TORONTO—Hockey stars from as far away as Siberia have come to Toronto this summer to learn from Gary Roberts, one of the sport’s top conditioning trainers.
As Fitness Institute owner Steve Roest walks me through his club, hockey stars like Steve Stamkos, Jeff Skinner, Steve Downie and others train in converted squash courts with Roberts in his self-titled Gary Roberts High Performance Centre, a new partnership between Roest and the NHL great.
Roberts had one of the longest careers in professional hockey, despite being interrupted by a broken neck that should have ended his nine years in the pros at 30. And while the average NHLer lasts five or six years, he buckled down, ate right, trained and came back for another dozen.
It was a feat that earned him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication. It also gave him the kind of street cred only those who’ve been there and done it can claim.
Since retiring, Roberts been passing on the secrets of his longevity to the next batch of NHL stars and earning a reputation for getting results.
Steve Stamkos, who ranked 5th on the points board last season, is a repeat customer, and started with Roberts in his home gym in Umbridge, Ontario. Stamkos’ first season in the NHL in 2008-2009 was okay. He returned after a summer with Roberts, though, and leapt out of the gate, staying atop the scoring boards throughout the season.
Roberts knows the impact of having some of the league’s top players showing success.
“When you see guys like Stamkos and Skinner having the success they are because of the commitment they’ve made to their off-ice training, then everyone else says, ‘maybe it will work for me,’” he says.
There’s not a lot of machines back there, nor much of the high-tech equipment you might associate with one of the best off-season training programs in the world. But it doesn’t take a lot of gadgets to get results. What it takes is knowledge and experience, and Roberts has both in spades.
Nutrition is Key
They don’t bench press, because hockey players don’t use their muscles that way. Ditto leg presses. And those big bouncy Swiss balls you might have thought were just for the ladies’ exercises can turn something as simple as pumping weights into a balancing act that works entire batches of muscles ignored on a bench.
But it’s more than weights. Roberts says nutrition is more important than most players realize.
“That’s kinda what I’m trying to tell these guys. I know I extended my career 13 years through changing my lifestyle and eating differently. Especially in their building years, their early twenties, they can really make those gains physically, and nutrition is the number one thing that helps them get to where they want to go.”
If you want to know what they do, you'll need to check it out for yourself, and if you have a few thousand bucks, you can start this fall when the players head back to their teams and Roberts opens his centre to executives and others looking to make a breakthrough in their training program.
Besides Roberts’ special brand of physical training, there is also a cooler stocked with ready-to-eat meals, organic wraps, and side salads prepared by Nature’s Emporium.
One of the gyms staff mentions in passing that he’s not sure all the players are thrilled with the food, and he expects some are sneaking burgers and fries when they’re outside Roberts’ view, but for others, it’s already a part of their lifestyle. Stamkos has extra meals delivered so he can leave the gym with his dinner in tow.
“We’re trying to give these players an idea of what a good meal is,” said Roberts after the pros left for the ice rink. In their place, a batch of junior hockey players started being put through the paces. Roberts would give them a few pointers before following the pros to the rink.
“I try to give them as much nutritional information as I can on stuff that I did when I played that I think really helped me, as far as an energy standpoint. The players who really take it serious are the players who make the most gains.”
He knows it’s a big commitment for players to keep exercising and eating right when nobody is looking over their shoulder pushing them to do it. Roberts tracks his trainees through the season, watching their games and texting or calling them if they’re looking sluggish on the ice.
“I try to keep them in line, I guess. It’s not that different from when I played,” he says.
“Usually guys that are doing well text me right away, and guys that aren’t doing so well, I gotta wait a few days to get a text. But I try to keep in touch with them, that’s part of package.”
For those wanting to try training like an NHL star, expect to pay for it. Costs vary depending on the length of time and how many sessions.
