Online coaching has helped thousands of people lose weight, build muscle, and get healthier without ever stepping foot into a gym with a trainer.

It’s also not magic.

Like anything worthwhile, there are challenges.

If you’re considering hiring an online coach, you deserve to know what could go wrong before you spend a dollar.

Here are seven things I think every potential client should know.

1. You Might Feel Like You’re On Your Own

This is probably the biggest fear people have.

“What if I sign up, get a workout and meal plan, and never hear from my coach again?”

Unfortunately, that does happen.

Some programs are little more than an app with your name on it.

How to avoid it

Before you hire anyone, ask exactly how communication works.

• How often do you check in?
• Can I message you between check-ins?
• How quickly do you respond?
• What happens if I hit a roadblock?

A good online coach doesn’t disappear after onboarding. They coach. They answer questions. They help you through real life.

The program should feel personal, not automated.

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2. The Program Might Not Actually Be Customized

Just because someone says “custom” doesn’t mean it is.

Many coaches simply plug your information into software that spits out the same workout and calorie target everyone else gets.

How to avoid it

Ask what makes the program customized.

Does it account for:

• Your schedule?
• Your injuries?
• Your hockey schedule?
• Your equipment?
• Your experience?
• Your travel?
• Your food preferences?

A good program should fit into your life, not ask you to rearrange your life around it.

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3. Motivation Will Eventually Wear Off

This one surprises people.

The excitement of starting something new fades.

That’s normal.

No one stays motivated forever.

How to avoid it

Don’t look for motivation.

Look for accountability.

The best coaching programs build systems that keep you moving forward when motivation disappears.

The people who get the best results aren’t the most motivated.

They’re the most consistent.

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4. Life Is Going To Get In The Way

Kids.

Work.

Vacation.

Injuries.

Busy hockey seasons.

Late nights.

There will never be a perfect stretch of life.

How to avoid it

Ask your coach what happens when life gets messy.

Do they adjust workouts?

Modify nutrition?

Help you get back on track?

Or do they simply tell you to “try harder?”

The best coaching plans bend without breaking.

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5. You Might Not Like Tracking Everything

Not everyone enjoys weighing food.

Logging meals.

Tracking habits.

Taking progress pictures.

For some people, it becomes overwhelming.

How to avoid it

Find a coach whose tracking style matches your personality.

Some people thrive with detailed numbers.

Others do better with simple habits like:

• Protein at every meal
• Daily walks
• Hydration goals
• Strength workouts

The best system is the one you’ll actually stick with.

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6. Results May Be Slower Than You Expected

This isn’t usually because the program doesn’t work.

It’s because real, sustainable progress isn’t flashy.

You might lose one pound this week.

Nothing next week.

Then three pounds the following week.

Progress isn’t linear.

How to avoid it

Judge success over months, not days.

Focus on:

• Better energy
• Stronger workouts
• Clothes fitting differently
• Better sleep
• Feeling better on the ice

The scale tells part of the story.

Your life tells the rest.

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7. You Still Have To Do The Work

This may sound obvious.

But coaching isn’t something that’s done to you.

It’s done with you.

Your coach can’t do your workouts.

Your coach can’t make your food choices.

Your coach can’t go for your walks.

How to avoid it

Be honest with yourself before signing up.

Are you ready to participate?

You don’t need to be perfect.

You don’t need to be highly motivated.

But you do need to be willing.

The best coaching relationship is a partnership.

Not a rescue mission.

Online Coaching Isn’t For Everyone

This might sound strange coming from someone who sells online coaching.

But it’s true.

Some people simply aren’t a good fit.

If you’re looking for someone to force you to exercise…

Online coaching probably isn’t for you.

If you’re unwilling to communicate…

It’s probably not for you.

If you expect results while ignoring the plan…

It’s definitely not for you.

And if you’re looking for a quick fix before a vacation or reunion…

There are plenty of people selling those.

I’m not one of them.

The people who thrive in online coaching are different.

They’re busy.

They’ve tried diets before.

They’ve started and stopped more times than they can count.

They’re tired of guessing.

They want a plan built around their life.

They want someone in their corner who can adjust when life changes.

