10 Ways for Lacrosse Goalies to Get in Shape + Workout Plan

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Click on this link to see the “Reaction and readiness training drills for lacrosse goalies”.

Regular exercise can trim down your physique, increase strength and stamina, prevent disease, and improve your health.

But did you know that upgrading your diet and exercise routine can also change your mental health for the better?

The American Physiological Association states that you get a mood-enhancement effect within five minutes after moderate exercise.

In the long-term, the study shows it can develop stress management, depression, and anxiety.

Regular exercise mixed with a healthy diet can support a more reliable memory, higher self-esteem, and better sleep quality.

Maybe this is why getting in shape is the most popular New Year’s resolution – it’s the fastest way to a happier and healthier life.

In this article, we’ll be sharing ten tips on how to get in shape fast, plus a workout plan to kick start your weight loss and improve your mental health in less than a month.

10 Ways to Get in Shape Fast

Eat Several Meals Throughout the Day

If you have three meals a day, make each meal 3 or 4 hours apart. But sometimes life gets in the way, and it ends up being 5 or 6 hours apart.

At that time, your blood sugar is at its lowest, and you might resort to a sugary snack to hold you over. Eating a few small meals a day may help stop unhealthy snacking or overeating.

To try this meal schedule, try splitting three meals into six and eat them twice as usual. Mix portion management with protein and fiber to stay full.

To have small snacks instead, prefer nutrient-dense choices like veggies with hummus, trail mix, or yogurt.

Be sure to set meals or exercises later in the day to ensure you keep your desired calorie deficit or surplus.

Eat Responsibly After Working Out

During exercise, your muscles utilize stored glycogen as a source of fuel, and small tears occur.

After a workout session, your body will restore itself by building glycogen levels and repairing muscle. Your muscles will start to use available protein to rebuild within a few hours of working out.

This means that it’s essential to consume a balance of the right foods post-workout. It’s usually recommended to have your post-workout snack within 45 minutes of completing your workout. This is when the frequency of absorption is highest.

You can also help yourself with a post-workout drink to help your body recover even faster.

Incorporate More Protein Into Your Diet

Protein affects how weight-regulating hormones work. Thus, it is one of the essential macronutrients to follow when getting in shape.

If you find it very difficult to feel full while on a diet, add more protein to your meals.

Protein keeps you feeling full for longer, making it easier to keep a diet and counter unnecessary snacking.

Protein also supports muscle growth. Muscles consume more calories than other types of tissues while at rest, making it a lot easier to keep up with your fitness goals.

If you do heavy exercise, protein helps your body to build and repair muscle quickly.

You should aim to consume about 50 to 60 grams of protein a day.

Protein helps restore and build new muscle tissue, and carbs help replenish glycogen stores. The recommended snacks would be a banana protein shake, yogurt, fruit, or tuna on whole-wheat bread.

Stay Hydrated

Did you know that feeling hungry sometimes doesn’t mean that you necessarily need something to eat?

The brain uses the same signals to inform us that we need food and water, so sometimes you might need a drink, not a snack.

Have a glass of water and wait for 10 minutes. If the feeling goes away, you are just dehydrated.

Water is the perfect diet partner since it is a natural appetite suppressant, and it boosts your metabolism. It also supports the body’s burn fat.

Without sufficient water in your system, the body won’t metabolize stored fat or carbs.

The amount of water you need to drink will rely on your weight and activity levels. It’s commonly recommended to have at least eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day. It may sound like a lot, but it’s possible if you aim to have almost one glass an hour.

Maintain Healthy Insulin Levels

Insulin is a hormone that supports regulating, or control, your blood sugar. Insulin resistance is a serious condition for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Resistance can be restricted or managed through an enhanced diet or exercise routine.

The most common suspect for spiking insulin levels are high-carb foods. The easiest way to control your insulin levels is to have no more than the suggested value each day. Use a macros calculator to manage the correct amount for you.

Carbs are still an essential part of the diet, but it’s also more important to limit certain types. Too much refined grains, sweets, and animal products will raise your insulin levels in just a snap.

Substitute these items with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. These foods will enable your body to use its insulin more effectively.

Track Your Calories and Macronutrients

Tracking your calories converts weight loss into a simple game of numbers.

Even if you’re going to the gym every day, a poor diet won’t develop long term health benefits. The exact quantity you need depends on several different factors, including your sex, age, weight, and activity levels.

There are many available devices online that can help you determine how many and what kind of calories you should absorb to see results.

But tracking your calorie quantity isn’t enough. This is why it’s also essential to calculate the macronutrients produced in your meals: proteins, carbs, and fat. This guarantees that your meals are well-balanced and sustain better health.

There are also free calculators online that can help you count your calories you might need and a recommended caloric deficit.

Interval Training: Run Fast, Walk Slow

Interval training will quickly develop your fitness levels because it helps your body learn to recover and build stamina. Interval training shifts short, high-intensity speed and exertion with slower low-intensity recovery.

You can quickly execute this on the run outside or gym equipment. Regularly, intervals are 1:1 or 1:2 ratios.

In some cases, you might run at a high intensity for one minute, then at a low intensity for two minutes. Although it’s at a lesser intensity, it’s still important to keep moving – even at a slower pace.

A study by the American College of Sports Medicine showed that this high-intensity training could be as practical as a moderate-intensity constant exercise in losing body fat. This will save you time at the gym and help you get fit immediately.

Do Compound Exercises

A set of compound exercises involves two or more muscle groups at a time.

They’re an excellent way to make the most of your time and effort and get in shape faster.

They also tend to simulate actual movements you do in a day, such as pulling, pushing, and lifting.

This means your range of motion will develop, and you’ll move through your day with a more effective form.

