Best exercises to improve agility?
in Hobbies & Leisure ·
I’d also just add that your body weight is a massive factor in all of this.
Carrying extra "bad" weight absolutely kills your agility. You see it most clearly with soccer players... Personally, I play recreational soccer myself, so I can give you a few pointers based on my own experience...
To work on my agility, explosiveness, and endurance, I mainly stick to sprint training. Specifically, CrossFit and pyramid drills.
First off, I just want to mention that everywhere you go, before starting any serious training program, they suggest checking in with a doctor first.Especially if you have any existing health issues.
Anyway...
This is how I handle my CrossFit (High-Intensity Interval Training):
I start by sprinting diagonally across a small soccer field. Then, without stopping, I immediately transition into a light jog around the perimeter of the field until I loop back to where that initial sprint ended. From there, I hit another diagonal sprint, and once I reach the end, I go right back into a jogging rhythm around the field. So, it's basically sprint-jog-sprint-jog-sprint... I started out doing 8 rounds, then when I felt ready, I bumped it up to 10, then 12, and so on. If my form starts to slip for some reason, I drop back down to a lower number of reps.
For the pyramid part of my workout, I do it like this:
First, I do one sprint from one goalpost to the other—basically the full length of the field. Immediately after, without pausing, I walk back the length of the field. As soon as I hit the goal line, I go straight into two consecutive sprints down the field without walking or standing still; I sprint the first length, turn as fast as possible, and sprint the second length. After those two sprints, I go back to walking and move into the 3-sprint + walking phase, then 4 + walking, then back down to 3, then 2, then 1.
Basically, my training looks like this: 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 (the pyramid). If I'm not feeling it that day, I'll scale it down to 1-2-3-3-2-1.
You can actually do all of this without the walking parts—just hitting the sprints back-to-back.
For example:
You sprint from the goal line to the corner flag, turn as fast as you can, and sprint back to the goal you started from. Once you hit the goal, turn again and sprint to the center, then turn and sprint back to the goal, then turn and sprint to the opposite corner flag, turn and sprint back to your goal, then turn and sprint to the other goal, turn, walk back to your goal, then to the opposite corner, then back, then to the center, then back, then to the near corner, and finally back.
That last one is incredibly brutal. So, under no circumstances should you attempt that unless you are absolutely certain you are in peak physical health.
I also do "standard" sprints, like doing 6 to 8 sprints with about 40 seconds of rest between each. My little piece of advice is to hit every single sprint at full intensity—meaning, as hard as you possibly can in that moment. It is vital that you warm up properly, stretch, and do a few lighter sprints of increasing intensity before diving into the main set. Just to make sure the muscles are primed and ready so you don't end up with an injury.
I combine the sprint training with running 3.7 miles about 2 or 3 times a week. I read somewhere that it would be beneficial to include a mile run once in a while. And I mean running that mile as fast as humanly possible.
In the gym, I always make sure to train legs, abs, and back, along with everything else. Besides improving physical and motor skills, it's great for injury prevention too.
I've experimented with plyometrics, like box jumps or jumping over benches (doing squats or lunges faster is also considered plyometric), but honestly, I think what I'm doing is plenty for someone playing sports recreationally.
When it comes to quick turns—like those 180-degree pivots—I focus on leaning my body in the direction of the change in movement during the deceleration phase of the sprint. As soon as you start leaning or slowing down, you begin to pivot your body slightly to prep for the sprint in the opposite direction.
Cheers!
Carrying extra "bad" weight absolutely kills your agility. You see it most clearly with soccer players... Personally, I play recreational soccer myself, so I can give you a few pointers based on my own experience...
To work on my agility, explosiveness, and endurance, I mainly stick to sprint training. Specifically, CrossFit and pyramid drills.
First off, I just want to mention that everywhere you go, before starting any serious training program, they suggest checking in with a doctor first.Especially if you have any existing health issues.
Anyway...
This is how I handle my CrossFit (High-Intensity Interval Training):
I start by sprinting diagonally across a small soccer field. Then, without stopping, I immediately transition into a light jog around the perimeter of the field until I loop back to where that initial sprint ended. From there, I hit another diagonal sprint, and once I reach the end, I go right back into a jogging rhythm around the field. So, it's basically sprint-jog-sprint-jog-sprint... I started out doing 8 rounds, then when I felt ready, I bumped it up to 10, then 12, and so on. If my form starts to slip for some reason, I drop back down to a lower number of reps.
For the pyramid part of my workout, I do it like this:
First, I do one sprint from one goalpost to the other—basically the full length of the field. Immediately after, without pausing, I walk back the length of the field. As soon as I hit the goal line, I go straight into two consecutive sprints down the field without walking or standing still; I sprint the first length, turn as fast as possible, and sprint the second length. After those two sprints, I go back to walking and move into the 3-sprint + walking phase, then 4 + walking, then back down to 3, then 2, then 1.
Basically, my training looks like this: 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 (the pyramid). If I'm not feeling it that day, I'll scale it down to 1-2-3-3-2-1.
You can actually do all of this without the walking parts—just hitting the sprints back-to-back.
For example:
You sprint from the goal line to the corner flag, turn as fast as you can, and sprint back to the goal you started from. Once you hit the goal, turn again and sprint to the center, then turn and sprint back to the goal, then turn and sprint to the opposite corner flag, turn and sprint back to your goal, then turn and sprint to the other goal, turn, walk back to your goal, then to the opposite corner, then back, then to the center, then back, then to the near corner, and finally back.
That last one is incredibly brutal. So, under no circumstances should you attempt that unless you are absolutely certain you are in peak physical health.
I also do "standard" sprints, like doing 6 to 8 sprints with about 40 seconds of rest between each. My little piece of advice is to hit every single sprint at full intensity—meaning, as hard as you possibly can in that moment. It is vital that you warm up properly, stretch, and do a few lighter sprints of increasing intensity before diving into the main set. Just to make sure the muscles are primed and ready so you don't end up with an injury.
I combine the sprint training with running 3.7 miles about 2 or 3 times a week. I read somewhere that it would be beneficial to include a mile run once in a while. And I mean running that mile as fast as humanly possible.
In the gym, I always make sure to train legs, abs, and back, along with everything else. Besides improving physical and motor skills, it's great for injury prevention too.
I've experimented with plyometrics, like box jumps or jumping over benches (doing squats or lunges faster is also considered plyometric), but honestly, I think what I'm doing is plenty for someone playing sports recreationally.
When it comes to quick turns—like those 180-degree pivots—I focus on leaning my body in the direction of the change in movement during the deceleration phase of the sprint. As soon as you start leaning or slowing down, you begin to pivot your body slightly to prep for the sprint in the opposite direction.
Cheers!