Our pro team had signed a new player just in time before the off-season started.

Having scored the most points by a defenseman in the league the Previous season, we had high hopes for him to become the leading D-man on our team.

Around the same time, a new Defender joined our U18 team as well.

What did both of these guys have in common?

At 5'10 and around 200 pounds, they were too heavy and soft to play the game at a high level.

So I told both they needed to lose about 20 pounds.

And while they also needed to get a lot stronger, dropping fat is mainly about your diet. So that was the first thing we had to fix.

I devised a nutrition plan that would strip off the flab.

Laid out what, when and how much food to eat.

Broke down their macronutrient goals for each meal.

Had them log everything they ate in a diet journal.

What happened?

The pro player showed up for pre-season training looking and weighing exactly the same - as if none of my advice had registered.

He played in a few subpar games to kick off the season. Soon, he found himself enjoying diminished ice time and, eventually, out of the line-up. Not long after, he drew his own conclusions and left the club.

The 17-year-old, however, lost the double chin and love handles. Dropped over 10 pounds during the off-season. And shed the rest of his excess weight by Christmas.

Not surprisingly, his 3RM power clean improved by 50 pounds that summer. His squat shot up by 60+ pounds. Went from struggling with bodyweight chin-ups to doing them weighted with 90 pounds.

And became the best defender on the U18 team.

Moral of the story?

Two players.

Similar starting points.

Same program.

Two completely different outcomes.

The pro player didn't "get it".

The junior player did.

It's no surprise that over the years, the smartest guys I have trained have almost always gotten to be the biggest, fastest and strongest.

They don't engage in trivial chitchat between sets. They're concerned with beating their previous performance. Not the chick they hooked up with last weekend or what they're gonna have for dinner after today's workout.

They ask my opinion on everything training related.

What they can do to improve their sleep and recovery. Which supplements, if any, they should take. Pay attention when I give them a tip to help their lifting technique.

And then they execute on that advice.

A year from now you could still be spinning your wheels, far from what you could have been capable of.

Or you could ditch the flab, double your strength, dominate in and out of the weight room - just like my 17-year-old did.

You either get it or you don't.

If you do... then go here to get started:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Yunus Barisik