Hockey
The England and Great Britain hockey keeper on her year-round schedule, representing her country, and developing explosive power.
Maddie Hinch's prowess on the goal line has seen her ascend to incredible heights. Not only has she bagged an MBE, since 2008 she has racked up 88 appearances for the English field hockey team, and, since 2011, has worn the number one for Great Britain a total of 45 times. Backed up by Maddie in goal, the GB team has bagged silver in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, gold in the 2015 European Championships, gold at the Olympics in Rio in 2016, and bronze in Tokyo.
With a relentless schedule of domestic games for Dutch team Stichtsche, and international commitments too, Maddie found time to speak with Redbull.com about her dynamic training schedule, choosing when to excel, and why she now approaches her training differently to the way she did 10 years ago...
You have local and international commitments. What does your schedule look like?
“For me, hockey is kind of all-year round. There’s a new international league called the Pro League which starts in January and ends in May. Doing well in that helps with your ranking. Then, in the summer there’s usually either a World Cup, an Olympics, or a European Cup. From September to January you’re usually training with your national team, but also playing clubs. It’s pretty full on.”
What’s the longest break you get?
“September tends to be a quiet time, and we also tend to get three or four weeks in the period after that summer tournament. We also tend to get a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year. We don’t ever really get to switch off because you’re trying to build yourself up all year.”
Do you find it difficult to decompress mentally with such a hectic schedule?
“I think in the past I have found it difficult to decompress mentally and physically. I think it was part of the reason why I took seven months out [starting in September 2018]. I’ve always been quite intense with the way I train and demanded huge amounts from myself, and over time I think that can take its toll. Those seven months were the biggest break I’ve had. By the end I really did feel that I’d missed the game and wanted to get back into training. The whole idea was to find that kind of buzz again.”
Six years ago I would have done every single extra session and been in the gym more than everyone, and now I know I probably don’t need to do that.
How do you juggle staying fit for all of these commitments?
“You tend to get a yearly plan where you know you’re looking to peak at certain times of the year. Obviously you can’t aim to perform at your very highest for the entire 12 months; it’s impossible. You sit down with your coaches and plan when you want to be performing at your best, and when you want to sacrifice. You break it down into blocks; we work on three weeks on and one week off. In that week off we’re away from the hockey pitch but we’re still in the gym and conditioning.”
What does your training schedule look like on a weekly basis?
“We usually have two sessions on a Monday, so maybe hockey then gym; hockey and hockey on Tuesday; Wednesday we’re off; Thursday its gym and hockey; Friday it’s hockey and gym. Saturday either you’re playing for your club or it could be gym and conditioning or an individual goalkeeper session.”
Talk us through a typical training morning.
“I get up and have porridge and a bit of toast or a bagel. Then I’d have half a banana before I go into the gym, and drink some Red Bull. Then I crack on. For me the session is platform based: Olympic lifting. I’m focusing on cleans either from the floor or blocks. Trap bar deadlifts, and hip-thrusts, too. And then I also have Bulgarian squats in the rack, and around that I have some upper-body work with dumbbells.
“Sometimes it can be a clean followed by a plyometric jump, that’s adding the explosive element to it. If you don’t have some of that you can become quite heavy and stuck to the floor, so we have to mix it up. We might also do a five-yard sprint or an explosive lateral lunge, something like that to replicate goalkeeping.”
What are you aiming for in your training?
“The target is explosive power. I want to be the most powerful for my bodyweight. I don’t want to put 7-8kg of muscle on. We’ve spent the last 10 years trying to work out what my peak performance weight is. We’ve had times where I’m 3-4kg heavier and I’ve been strong but I don’t move so quickly. Or I’ve been really quick but not powerful enough or robust enough to not get injured. So it’s about finding that perfect balance. At the minute it’s about asking, ‘If I’m 63-64kg, how powerful can I be for that bodyweight?’”
Is this consistent throughout the year?
“No. For example, winter is a gym phrase. We try to maximise the fact we aren't on the pitch that much. When we’re leading into a tournament we tend to reduce the load so you start to feel fresher. You can’t expect to maximise your lift in the gym then go and feel great on the pitch because it just doesn’t quite work.”
You joined the national team in your early twenties. Now a decade later do you approach your training any differently?
“It definitely gets harder as you get older. The number one keeper here was 30 when I joined at 20. I would bound around and never had any DOMS (delay onset muscle soreness) – I’d walk in like I hadn’t even trained. She said I’d be like, 'I don’t get it, why are you always so tired and sore and grumpy?' She told me I’d understand when I turned 30 and now I do. You just have to spend more time listening to your body and doing what it needs to do to recover. Stuff like sitting down with a foam roller and going to physio even when you’re not injured is very important. Six years ago I would have done every single extra session and been in the gym more than everyone, and now I know I probably don’t need to do that. It’s not easy, though.”
What keeps you going?
“I’ve been asked this a lot. My answer a few years ago would have been very different. I thought I had to be the best and leave a legacy, and now I’ve got there I have to hang on to it. But I think that’s detrimental to your mindset. I think the break allowed me to question my ‘why’ and it made me realise I love the game and I feel very grateful to play hockey. If I can inspire someone else to want to do what I’m doing then that’s enough.”
To find out more about how Maddie and other Red Bull athletes train, fuel and think, head to the Red Bull Pro hub.