Agility is the ability to change your body’s position quickly. Agility exercises help improve the speed and accuracy of your movements. You can do them with minimal equipment, just about anywhere. However, having some small cones to use as landmarks or an agility ladder during these exercises can be helpful.Agility activitiesbenefit people of all ages. You can also adapt them to your current fitness level.
1. Side Shuffle
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The side shuffle improves your movements from side to side.
2. Carioca Drill
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TheCariocadrill improves agility, footwork, and balance as you cross one leg in front of the other.
Place two cones your desired distance apart.
When you’ve mastered the movement, pick up the pace.
3. Knee Tuck Jumps
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Knee tuck jumps increase your legs' strength and explosive power.
4. Box Jump
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Box jumps improve your explosive power and strengthen muscles in your legs and core.
5. Lateral Jump
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Lateral jumps improve side-to-side agility.You can perform this exercise using a line on the ground.
To make this exercise easier, step sideways over the line in each direction.
6. Skater Jumps
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Skater jumps are also known as “lateral bounds.” This exercise increases power and improves overall stability and balance.
7. High Knee Drill
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High knee drills improve agility while the body is moving forward.
8. Standing Up to Figure 8
Figure 8 drills improve balance with direction changing during forward movements.
You can do figure eight drills without a chair,runningmultiple laps in a row.
This exercise is also helpful for older people who want to work on their balance. Walk the figure eight pattern and sit down to rest after each repetition.
9. 5-10-5 Drill
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10. T-Drill
The T-drill improves your ability to sprint, shuffle side to side, and run backward. For this setup, you’ll need four cones.
Set your cones up in a “T” formation. Place your first cone, then place the second cone 15 feet straight ahead. Place the other two cones 15 feet to each side of the second cone.
If you’re new to the T-drill or have issues with your balance, do it at a walking pace.
11. Bear Crawl
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The bear crawl improves strength in your legs and arms, coordination, core strength, and agility.
You can do bear crawls in a backward or sideways direction.
12. Agility Ladder
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The agility ladder is a lightweight piece of equipment shaped like a ladder. You lay it flat on the ground. You can use it for many different agility exercises.
Examples include:
Benefits of Training
Agility training benefits people of all ages, whether or not they are athletes. This type of exercise improves your balance, coordination, strength, and speed—and burns some calories in the process.
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Summary
Agility exercises are beneficial for people of all ages. They improve balance, coordination, speed, and strength. You can perform agility exercises with little to no equipment and adapt them to any fitness level. As with any new exercise, check with your healthcare provider before starting agility training, particularly if you have an underlying medical condition or difficulty with your balance.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Texas Metroplex Institute for Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery.Agility drills.United States Tennis Association.Carioca drill — dynamic warm up.National Academy of Sports Medicine.Tuck jump.American Council on Exercise.Box jumps.National Strength and Conditioning Association.7 line drills to improve agility.American Council on Exercise.Plyo progressions for personal training.National Strength and Conditioning Association.High knee drills.Washington State University.Bear crawl.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Texas Metroplex Institute for Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery.Agility drills.United States Tennis Association.Carioca drill — dynamic warm up.National Academy of Sports Medicine.Tuck jump.American Council on Exercise.Box jumps.National Strength and Conditioning Association.7 line drills to improve agility.American Council on Exercise.Plyo progressions for personal training.National Strength and Conditioning Association.High knee drills.Washington State University.Bear crawl.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Texas Metroplex Institute for Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery.Agility drills.United States Tennis Association.Carioca drill — dynamic warm up.National Academy of Sports Medicine.Tuck jump.American Council on Exercise.Box jumps.National Strength and Conditioning Association.7 line drills to improve agility.American Council on Exercise.Plyo progressions for personal training.National Strength and Conditioning Association.High knee drills.Washington State University.Bear crawl.
Texas Metroplex Institute for Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery.Agility drills.
United States Tennis Association.Carioca drill — dynamic warm up.
National Academy of Sports Medicine.Tuck jump.
American Council on Exercise.Box jumps.
National Strength and Conditioning Association.7 line drills to improve agility.
American Council on Exercise.Plyo progressions for personal training.
National Strength and Conditioning Association.High knee drills.
Washington State University.Bear crawl.
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