Agility exercises are those that gradually improve the athlete’s maneuvering speed and reaction speed, emphasizing various parts of the musculature through fast and highly dynamic routines. For example obstacle courses, CrossFit, and juggling.
In this sense, agility exercises are based on coordination, which is nothing more than the immediate muscular response capacity to the designs of the central nervous system. Precisely the opposite of clumsiness.
Examples of Agility Drills
- Jumping exercises. The long jump not only indirectly enhances agility, by strengthening the muscles involved in taking off and landing, but also by linking them to maintain balance while moving.
- Crawling exercises. By forcing all four extremities to move in coordination, this type of exercise increases basic agility, especially when doing it at maximum speed.
- Four-point exercises. It is a type of circuit exercise, in which a base point (south) and three points pointing to the other three cardinal points are located. The exercise will consist of running toward each cardinal point, touching it with your hand, and then going back to the south; running to the next, and so on. This exercise allows you to coordinate the relationship of the body with space even when you are not looking at it directly.
- Obstacle Courses. As in the homonymous Olympic sport, it is about running at maximum speed while jumping or dodging various obstacles. This represents an intense coordination, resistance, and speed exercise that directly affects the athlete’s agility.
- Jump rope. A common practice for boxers is through which not only exercise their aerobic resistance but also their agility, since they can jump rope in combinations of one foot, the other, or both together, at high speeds.
- Basketball. This sport is known for being one of those that require the most agility, since its practitioners are at the same time running, passing the ball, and hindering the path of their rivals. Practicing it often is a good way to develop agility.
- Balance exercises. A good way to work on leg strength, as well as agility, is to try to balance your whole body on one leg and then the other, maintaining a straight posture and then trying to raise your arms and legs.
- Chase exercises. Similar to the children’s game of “la Mancha” or “la ere” or “el todo”, it is an exercise that requires at least a couple of athletes, in which one of them must chase and touch the other in some part of the body, and the other’s task is to dodge his attempts and run away.
- Exercises on a ladder. Going up and down a staircase at full speed, stepping on each step with a corresponding foot and without skipping any, will allow you to enhance the agility and coordination of the feet while toning the muscles.
- Zigzag run. Another relatively simple exercise in agility consists of placing cones or other objects in a straight line and zigzagging between them without knocking any of them down.
- Hopscotch jump. This children’s game can be rescued to make balance exercises more complex. It consists of a series of pictures painted on the ground that force us to jump on one foot from one to the other until the end, where we change feet and return to the beginning.
- Dance. Although it may not seem like it, dancing is a very enjoyable way of exercising agility and is perfectly incorporated into social contexts, in which we teach our body to follow the rhythm imposed by music.
- Rhythmic gymnastics. Sports discipline that combines ballet, dance, and gymnastics, as well as different implements such as a ball, clubs, ribbons, or rings, and that requires their quick, coordinated, and aesthetic use. A challenge to the agility of athletes.
- CrossFit. This is the name given to training made up of various functional exercise routines, of high variety and intensity, executed in a stipulated and timed time. It has been a trend since 1995 and is widely accepted in the world of physical training.
- Defend the archery. Inherited from soccer, this exercise consists of stopping the balls that a teammate or coach kicks directly toward the goal, preventing them from entering the net, one after the other with a narrow margin of recovery time.
- Back and forth. Several points or cones are located on the ground, one next to the other, forming a straight line that reaches several meters in length. Starting from the first point or cone, you must reach the first one, touch it and return to the initial one; touch it and continue with the second, and so on.
- Agility ladder. Using a sports ladder, or making one from old tires, you run up the rungs (or holes in the tires) alternating one foot on each to the bottom and then back to the start.
- Agility hoops. Using rings or delimiting the area with paint, a route is traced in circular segments separated from each other by at least one meter. The exercise will then consist of advancing in the trajectory jumping from one hoop to the next with one foot and at maximum speed.
- Bar exercise. Climbing on the bars, moving from one to the other, holding on with the legs, and inverting the figure… all are valid agility drill techniques with an ordinary bar system.
- Juggling. Juggling encourages coordination and sharpens reaction time, thus enhancing our hand-eye agility.
The importance of rest and recovery
Rest and recovery are essential parts of any fitness program, and agility training is no exception. Recovery allows the body time to rest and rebuild muscle tissue, which helps prevent injuries. It also helps reduce fatigue and stress, allowing you to perform at your best during training sessions.
Regular breaks and adequate sleep will help you stay focused and get the most out of your agility training. Additionally, active recovery, such as stretching and foam rolling, can help reduce soreness and improve mobility. Rest days are just as important as training days, so make sure to build in time for adequate rest and recovery into your routine.
