medium, heavy).

MB's are more useful for power exercises because they come in light weights and the objective is all about the speed of movement which is done with lighter weights so you wouldn't use this for strength (which remember comes before power).

* Beginners: 2-5kg

* Intermediate:  5-8kg

* Advanced: 8-10kg

Swiss ball are the big balls that you see people rolling around on. They are great for making exercises harder, or adding another variation of elevation particularly useful for things like pushups, bulgarian split squats, hamstring curls and core exercises (such as knee tucks, rotational movements, etc).

All sessions start with 10-15 mins of mobility movements, foam rolling and a dynamic warmup, before moving onto warming up with the specific exercises on a lighter weight. Only then will you do the prescribed exercises listed below. You will complete each session with at least 5 mins of static stretches, meaning that you should complete every workout within 1 hour maximum (normally 35-45 mins).

Sets: 3-4

Reps: 6-10 (5×5 for advanced lifters)

Intensity: 80-90% (moderate to heavy)

Rest: 1-2 mins between sets (2-3 mins for advanced)

Tempo: slow and controlled (lift in 1 count, lower in 4 counts)

Duration: 4 weeks

Frequency: 3 x per week (strength) and 1-2 x per week (cardio)*

*For advanced lifters wanting to train 4 x per week, you can split upper body/lower body over 4 non consecutive days per week (i.e. monday & thurs- upper body; tues & fri - lower body incl core exercises on both days)

You will alternate between workout A & B. For example Monday you will do workout A, Wednesday you will do workout B and Friday you will do workout A again.

Exercises 1A and 1B means to complete both exercises straight after each other with no more than 30 secs rest between each, before returning to 1A again. Complete all supersets before moving to 2A and 2B.

All sessions start with 10-15 mins of mobility movements, foam rolling and a dynamic warmup, before moving onto warming up with the specific exercises on a lighter weight. Only then will you do the prescribed exercises listed below. You will complete each session with at least 5 mins of static stretches, meaning that you should complete every workout within 1 hour maximum (normally 35-45 mins).

You will alternate between workout A & B. For example Monday you will do workout A, Wednesday you will do workout B and Friday you will do workout A again.

Exercises 1A and 1B means to complete both exercises straight after each other with no more than 30 secs rest between each, before returning to 1A again. Complete all supersets before moving to 2A and 2B.