They understand that lasting results come from consistency, not perfection.

Is Online 1-on-1 Coaching Right For You?

The answer isn’t whether online coaching works.

It does.

The better question is whether you’re ready to use it.

If you’re looking for a coach who will build a personalized plan around your schedule, your hockey, your family, your goals, and help you adapt when life inevitably throws you a curveball, online coaching can be one of the most effective investments you ever make.

But if you’re looking for someone to do the work for you, save your money.

No coaching program can replace your effort.

The right coach doesn’t guarantee your success.

They dramatically increase your chances of achieving it.

 

– Coach Marty

You Can Live Without It.

That’s Exactly What Makes It So Dangerous.

If I took away your oxygen, you’d know something was wrong within minutes.

If I took away your water, you’d know within a couple of days.

If I took away your food, your body would eventually force you to pay attention.

But exercise?

You can stop exercising today and… not much happens.

Tomorrow?

You’ll probably feel fine.

Next week?

Still okay.

Next month?

Maybe you’ve gained a pound or two. Maybe not.

Even next year, you might convince yourself nothing has changed.

That’s what makes exercise different.

And that’s what makes it dangerous.

The Delayed Consequence Problem

Exercise isn’t like oxygen.

It’s not even like water.

It’s somewhere between water and food.

You can survive minutes without oxygen.

You can survive days without water.

You can survive weeks without food.

You can survive years without exercise.

But surviving isn’t the same as thriving.

The consequences of skipping exercise don’t show up immediately.

They quietly accumulate in the background.

Miss three workouts?

Nothing happens.

Skip the gym for a month?

Probably nothing dramatic.

Take a year off?

You might notice you’re a little slower.

But keep repeating that pattern for five or ten years, and eventually the bill comes due.

You get winded carrying groceries.

You avoid taking the stairs.

Your knees ache after a game.

Your back stiffens every morning.

You gain 20… then 30… then 40 pounds.

Your blood pressure creeps up.

Your doctor starts talking about medications.

You stop doing the things you once loved because they simply feel too hard.

None of those things happened overnight.

They happened one missed workout at a time.

Your Body Is Always Compounding

Most people understand compound interest when it comes to money.

A few dollars invested today doesn’t seem like much.

But over years, those small deposits grow into something significant.

Your body works the same way.

Every workout is a deposit.

Every walk is a deposit.

Every healthy meal is a deposit.

Every good night’s sleep is a deposit.

You rarely notice the benefit from a single deposit.

But thousands of deposits?

That’s where lives change.

The opposite is also true.

Skipping one workout isn’t a problem.

Skipping one workout hundreds of times becomes your future.

Why Most People Struggle

Our brains are wired to respond to immediate consequences.

Touch a hot stove.

You pull your hand away instantly.

Forget to pay your credit card.

Eventually, you get a late fee.

Eat spoiled food.

You’ll know pretty quickly.

Exercise doesn’t work like that.

The cost of skipping today’s workout is almost invisible.

That’s why your brain tells you:

“I’ll start Monday.”

“I’ve had a long day.”

“I’ll make it up tomorrow.”

“I deserve a break.”

Those thoughts feel harmless because there isn’t an immediate penalty.

The problem is that tomorrow becomes next week.

Next week becomes next month.

Next month becomes next year.

The Identity You’re Building

Here’s something I remind my clients all the time.

You’re never just doing today’s workout.

You’re becoming the person who works out.

That identity matters far more than any individual session.

The goal isn’t perfection.

It’s becoming someone who moves consistently.

Someone who values their health.

Someone who trains because they know future them will be grateful.

Think Bigger Than Weight Loss

Too many people reduce exercise to calories burned.

That’s a mistake.

Exercise is about maintaining options.

It’s about being able to say yes when your kids ask you to play outside.

It’s about chasing a loose puck in the third period.

It’s about carrying your luggage without thinking twice.

It’s about hiking on vacation instead of sitting on the bench waiting.

It’s about getting off the floor without using your hands.

It’s about protecting your independence.

Those are the returns you’re investing in.

Make It Easier to Win

One reason people stop exercising is because they rely on motivation.

Motivation is great.

It’s also unreliable.

Instead, build a system.

