Agility is the ability to move in many directions and to change directions quickly. Most sports rely heavily on an athlete's ability to move with great agility. There are many tools and pieces of equipment that can be used to improve agility. One of the cheapest, most portable, easy to use and beneficial tools is hurdles. Hurdles come in many sizes, but all can be used to improve your agility.
Step 1
Warm up properly. You are about to engage in dynamic movement in many directions, and your warm-up should include these activities in a slow, progressive manner. Begin by elevating your heart rate with a jump rope or doing jumping jacks. Then go through motions like arm swings, skips and squats to get the blood flowing to your muscles and loosen your joints. Finally, perform motions similar to how you will train, like shuffles, lunges and runs to stimulate the neuromuscular system.
Step 2
Perform straight-ahead drills. It is best to begin your training with drills in a plane of movement that is most comfortable. Since most human movement is forward, so should be your first agility drills. Place your hurdles in a line in front of you spaced apart by 2-foot lengths. Complete drills while keeping your body square and eyes up. Straight-ahead drills include high knee skips, one step run, high knee run, and various jumps or hops.
Step 3
Practice lateral drills. These are drills where you move in a direction to your left or right side. It is important to remember to keep your body -- including your head and shoulders -- square throughout the activity. Lateral drills include lateral skips, shuffles, wide stance shuffles using micro hurdles, and lateral zigzags using large hurdles.
Step 4
Complete crossover drills. Now that your body is comfortable moving forward and side-to-side, you can mix it up with drills that cause you to cross over your body or to turn in different directions. Crossover and turning drills include crossover skip, crossover runs, carioca, zigzag spins, and runs with turns and sprints.
Step 5
Do sport-specific drills. Once you have perfected isolated agility drills, begin to practice sport-specific drills. Use a ball or other equipment that you would handle during game play. Examples include catching a ball while performing a crossover run over micro hurdles, mirroring a partner while performing a shuffle over micro hurdles, or knocking over a heavy back as you move outside the hurdles during a straight-ahead zigzag through large hurdles.
Tips and Warnings
- Videotaping your workout can help you find areas for improvement
- Be sure to use hurdles on a level surface to prevent injuries.
Things You'll Need
- 6 large hurdles
- 6, 12-inch hurdles
- 6, 6-inch hurdles
Member Comments