As more and more hockey players across Canada get ready to return to the ice, it's a good time for an important reminder that it's best to stay in shape to play hockey, not play hockey to stay in shape.

Hockey is a very demanding sport on the body and on the heart, and one that requires your body to be in great shape for.

Some people believe that they can limit the extent of their physical activity to just hockey, but in the end that'll be much too demanding on your body, making it important to stay in shape for when you do step on the ice.

You can do that in any number of ways - walking, running, hiking, soccer, biking, swimming, basketball, football just to name a few.

Not only do you get the added benefit that all of these other activities provide, you'll also feel much better on the ice, being able to play much longer shifts at a much faster pace, and your body will recover a lot faster after hockey, too.

So if you're set to return to the ice in a couple of months, we suggest ramping up the physical activity elsewhere now.

You'll thank us later on.