Here are a few strategies that have helped hundreds of my clients stay consistent.

Schedule Your Workouts Like Appointments

You wouldn’t casually skip a dentist appointment or a meeting with your boss.

Treat your workouts the same way.

Put them on your calendar.

Protect that time.

Lower the Bar

You don’t need the perfect workout.

You need a workout.

If all you have is 20 minutes, do 20 minutes.

A short workout beats another day of waiting for the “perfect” time.

Focus on Minimums

Some weeks you’ll have more time than others.

That’s okay.

Create non-negotiables.

Maybe it’s:

• Three strength workouts.
• 8,000 steps a day.
• Two mobility sessions.
• Drinking enough water.

Hit the minimums before worrying about doing more.

Don’t Break the Chain

Missing one workout isn’t the problem.

Missing five in a row is.

Life happens.

Vacations happen.

Kids get sick.

Work gets busy.

When you miss a workout, your only job is to get back on track as quickly as possible.

Never let one missed day become a missed month.

Tie Exercise to Something You Love

This is where hockey becomes such a powerful motivator.

Don’t work out because you feel guilty.

Work out because you want to skate harder.

Because you want to win more puck races.

Because you want enough energy to play two games in a tournament instead of barely surviving one.

Because you want hockey to be part of your life for another twenty years.

That’s a much stronger reason than trying to burn off last night’s pizza.

A Message for Every Beer League Hockey Player

Every workout is a deposit into the body you’ll skate in five years from now.

The problem is, you don’t get today’s deposit today.

You get it later.

That’s why so many people quit before they experience the payoff.

Don’t judge exercise by how you feel tomorrow morning.

Judge it by how you want to feel five years from now.

Because one day you’ll play your last hockey game.

The goal isn’t to make that day come sooner because your body gave out.

The goal is to make sure you get to decide when you’re done.

Want to Keep Playing for Years to Come?

If you’re an adult hockey player who wants more energy, better conditioning, less soreness, and a body that keeps up with your love for the game, I’ve put together my best FREE Beer League Workouts.

They’re designed specifically for players who want to get stronger, move better, and keep enjoying hockey for years to come.

Grab your FREE Beer League Workouts here: https://martystrength.com/the-best-free-beer-league-player-workouts/

Your future body is being built by the choices you make today.

Start making deposits.

Would I Still Use Front Squats Today?

Probably not.

Now, there are exceptions.

If I’m working with a player who has a fitness test at training camp that includes front squats, then absolutely, we’ll front squat. You should prepare for the demands of your test.

But if there isn’t a specific reason to do them, I usually don’t include them anymore.

It’s not because I think front squats are a bad exercise.

Far from it.

I know a lot of great coaches who swear by them, and I’ve benefited from them myself.

I just don’t think they’re necessary for most of the athletes I coach today.

For me, the juice just isn’t worth the squeeze.

There are other exercises that can build plenty of lower-body strength while exposing side-to-side weaknesses, improving single-leg stability, and placing less load on the spine.

That doesn’t mean loading the spine is inherently bad. The spine is designed to tolerate load when it’s progressed appropriately.

I simply don’t think it’s necessary for most adult hockey players when there are other options that accomplish what we’re want to achieve with less overall stress.

Today, I’d rather spend that training time on exercises like split squats, reverse lunges, step-ups, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, and lateral lunges.

Those exercises have given my athletes everything they need to get stronger, move better, and perform on the ice without feeling like they’re missing out because they aren’t front squatting.

Ready to Train Smarter?

If you’re tired of random workouts and want a program designed specifically for adult hockey players, I’ve put together a collection of my favourite beer league workouts.

They’re the same style of workouts I use to help players get stronger, move better, and have more left in the tank by the third period.

Grab your FREE Beer League Workouts here: https://martystrength.com/the-best-free-beer-league-player-workouts/

Give them a try, and the next time you hit the ice, pay attention to how you feel. Stronger. More balanced. More explosive.

Sometimes it’s not about doing more.

It’s about doing the right things.

If you’re like most adult hockey players, you’ve probably wondered:

“What muscles should I train to improve my skating?”

It’s a fair question.

The problem is, it’s the wrong question.

