10 Best Agility Training Exercises

If you find yourself getting tossed around like a ragdoll on the football field with no means of standing on your own two feet or getting out of the way, then you need agility training exercises in your life.

Agility is the ability to move quickly and easily. Without ease of movement, you’re an easy target. Think of the difference between a rabbit and a golden retriever. Both are fast – but a rabbit’s ability to survive rests entirely on its ability to outmaneuver a dog chasing it. Essentially, it relies on agility.

Now, let’s turn you into a golden retriever / rabbit hybrid that is build with speed, strength, and agility.

10 Exercises to Increase Agility

As an individual athlete, there are three things you should focus on – speed, strength and agility. Of course there is strategy and technique to go along with it, but you need to have these 3 down to be able to plan the rest.

Strength helps you do things like move objects and other players, or work on skills like increasing your vertical leap. But our focus here – is increasing your agility.

Lateral Jumps:

Lateral jumps are fantastic for developing side-to-side agility.

To perform, stand on one side of a cone or hurdle.

Then, jump laterally over the obstacle and land on the other side. Repeat this back and forth, focusing on landing softly and maintaining balance.

High Knee Drills:

High knee drills not only increase agility but also improve knee lift and foot speed.

Start by jogging slowly and gradually lifting your knees as high as possible.

As you become more proficient, you can increase speed while keeping the knees high.

Lateral Running:

This exercise focuses on quick side-to-side movements.

Start in an athletic stance and run sideways for a set distance, then change direction and return to the starting point.

This helps improve the ability to change direction without losing speed.

Shuttle Running:

Shuttle runs involve sprinting to a point and then back again.

By placing several markers at increasing distances, you can sprint to each one and back to the starting point in succession.

This enhances both speed and direction-changing capabilities.

Box Jump Drills:

Box jumps enhance leg power and agility.

Stand in front of a sturdy box or platform, then jump onto it using both feet. Jump back down and repeat.

Adjust the height as needed, ensuring you maintain proper form.

Plyometric Jump Training:

Plyometrics, or “jump training,” involves explosive movements to boost muscle power. Exercises like squat jumps, burpee jumps, and long jumps fall under this category. Focus on power and explosiveness with each repetition.

Side Shuffle:

The side shuffle is all about lateral movement. Keeping a low stance, quickly shuffle to the side for a set distance before changing direction and shuffling back. This exercise is great for sports that require sudden side-to-side movements.

100m Sprints:

Sprints are excellent for developing speed. For this exercise, sprint 100 meters as fast as possible. Rest and recover before doing it again. These short bursts of speed are beneficial for improving overall agility.

Tuck Jumps:

Tuck jumps involve jumping as high as possible while tucking your knees to your chest in mid-air. It’s a full-body explosive movement that can significantly enhance vertical jump height and agility.

Resistance Running:

Using resistance bands or parachutes, this exercise makes running more challenging. The resistance forces you to exert more effort, thereby strengthening the leg muscles and improving sprinting speed.

Increase Resistance with ArisPro

While these are amazing drills to increase your agility, athletes can only improve their performance by measuring their progress. While other training machines, such as the Run Rocket, can provide resistance to improve your running, ArisPro is the first one to utilize AI machine learning and, essentially, become your personal trainer.

If you are ready to increase your agility in a way that is measured and proven to up your game, check out ArisPro.