No stopping him now

MONTREAL – If a picture really is worth a thousand words, then it’s safe to say Alex Galchenyuk has been pushing himself to the limit all summer long.

Using his Twitter and Instagram accounts to highlight some of his high-octane offseason training sessions, Galchenyuk has been giving fans a glimpse into everything from his beach and gym workouts in South Florida to his Rocky Balboa-like efforts in the Belarussian countryside.

If Galchenyuk’s 400,000-plus followers weren’t aware of just how dedicated he is to physical fitness and coming into training camp in tip-top shape, they certainly are now. But, there’s a lot more to the Canadiens’ No. 27’s willingness to share exclusive content in such a public fashion than that.

“I want to show my younger fans that you’ve always got to push yourself and work hard. It’s for them to see that nothing comes easy. You aren’t just born to be a hockey player. You have to work at it. There’s so much to be done,” said Galchenyuk, who is currently training six days per week in the Sunshine State, and focusing primarily on off-ice workouts under the watchful eye of his father, Alexander, a former pro with over 20 years of playing experience. “There are a lot of people that look up to us as athletes. For them to see what we do, I think it’s really fun. If I was on their side, I’d be excited to see that, too. ”

And, what they’re seeing is a 22-year-old centerman fully committed to building off of a season in which he became the third-youngest player in franchise history to register a 30-goal campaign, with 16 of those tallies coming in his final 22 outings of the year. These days, Galchenyuk is training primarily out of Chamber Fitness in Davie, FL, an elite level athletic performance facility located just 20 minutes outside of Fort Lauderdale.

“I push myself every single day in the gym to achieve that with a great mindset and a positive attitude. Summer training is a marathon, just like the season. At the end of the day, no matter how talented you are, you have to put in work,” explained Galchenyuk, who believes effective training really does put his mind at ease when it comes time to lace up his skates for real. “If you do that, it makes your game easier. You don’t think about getting tired or being the strongest or the fastest. You just focus on going out and playing your game. This type of preparation – and being prepared – gives me confidence.”

Like most players, working on overall strength and explosiveness …

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