A lot of adult hockey players spend too much time focusing on the muscles they can see in the mirror. Bigger arms. Bigger chest. While those muscles certainly matter, they aren’t what determines whether you have a powerful skating stride. Speed comes from how your entire body works together, not from one muscle looking bigger than the others.

Think about your skating stride like driving a car.

You don’t just stomp on the gas pedal and expect a smooth ride. You accelerate, ease off, steer, and get ready for the next turn. Your skating stride works the same way.

Every stride has two jobs:

1. Produce force.
2. Recover quickly so you can do it again.

The best skaters are great at both.

Phase 1: The Gas Pedal

The first half of the stride is all about creating speed.

As you push into the ice:

• Your glutes generate a large amount of force.
• Your quadriceps help extend the knee.
• Your hip rotates outward (external rotation).
• Your adductors (inner thigh muscles) help control and transfer force into the ice.

This is where acceleration happens.

Research measuring muscle activity during maximal skating shows that the gluteal muscles, quadriceps, and adductors all play important roles during the propulsive phase of the stride. Faster skaters don’t rely on one muscle. They coordinate several muscle groups to generate force efficiently.

Phase 2: Getting Ready for the Next Stride

Here’s the part that most adult hockey players never think about.

Once you’ve finished pushing, you have to get your skate back underneath your body.

Fast.

During this recovery phase:

• Your hip rotates inward (internal rotation).
• The muscles that just created force now help slow and control the leg.
• Other muscles help reposition your foot so you’re ready to push again.

This transition has to happen over and over again, every few tenths of a second.

If you’re slow bringing your leg back, you’re slow taking your next stride.

It doesn’t matter how powerful your push is.

Speed Is About Coordination, Not Just Strength

Imagine two players.

Player A can leg press 800 pounds.

Player B can “only” leg press 500 pounds.

But Player B recovers the leg faster, moves through a greater range of motion, and wastes less energy between strides.

Who skates faster?

Probably Player B.

Strength is your engine.

Coordination is your transmission.

One without the other leaves performance on the table.

Studies examining elite hockey players consistently show that skating speed depends on the timing and coordination of muscle activation throughout the entire stride, not simply how much force one muscle can produce.

Why Adult Hockey Players Lose Speed

As we get older, we often assume we’ve simply gotten weaker.

Sometimes that’s true.

But just as often, we’ve become less efficient.

Years of sitting at a desk, commuting, and living life off the ice can reduce:

• Hip mobility.
• Internal rotation.
• Single-leg stability.
• Coordination.
• The ability to quickly transition from pushing to recovering.

Research has also shown that limited hip strength and reduced hip rotation are associated with groin problems and decreased skating function in hockey players.

What Should You Do?

Instead of chasing one “magic” skating muscle, train the qualities that make a better skater.

Focus on:

• Building stronger glutes and legs.
• Improving hip mobility, especially internal rotation.
• Strengthening your adductors.
• Training single-leg balance and stability.
• Including lateral movement patterns.
• Spending time on the ice refining your technique.

The gym builds your physical capacity.

The ice teaches you how to use it.

The Bottom Line

There isn’t one muscle that makes you a faster skater.

Your stride is a coordinated sequence.

The glutes, quads, adductors, hip rotators, and stabilizers all take turns acting as the gas pedal and the brakes.

The better those muscles work together, the smoother and more powerful every stride becomes.

So the next time you’re in the gym, stop asking:

“What’s the best muscle to train for skating?”

Start asking:

“How can I build a body that moves better on the ice?”

That’s the question that leads to faster skating.

 

References

1. Kaartinen S, et al. Lower limb muscle activation patterns in ice-hockey skating and their association with skating speed. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2024.
2. Buckeridge E, et al. An On-Ice Measurement Approach to Analyse the Biomechanics of Ice Hockey Skating. PLOS ONE, 2015.
3. Tyler TF, et al. The Association of Hip Strength and Flexibility with the Incidence of Adductor Muscle Strains in Professional Ice Hockey Players. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2001.
4. Suits WH, et al. Acute Effects of Ice Hockey on Hip Range of Motion, Strength, and Functional Performance. Sports Health, 2024.