Most people probably do not consider hockey as a way to keep in shape and lose weight.
However, it has been documented that during a typical match, NHL players can lose five or even as much as eight pounds! It is true that much of this weight can be water, so the players need to make sure they drink enough fluids during the game.
However, many players lose much more than water weight during the course of a season. Many players will lose weight during the course of the season. Some players have gone from 180 pounds to 165 pounds (82 to 74 kg) in one hockey season. This is more weight than most professional hockey players want to lose, but many people would be delighted to be able to lose that much fat from playing hockey!
Of course, most casual players will not lose that kind of weight. But hockey involves a great deal of skating with many pounds of equipment on. This develops the leg muscles. There is also plenty of pushing and shoving that builds upper body strength.
Many sports centers in towns around the U.S. offer ice or field hockey as recreational activities. It is possible for adults to sign up for these intramural programs and compete on the weekends. Some people do them for the competition, but it really is an effective way to keep weight off if you go at it hard.
If you are going to start playing hockey to stay in shape, you will need to fit yourself with the proper equipment. Some of the things you will need include a helmet, stick, protective equipment, a bag to keep all of your gear in, and special goalie equipment if you are going to be a goalie in your league. Some of these pieces of equipment would include a mask, pants, arm pads and gloves.
To play hockey, you will need to be able to skate, of course. Some people find this skill harder than others, but usually being able to skate just takes practice and a good pair of skates that offer good ankle and lower leg support.
As for the rink itself, hockey is usually played on piece of ice 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. The rink has rounded corners. The ice is painted with lines, which tell you where the face-off circle is, the goal crease and various zones. The red line is very important (it runs across the center of the ice) and so are the blue lines (these are parallel to the red line and are painted 73′ from each end of the rink). The red one tells you where center ice is, and it also regulates how far you can shoot and pass.
The blue lines split the rink into three zones. Each team defends one side of the ice. The area behind the defending team’s blue line is its defending zone. The area behind the opposing team’s blue line is called the attacking zone. Also the space between the two blue lines is the neutral zone.