Speed & Agility Training Exercises

Speed and agility training will improve your athletic performance. Whether you're a professional or recreational athlete, speed and agility drills will improve your coordination, strength, balance and power. These drills can also be used by non-athletes to burn calories and tone muscles. Speed just means how fast you can run, but agility refers to your ability to change direction quickly and smoothly. Because of the variety of movements involved in sports, you should use a variety of exercises. This will also work your muscles differently and get more results.

  1. Types of Drills

    • Speed drills often involve jumping, hopping and sprinting. Sometimes cones or boxes are used, such as in the box jumping drill. The box jumping drill can be done on and off of boxes that are 1 to 3 feet high. Box jump ups are simply jumping onto a box and stepping down. Box jump downs are when you start on a box and jump down off it backward. You can also jump from box to box spacing them farther and farther apart as you become more proficient at the exercise.

    Cone Exercises

    • Cones are used in a drills such as the 5-10-5 drill, the T-Drill and the square drill. The 5-10-5 drill is the most simplistic. Place three cones 5 yards apart in a straight line. Sprint forward from the first cone to the middle cone; then backpedal (run backward) to the beginning. Do the same thing again, but run forward 10 yards to the end cone, and then backpedal to the beginning. Repeat a third time, but just 5 yards to the middle cone. There are many drills that are done with cones that incorporate side shuffling, cariocas, backpedaling and sprinting.

    Speed Ladder Drills

    • There are many drills that are done with a speed ladder, which is a piece of equipment that is similar to a rope ladder and lies on the ground.You can do in-outs, zig-zags and hop scotches in a speed ladder that will work your agility as well as quickness and speed. The most basic exercises involve stepping or jumping in and out of the squares made by the ladder on the ground. You can start at one end of the ladder and jump as fast as you can from square to square without touching the ladder. You can also hop on one foot from one end to another without touching the sides or rungs of the ladder.