Real Sport Agility Pairing the Right Exercises with Agility Training

Agility work is an important part of the training program, yet we often just throw in agility exercises based on if it looks cool on youtube. Many people place their speed and agility training into the program with little regard for what is in their conditioning and strength work is doing but just like fine dining where pairing the right wine with the right meal can set your meal apart. Pairing the right strength exercises with the right agility drills can be extremely helpful in maximizing your athletic development.

Now what exercises you pair will be dependent on the equipment and space you have access to, so be mindful of that when pairing the exercises. So what exercises do you pair with agility training? First what are your goals with the agility drills you are doing? lets go from the beginning to the end of a typical program that I would use.

Lean fall Sprint, Falling Crossover sprint and 2 Step Lateral Shuffle and Stick are my bases for speed and agility training. Mastering these exercises will give you a solid base to build on, avoid the temptation to just do the fancy exercises, these bases will build the strong pattern that will allow you to be stronger, more explosive and faster. SO what strength exercises go well here? For straight speed I like 2 foot exercises like squats and deadlifts, they allow you to create a lot of force. Now to break it down a little further I prefer front squats and Trap bar deadlifts. For hamstring work The Straight Leg Deadlift is a great choice, the force the hamstring has to absorb is fairly substantial.

When it comes to the agility work, such as the lateral 2 step shuffle step with stick or the lean fall crossover step,  I like to work with single leg training,  my favorite is to pair these with the rear foot elevated split squats. The balance and coordination of this exercise really works well. As for hamstrings I like to use knee dominate exercises like hamstring curls or Nordic hamstring exercises. Most agility work is done in a knee bent position and so I like to use knee dominant exercises.

Once you have mastered the Lean Fall sprint, 2 foot shuffle and crossover sprint. Adding more complex agility drills. As for the strength portion once you get to more complex exercise playing with tempo or load is important. Things like ball slams for deceleration are a great pairing. remember having exercises that work well together will help you improve even more, giving you a bigger edge on your opponent.

 

 

 

 

Training Tall Gym Goers

Being tall has many advantage, you know when it rains sooner you get to ride all the rides at the amusement park. However training when you are tall can be difficult, your joints are longer putting your at more risk for injury or making it more difficult to do strength exercises properly. For many of us vertically challenged these things are not a problem, However there are many athletes and people in general who would fall into this category, usually girls who are 6 foot or taller and guys who are 6’5″ or taller. However there are other factors such as  age where younger individuals generally have not added the required the matching muscle mass to match their growing height, So what do you do?

 

Find the Stiffness

First things first you need to assess the persons movement skills and that includes stiff movement.  If you are extremely tall then there is a good chance you lack the required coordination, you have likely compensated with stiffness in joints instead of strength. The body is pretty amazing at making compensations, which can allow you to perform a task but if you repeatedly perform tasks without fixing the flawed movement and allow a movement mistake to constantly reoccur then stiffness will creep in. This means that your body will not be able to adjust or absorb unexpected or excessive forces. This is something you can fix but first you need to know where the stiffness is through assessment and then attack those areas with exercises that mobilize the joint. How you attack these issues will depend on your training philosophy, time you have and areas that you need to hit. Exercises like squats and deadlifts can be trouble too because the individual is tight in the hips or week in the back causing improper form from too heavy loads, sometimes sticking with lighter weight and focusing on technique is more important when dealing with height.

 

Core Issues and Weak posterior Chain

The core issue kind of runs into the stiffness and strength. Usually due to core weakness a person needs to compensate and that is through things like rounded shoulders from excessive rectus abdominis use or psoas engagement or collapsing knees from weak core causing them to use the Adductors to stabilize the core. Strengthening the core with bridges is a great start. More dynamic movements like the deadbugs can be added as well. Keeping the core strong will help with absorbing energy when doing activities that will allow you to stay stronger and avoid the stiffness that occurs from the core weakening. A weak posterior chain can also be seen with the rounded shoulders flexed in spine. Working on 2 rows to 1 chest press should be a minimum for any tall athlete. Single leg training for an experienced lifter is a great option the load can isolate the legs a bit more with out the added strain of the heavy weight on the back, because the weight cannot be as heavy.

 

Equipment not Made for Tall People

The next thing to keep in mind is that many pieces of equipment are not designed or do not accommodate taller athletes. Doing a deadlift with a tall athlete is not the same as someone who is 5’10 or 5′”6 in height, the plates are usually too short causing taller individuals to have to reach too low and round their backs putting them at risk for a low back injury. It is a great idea to have some blocks or pads to place on the ground to shorten that distance.

The distance the bar travels is further with taller people, this means more work and more strain is placed on the body. A tall athlete will have their muscles placed under more strain lifting from the ground usually starting from an even weaker position because the muscles are are under mire strain.

 

While it is very important to train when taller it is also important to train smart. Tall athletes will benefit tremendously from strength training to prevent injuries and improve performance