Lateral Shuffle
How to Do It
Drop into an athletic stance — knees bent, hips back, chest up, feet wider than the shoulders. Push off the trailing leg to shuffle sideways, keeping the feet from clicking together and the hips low and level. Maintain the low posture and stay light on the balls of the feet. Shuffle a set distance each direction without crossing the feet.
Why It Works
Trains lateral movement mechanics and the glute/abductor-driven push-off in a low athletic posture; staying low with a wide base develops the frontal-plane pushing pattern and the lateral quickness and stability used to move side to side.
Hockey Transfer
Mirrors the lateral movement and low, wide stance used in defensive positioning and lateral skating adjustments; the glute/abductor push-off pattern transfers to the side-to-side push of skating and gap control.
Coaching Cues
- "Stay low, hips back"
- "push off the back foot"
- "don’t click the feet together"
Common Mistakes
Standing up tall (losing the athletic stance); feet clicking together; bobbing up and down; crossing the feet
Progression / Regression
add speed, resistance, or reactive direction changes
slower, shorter distance, higher stance
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Alactic/ATP-PC
Put it to work
on the ice.
This exercise is part of a fully periodized 12-week off-ice program — built by a sport scientist who coaches at the national level.
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