Take jumping lunges as an example. Begin in a low lunge position with left foot forward. Then, jump and shift your foot, so you land back in a lunge position, with your right foot forward.

The jumping stimulates your core, while the lunges activate hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes. Deadlifts, squats, and push-ups also work for more than one group at a time.

Lift Weights

From small barbells to heavy deadlifting, everything can speed up increasing strength and getting fit.

Studies have shown that your metabolism will be more active after a weight-training workout for up to 38 hours after your workout.

Lifting weights also helps you grow muscle mass.

The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will utilize at rest. This motion is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Ten pounds of muscle consumes fifty calories in a day spent at rest, while ten pounds of fat only burns twenty.

When you lift weights, you develop lean muscle tissue, which is more metabolically active than fat. When you build your muscle, you also increase metabolism, which means you’re burning more calories throughout the day.

Keep Your Routine Fresh

Combined exercises, weight lifting, and cardio are essential workouts to get in shape.

Within each type, you have a range of choices to choose from.

Be sure to switch your routine, so you exercise each part of your body, as well as avoid getting bored. It will stimulate your body to try and do more.

If you know you’re going to miss a day at the gym, there are ways you can get exercise from regular daily activities that feel less like exercise.

Lacrosse Goalie Workout Plan

We’ve already outlined all the exercises for our ideal lacrosse goalie workout. But certainly, that is too much exercise to fit into a single session.

Now let’s create a workout plan. This first workout plan follows a three day on, one day off schedule.

If you want to become an NCAA DI lacrosse goalie, that’s the bare minimum amount of work recommended on putting in during the off-season.

For each of the weighted exercises like squats, deadlift, and power cleans, begin at around 50% of your body weight during week 1. And then raise the lift by 5-10 lbs. each week.

Never lose form for more weight. That’s the easiest way to get damaged joints. You should always opt for a perfect form, whether in the weight room or on the lacrosse field.

Each session is going to begin with jumping rope and agility ladder exercises.

Day 1

Jump Rope – Full routine from video / 4 x 3-minute rounds
Agility Ladder – Full routine from video performing each exercise two runs through the ladder (20mins)
Slow Side Shuffle – 20 each direction x 3
Fast Side Shuffle – 20 each direction x 3
Wall Sits + Chest Pass with medicine ball – 30 seconds x 3
Power Cleans – 2 warm up sets, 15 reps x 3 sets
Walking Lunges – 20 x 3
Walking Lunges + Torso Rotation with Medicine Ball – 20 x 3

Day 2

Jump Rope – Full routine from video / 4 x 3-minute rounds
Agility Ladder – Full routine from video performing each exercise two runs through the ladder (20mins)
Long Lateral Jumps – 30 seconds x 3
Stair Sprints

Standard sprint upstairs – x3
2 foot hop up each stair Double Footed Stair Sprints – x3
Lateral sprint in each direction – x3
Standard sprint upstairs – x3

Box Jumps – 20 x 3
Pushups – 20 x 3
Deadlift – 2 warm-up sets, 15 x 3 (lighter weight, focus on explosion)

Day 3

Jump Rope – Full routine from video / 4 x 3-minute rounds
Agility Ladder – Full routine from video performing each exercise two runs through the ladder (20mins)
Slow side Shuffle – 20 each direction x 3
Walking Lunges – 20 x 3
Squats – 2 warm up sets, 20 reps x 3 sets
Seated Cable Row – 15 reps x 3 sets
Reverse Fly – 20 reps x 3 sets
Fast Side Shuffle – 20 each direction x 3

Rest on Day 4 and then repeat the following day.

In this second workout plan, you’re in the gym three times per week. You can try going to the gym MWF.

Be sure to select a 3-day split that works for your schedule, ensuring that you don’t lift weights on consecutive days. During your off days, you’ll be focusing on stretching and conditioning exercises.

It is recommended to perform Olympic-style exercises. That’s because they work for multiple muscle groups at the same time and also work for your fitness.

For each of these exercises, always begin with a low weight that you’re comfortable with. Remember, you can’t make saves if you’re injured.

Injury prevention is the key, and going too heavy with bad form is the number one way to cause an injury. So, begin with less weight and build up the weight each week.

Monday

Warmup: Jump Rope – 10 minutes
Barbell Power Snatch – 3 sets of 5 reps
Depth Jumps – 3×6
Front Squat – 4×6
Hamstring Curl – 3×10
Hanging Leg Raise – 3×10

Tuesday

Stretching
Interval Sprints

Wednesday

Warmup: Rowing 10 minutes
Power Clean & Jerk – 3×5
Medicine Ball Pushups – 3 x max
Bench Press – 3×6
Lat Pulldowns – 3×8
Straight-Leg Deadlift – 3×10
Calf Raises – 3×15

Thursday

Stretching – Same program as of Tuesday
Box Jumps

Friday

Power Clean Pulls – 3×5
Box Jumps – 3×6
Back Squat – 4×6
Leg Raises – 3×10
Good Mornings – 3×10
Military Press – 3×10

Saturday / Sunday: Rest

Remember: Listen to your body.

Never try to push through when you sense something wrong in your body. Pause the workout. Injury prevention should be the top priority because an injured goalie cannot make saves.

Redo the above lacrosse goalie workout week after week.

The Bottom Line

Use these tips to develop your habits, lose weight, and gain the benefits of an active lifestyle. You will see excellent results in a month (or less), as long as you eat healthy foods and exercise regularly.

Getting in shape is as easy as tracking your diet quality, doing efficient exercises, and keeping it fresh and fun by remembering to change it up.

Even a small amount of regular exercise can decrease the risk of disease or injury and improve your mental health in the short and long term.

You can also use exercise equipment like parallettes or battle ropes. You can also get started with workouts requiring no equipment, meaning you can get started at home. And make sure you know your body type before getting started.