Physical Skill #5 - Agility

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!

Next up in the 10 Physical Skills series is Agility!

Agility is defined as the ability to minimize transition time from one movement to the next. This is a great extension of last week’s post on Balance because when you develop the skills of balance and agility, they synergistically work together to help prevent falls and fractures - one of the leading causes of disability and loss of independance in women as we age.

But the benefits don’t stop at promoting longevity - agility training also improves athletic performance. Here are 5 ways that agility training can level up your sports performance by D1 Training Naples:

1. Improved Speed - Improving the ability to change direction rapidly without losing momentum.

2. Enhanced Coordination - Develops the ability to synchronize eyes, hands, and feet to perform complex movements quickly and accurately.

3. Injury Prevention - By developing balance, flexibility, and control, agility exercises help build a more resilient body.

4. Increased Power - Focuses on explosive movements that builds the ability of muscles to exert maximum force in the shortest period of time.

5. Enhanced Athletic Performnace -

The shuttle run is the focus of today’s workout that will train your agility. Please watch the linked video to review the mechanics of this movement so that you can move smoothly and safely!

If shuttle runs are not accessible to you or you are looking for something a little different, try these agility ladder drills instead! An agility ladder is a great addition to your home gym equipment. It’s compact and very inexpensive. Alternatively, you can use chalk to draw a ladder on pavement or use some tape on the floor to create a ladder.

Today’s workout is a modification of a workout from Train FTW and involves 6 “short” 1 minute 30 second intervals of a high-intensity sprint incorporating agility, strength, and endurance with 2 minutes of rest in between each round.

Warm-Up

AMRAP 5 minutes

• 20 high knee runs (right + left = 1 rep)

• 10 air squats

• 5 push-ups (if strict push-ups are too difficult, elevate your hands on a stable bench, box or even against the wall for an easier option).

Movement Practice

Shuttle Run Set-Up: Place cones in an adequate indoor or outdoor space at 5m, 10m, and 20m. To achieve a 60m run, sprint to the 5m cone and back, then sprint to the 10m cone and back, and then to the 20m cone and back. If space is limited, set up a 5m and 10m cone and do 2 rounds at these shorter distances.

Take 5-10 minutes to set up for your shuttle runs and select the weight for your dumbbell thrusters. Because the working intervals are short and the repetitions low, the goal is to complete an unbroken heavy dumbbell thruster. The weight you choose during practice should be challenging, but something you can complete for 5 reps unbroken every round. It may also be helpful to run through a round or two at low intensity to get the flow of moving quickly from the shuttle run to the thruster then to the jump rope/bike. Take 5 min to warm up your jump rope or simulated jump rope.

TIP! Use a custom interval timer to set up your 1:30 work/2:00 rest intervals. There are lots of free apps that have custom intervals - this is well worth it!

Workout

6 Rounds for jump rope reps (or bike output/calories)

In 1:30 perform:

• 60m Shuttle Run (Alternative: 30 seconds of agility ladder drills. Choose 1 or 2 from this LINK)

• 5 Dumbbell Thrusters

• max reps single under jump rope (modification: max calories/meters/or kjoules output) on a stationary bike.

  ** If you are a rock star and have double-unders, sub for single unders.

2:00 rest between each round

Modifications for the bad-ass beginner:

• Shorten the shuttle run to 30m instead of 60m

• Do air squats instead of thrusters

• Simulated jump rope if no rope or bike is available.

Your score is the total number of jump rope reps (or bike output) achieved each round.

Note: If you encounter a round where you do not have any additional time in the 1:30 interval to start the rope or the bike reps, the workout is complete.

Cool-Down

Round out today’s workout with this 15-minute core-focused yoga sequence from Five Parks and jump start your recovery!

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