Inside McFarland Hockey's Off-Season Training: How the Aussie Pro Runner and Pro Bike Build Skating Power and Repeat Sprint Ability

Hockey is a game of short, repeated, maximum-effort bursts with tight rest windows. A 45-second shift, a brief recovery on the bench, another 45-second shift. Three periods, multiple lines, the whole night. The athletes who do that well in March were built in July, August, and September. The off-season is where hockey conditioning is actually developed. The season is where it is maintained.

Beau Brezenski runs the off-season program for McFarland High School Hockey in Wisconsin. He uses the Aussie Pro Runner for sprint and sled work, and he just added the Aussie Pro Bike to expand his conditioning programming. We sat down with Beau to talk about how the two units fit into hockey off-season training, how he structures sessions, and what other coaches should know.

The McFarland Off-Season Philosophy

Most hockey programs share the same off-season challenge. The window between the last game of one season and the first practice of the next is finite, and the physical qualities the sport demands (explosive acceleration, repeat sprint capacity, recovery speed between efforts) need real time to develop. In-season programming is mostly about preservation. The off-season is where the build happens.

In Beau's words:

McFarland High School Hockey, the off-season is where we get most of our real development done. Once the season starts, it's about maintaining and staying fresh, so this is the window where we can actually build better athletes.

The McFarland off-season is structured around three physical qualities that map directly to what a hockey shift demands:

We're mainly focused on three things: acceleration, repeat sprint ability, and overall conditioning so guys can recover quickly between shifts. Hockey is a game of short, explosive efforts, so we want them to be able to go hard, recover fast, and do it over and over.

That framework (acceleration, repeat sprint ability, between-effort recovery) is the lens for every off-season conditioning decision Beau makes.

Why a Manual Curved Treadmill Fits Hockey Energy Systems

A typical hockey shift runs 30 to 60 seconds at maximum intensity, with 90 seconds to 4 minutes of recovery between shifts depending on line depth and game flow. The energy system being trained is mixed: heavy on the alactic and anaerobic glycolytic pathways during the shift, with aerobic recovery between. Off-season conditioning has to load all three.

A manual curved treadmill works for this profile in a way that a motorized belt does not. Because the athlete drives the belt themselves, every second of work is loaded force production rather than passive ride. That changes the energy cost per second, which is exactly what you want when the training goal is replicating the actual demands of a shift.

In Beau's words:

The Aussie Pro Runner fits really well with how hockey is played. We'll run short sprints in the 5 to 15 second range, then keep rest relatively tight. Because the athlete has to drive the belt themselves, it becomes more than just conditioning. It's force production under fatigue, which is what shifts actually feel like.

That phrase, "force production under fatigue," is the right way to frame what hockey conditioning is actually training. It is not VO2 max work and it is not pure speed work. It is the ability to produce high force, repeatedly, with the recovery clock running. The Aussie Pro Runner programs that demand directly.

Sled Mode for Skating Power and First-Step Acceleration

The Aussie Pro Runner includes a magnetic resistance dial that turns the unit into a sled-push station. For hockey coaches, this is a programming asset that matters specifically. Skating power, especially the first three strides of a sprint after a stop or change of direction, is built by the same force-application patterns a sled push trains: heavy horizontal force, forward shin angle, full hip extension, and ground reaction force aligned with the direction of travel.

Most off-season hockey programs that want to train this quality have to dedicate floor space to a separate sled and a turf lane. The McFarland program has the sled mode on the Aussie Pro Runner doing the same work in the same footprint as the conditioning treadmill.

In Beau's words:

Sled mode has been a big addition for us. It lets us train heavy horizontal force without needing a full turf setup, and the positions it puts athletes in are very similar to early stride mechanics. We're reinforcing forward shin angle, strong extension, and pushing through the ground.

The carryover to on-ice skating is direct. The hockey stride is essentially a heavy horizontal push, repeated, against the resistance of the ice surface and the athlete's own body weight. Training that pattern off-ice, under load, builds the force production capacity that shows up as a faster first step in October.

What a Typical Off-Season Session Looks Like

The structure of a McFarland off-season conditioning session is built around the three-quality framework: acceleration first, then repeat sprint ability, then a conditioning finisher when appropriate.

In Beau's words:

We start with a quick warm-up. Mobility, movement prep, and a little tempo work. Then we get into the main work: short max sprints, repeat efforts, and some sled pushes. Early on it's full speed with more rest, then we tighten the rest to work on repeat effort and fatigue. Some days we'll finish with a short conditioning piece (20 to 30 seconds). Overall, it's about being explosive, repeating it, and recovering fast.

The work-to-rest progression Beau describes is the classic off-season ramp. Block one is full-speed quality work with generous recovery, building the top-end output. Block two compresses the rest, layering in repeat-sprint demand. Block three adds the conditioning finishers to extend repeat capacity under accumulated fatigue. By the time hockey camp opens, the athletes are conditioned for the actual energy profile of a shift, not just generic running fitness.

Pairing the Pro Runner with the New Aussie Pro Bike

McFarland recently added the Aussie Pro Bike to the off-season setup. The bike serves a different role than the Runner. Where the Runner trains the explosive, loaded sprint with skating-mechanic carryover, the bike covers aerobic volume, recovery work, and lower-impact conditioning sessions.

