Train Agility
The ability to move in multiple
directions quickly and efficiently a key to success in speed and power
sports (i.e. football, soccer, basketball, b
aseball, etc.). If
you have ever watched Barry Sanders or Michael Jordan play, you will
quickly see how important agility is. These
athletes, like many professionals, possess an amazing ability see
things around them, react to what they see, and move quickly in any
direction to avoid defenders.
Understanding the factors that affect agility and training to improve
where you are deficient will dramatically improve your ability to
compete within your sport.
Definition of Agility
Agility can be defined as an
athlete's ability to move quickly and efficiently in any direction
while being graceful and nimble.
Factors that affect Agility
1.
Strength:
Strength is the fundamental basis of all athletic movement. If you aren’t strong, you will struggle to be
fast, jump high, or move laterally quickly. That
isn’t to say that you have to be able to squat a house to move quickly,
but you must have adequate strength to propel your body explosively.
2.
Power:
Power is very closely related to
strength.
Power, however, has a time component to it. That
is,
strength is the ability to lift a heavy object, no matter how long
it takes you.
Power is the ability to take a weight and move it as fast as
possible.
Strength is usually evaluated by lifting heavy weights in the
weight room.
Power is tested with the vertical or broad jump.
3.
Neuromuscular
Control: This is your brain’s
ability to control the muscles in your body. This
acts as the “software”
which controls the “hardware” of your body (i.e. muscles, bones,
tendons, etc.). Without the right
software programs, the best hardware is useless.
4.
Deceleration: The ability to stop on a dime is usually the
most overlooked component of athletic enhancement.
The best athletes in the world not only run past and
around their opponents, but sometimes they stop faster than their
opponents to let them run past them to create space.
Performing deceleration correctly will also allow
you to minimize the risk of injury.
5.
Core: Your abs and low back muscles are what
controls your pelvis and hips, which is the foundation for athletic
movement patterns.
Strength and
Power don’t matter without a good foundation from which to work
from. A good solid core
will help keep your upper body in a good, neutral position during
agility training.
6.
Technique: Unfortunately, agility
technique is oftentimes overlooked. It
is not well understood by many athletes and coaches, so it is much
easier to run through drills over and over, hoping to get faster
through repetition. Understanding the
details surrounding agility training will help you to refine your
agility training and take it to new heights.
7.
Flexibility: If you are restricted in a joint or muscle,
you will not be able to place your body in the most advantageous
positions to perform. Muscles may not be
allowed to fully activate when there are flexibility
deficits.
