24-7 Fitness

If you have ever watched a good basketball or football game, you know that the heroes of the game don't come from the defense. These are simply players there to help the ones that are agile. The touchdowns and the baskets will generally come from the ones that are quicker, can move with speed, and who can twist their way around the other players. Whether you are working towards becoming a better athlete, or simply want to improve your health, you can begin by doing types of exercises that improve agility.

The main purpose of doing exercise to improve agility is to get your body balanced and working correctly in a different way. The more flexible, balanced and stretched you are, the easier it will be for you to move in the ways that you want to, no matter what type of field that you are on. Following are some simple exercises you can do to increase your speed and movement.

1. Preparing your joints.
   • Stand straight up by a wall or fence.
   • Place one hand on the wall or fence for balance.
   • Take the leg furthest away from the wall and swing back and forth.
   • Repeat on the other leg.

   You can also do this by moving your leg to the sides and you can work with other joints in order to help 'lubricate' them before an activity.

   Of course, this exercise will help to get your hips more flexible. Getting your hips ready to go is one of the most important parts of beginning to work towards better agility.

2. Ladder training. Of course, because you are working on speed, you will want to make sure that your feet can keep up with the way that your hips move. Ladder training is an effective way to do this.
   • Place a 'ladder' or progressive set of squares on the ground.
   • Move each foot through one square, like you are running through the ladder.
   • Move through the squares quickly without tripping over any of the lines.
   • Repeat with squatting between the squares
   • Rotate between squats and steps in order to help with better movement.
   • Repeat like you are playing hop scotch.

   If you are ladder training with squats, make sure that you work towards staying in lower positions during the squats. The lower you are able to get, and the faster you are able to move up in between the squats, the more you will be building easier movement you're your hips. You can also add in a variety of forms on the ground as you are moving through the ladder as well as different shapes, such as rings. The more variety you are able to add into the workout, the more agile you will become.

3. Obstacle Courses. This can be done with cones, or simply by drawing out different diagrams and maps. The idea will be to get your hips and feet working together, while keeping balance and moving with a faster speed. One example diagram that can be used is to draw figures, such as a figure eight. You will then have to go around an obstacle course as fast as you can in order to complete this figure. Many sports groups will use this type of training to help with agility.

If you want speed to be a part of your exercise routine, then finding exercises for agility is an effective way to begin. Over time, you will be able to move your body quicker and with more ease. No matter what you are beginning to practice building up your speed for, you know that you will have a touch down by adding in some new exercises to your routine.