In Beau's words:

When we add the Aussie Pro Bike, we'll have more options with conditioning. The Aussie Pro Runner is still our go-to for speed and power, but the bike lets us build volume without beating them up. Some days we'll pair them. Quick sprint on the runner into a longer push on the bike. Other days we'll split it up and use the bike more for aerobic work or recovery. It helps us keep intensity high while still building a solid base.

The pairing works because each unit hits a different energy system without overlapping. A complete hockey conditioning program needs both the high-force, alactic sprint capacity the Runner trains AND the aerobic base the bike covers. Splitting the modalities across the same training week, or pairing them within a single session, gives the coach more total productive training volume without compounding the joint stress that comes from running every conditioning piece on the same machine.

For coaches running a hockey off-season program with limited budget for equipment, the Runner is the higher-priority single piece because nothing else trains the loaded-sprint force production as directly. The bike becomes the second piece once the program has the budget to expand modality coverage.

What This Means for Other Hockey Coaches

The McFarland off-season program is structured around principles that apply to any hockey program from high school through college club:

• Off-season is where the build happens. Treat it that way.
• Train the actual energy profile of a shift, not generic running fitness.
• Add sled-style horizontal force work to develop skating power. Sled mode on a manual curved treadmill is the most floor-efficient way to do this if you cannot dedicate a turf lane.
• Progress work-to-rest ratios across off-season blocks. Quality first, then repeat capacity, then conditioning under fatigue.
• If budget allows, pair a manual curved treadmill with an air bike to cover both the explosive-sprint and the aerobic-volume sides of conditioning without redundancy.

The Aussie Pro Runner is the only manual curved treadmill in the sub-$10,000 price range with the magnetic-resistance sled-push mode built in. The Aussie Pro Bike is the complementary aerobic-conditioning unit. For programs building an off-season conditioning setup from scratch, the two together cover the conditioning demand profile of competitive hockey.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does manual curved treadmill training apply to hockey off-season conditioning?

A manual curved treadmill is self-propelled, which means the athlete drives the belt with each foot strike. That produces force production under load with every second of work, rather than the passive ride a motorized belt allows. For hockey, where shifts demand 30 to 60 seconds of repeated high-force output with tight recovery, this loading profile maps directly to the actual energy demand of the sport. The athlete is training the same energy systems they will use in the third period of a tight game.

What energy systems does a manual curved treadmill train for hockey?

Mixed energy system loading depending on duration. Short sprints in the 5 to 15 second range target the alactic (phosphagen) system that fuels the explosive first three to five strides of a shift. Repeat sprints with tight rest tax the anaerobic glycolytic system that fuels the back half of a long shift. Longer continuous efforts at moderate intensity build the aerobic base that recovers the athlete between shifts and between periods. A full off-season program loads all three across different sessions and different training blocks.

How does sled mode on a curved treadmill carry over to skating mechanics?

The skating stride is essentially a heavy horizontal push, repeated, against the resistance of the ice surface and the athlete's body weight. Sled-mode work on a manual curved treadmill trains the same force application pattern: heavy horizontal force, forward shin angle, full hip extension, ground reaction force aligned with the direction of travel. Training that pattern off-ice, under load, develops the force production capacity that shows up as a faster first step and stronger crossover acceleration on the ice in-season.

What is a typical work-to-rest ratio for hockey-specific sprint intervals on a manual treadmill?

Off-season blocks typically progress through three ratios. Early off-season block: 5 to 15 second sprints with 3 to 5 minutes of recovery (high quality, full recovery, building top-end output). Mid off-season block: same sprint durations with rest tightened to 60 to 90 seconds (repeat sprint ability, building tolerance for accumulated fatigue). Late off-season block: 20 to 30 second conditioning finishers with 30 to 60 seconds rest (conditioning under fatigue, simulating end-of-period intensity). The specific ratios should be adjusted to athlete development level and program length.

When should hockey coaches use a manual curved treadmill versus an air bike in conditioning?

The two cover different demands and complement rather than substitute for each other. Use a manual curved treadmill (and sled mode) for explosive sprint conditioning, force production under fatigue, and skating-mechanic carryover work. Use an air bike for aerobic volume, recovery sessions, lower-impact conditioning days, and modality variation during high-volume training weeks. Many programs pair them within a single session, like a short sprint on the treadmill followed by a longer push on the bike, to combine high-intensity quality with aerobic base development without overloading any single joint pattern.

How does the Pro Runner and Pro Bike pairing work for off-season conditioning?

McFarland Hockey runs the pairing in two formats. Combined-session format pairs a quick sprint on the Pro Runner with a longer push on the Pro Bike, so the athlete hits high-force output then transitions into sustained aerobic work in the same session. Split-session format uses the bike on dedicated aerobic or recovery days while keeping the Pro Runner for the speed and power sessions earlier in the week. Both formats serve the same goal: hitting different energy systems across the program without compounding the joint stress that comes from running every conditioning piece on the same machine.

What age groups can use a manual curved treadmill for hockey off-season training?

Most manual curved treadmills are appropriate for athletes ages 10 and up, with progression based on the athlete's foot mechanics, body control, and ability to safely manage belt speed. High school programs (typical age 14 to 18) and college programs handle the unit without issue. For middle school and younger athletes, coaches should screen movement quality before introducing high-resistance or maximum-velocity work and progress gradually through lower-intensity exposure first.