Speed ladders, sometimes called agility ladders, are a workout tool used by athletes and sportsmen to improve lower body quickness and agility. Consisting of 20 to 30 feet of parallel webbing straps with horizontal bars placed at 12 inch intervals, speed ladders are portable and are available from sporting goods stores. There are a variety of exercises you can do with a speed ladder.
Two-Footed Jumps
Stand with your feet together and your ladder extended in front of you. Stay on your toes and focus on minimal ground contact time. Take small, two-footed jumps down the length of the ladder. You can perform high jumps to develop leg power or low, fast jumps to develop agility and speed. Make sure your feet hit each box and that you don't touch the bars. Walk back to the beginning and repeat for the desired number of sets.
Speed Hops
This exercise will develop speed and endurance one leg at a time. Stand at the end of your ladder. Stand on one leg. Hop down the length of the ladder. Walk back to the beginning and repeat with the other leg. This exercise can be performed in a variety of ways: Low hops into each box will develop speed and agility whereas higher hops into every second of third box will develop power. Perform the variation best suited to your sporting and fitness requirements.
High-Knee Running
To improve your running technique and agility, stand at the end of your ladder. Start running on the spot while focusing on pumping your arms and lifting your knees to hip height. Once you have established your rhythm, start to move forward down the length of the ladder, ensuring that your feet hit each box in turn. At the end of the ladder, lean forward and sprint ahead for ten yards; walk back to the beginning and repeat.
Hopscotch
The hopscotch drill will improve your agility and coordination. Stand with your feet together at the end of the ladder. From a two footed take-off, land in the first box on your left foot. Immediately hop forward to land on both feet in the second box. Next, jump forward to land on your right foot. Continue this both-left-both-right pattern for the length of your ladder. Walk back to the start and repeat. Try to stay low and minimize ground contact by imagining a bed of hot coals beneath your feet.
Lateral Skips
Lateral skips are a good exercise for anyone involved in sports that necessitate dodging sideways, e.g. football and soccer. Stand to the left side of your ladder. Keeping your feet low to the floor and staying light on your toes, skip sideways along the length of the ladder, ensuring that you feet hit every box. On reaching the end of the ladder, skip back the way you came so that both sides are worked evenly. You can also perform this exercise by crossing your feet to add variety to your workout.
References
- "Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness;" Lee E. Brown and Vance A. Ferrigno; 2005
- "Sport Speed and Agility;" Michael Barnes and John M. Cissik; 2004
- "High-Performance Sports Conditioning;" Bill Faran; 2001
Member Comments