Editors Note: Bobby Ryan was born in New Jersey in 1987. He has won two national championships with Los Angeles Jr. Kings in 2000 and 2002. He was a first round draft pick to the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack in 2003 and named to the OHL All Rookie Team in 2004. The next year he was drafted to the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. He was on the 2010 Olympic team in 2010, helping achieve a silver medal and has since signed a 7 year contract extension with the Ottawa Senators, after being traded from Anaheim in 2014.
What kind of training have you done in the past?
My training has changed a lot in the past few years. I spent most of my summers in California with the teams coaches. We focused on working my quads, hamstrings, and lots of plyometrics for explosiveness. I would often do straight forward cardio on the bike or track to get a metabolic base going into the season.
What kind of training did you do with Wright Training?
This past summer I had to change to a new approach. I’ve gotten older and due to a sports hernia surgery I had to spend a lot of time on my posterior chain. Crystal’s knowledge coupled with my trainer in Ottawa led to a much different summer. While still focusing on the major lifts (squats, dead lift, hang cleans) we also worked the secondary muscle memory with box jumps, lots of one legged squats, and hurdle hops to keep my heart rate up in between sets. Crystal also spent a ton of time teaching me to “engage” which meant breaking away from major muscle groups and learning to focus on my having my core muscles do the work. It lead to me having much more stable and stronger glutes to handle the seasons skating workload.
Do you enjoy training or is it more of a chore?
I’ve always hated it! I call it a necessary evil. As I have gotten older and I’m entering my 9th season in the league I’ve learned to embrace it. Training camp is much easier coming into it with a great foundation for success and that’s the reward I wait all summer for!
What kind of training do you do “in season”?
Getting lifts in is tough. We often play 4-5 games in 8-10 days in different cities all over the country. I spend much more time on recovery. I often limit my lifts to 2-3 sets at lower reps with heavy weights to keep my strength up, I get my conditioning on the ice during the season. If I do get a few days I’ll have a better lift following a game and I’ll generally try to circuit through 5-6 exercises including 1-2 Olympic lifts, and upper body, lower body and 2 core exercises.
What do you do outside of training to stay active?
During the summer I spend plenty of time on the golf course. I play 4-5 rounds a week. I enjoy the mental aspect of trying to beat a previous score every day. I also started to do a bit more cycling in the off season and taking advantage of some of Victors beautiful hiking trails when I can get out.
What keeps you playing hockey?
Outside of the pure enjoyment of being on the ice every day, it’s the chase of a cup. I play each and every year with the goal in mind to win a Stanley Cup!
