Fitness can be defined in many ways. Whether one's goal is cardiovascular endurance or optimal body composition, fitness means different things to different people.
To some, agility and coordination are a high priority. This week, I'll discuss how including these two training parameters can add a little spice to your program. I'll also present an exercise designed specifically for this purpose.
The overwhelming majority of fitness plans my team and I put together are designed for weight loss and improved cardiovascular endurance. But once in a while, we have a client who's interested in something different. Most often, these are high school or college athletes who need to train specifically for a sport or activity.
Many of the training principles associated with these athletes' fitness programs can be useful to the nonathlete.
Agility training is, in large part, designed to make you quicker on your feet. The side benefits are better coordination, more stable joints and increased training variety. If you ask me, these are never bad things.
Instead of jumping on the elliptical machine for the 10th day in a row, why not try a little agility training to keep things interesting?
Tackle a flight of stairs or create a fun obstacle course to maximize the activation of many different muscle groups in new and exciting ways. To me, this type of training keeps the body feeling fresh and ready for anything. It prepares us for the unexpected lunge or twist that might otherwise tweak an ankle or the back.
And it's fun.
One of my favorite workouts is an obstacle course that includes body-weight strength-training stations along the way. These could include pushups, pullups or body-weight squats for various numbers of repetitions that are staggered throughout the course. The result is a nice cross training workout that really attacks all the muscle groups in new and exciting ways.
These obstacle courses almost always have an agility component that's set up with cones, which is this week's feature exercise. The W Cone Drill will force you to transition from a backpedal to a sprint often, which is great for developing lower-body agility and coordination.
1. The points of the W should be about 15 feet apart and the legs 15 feet long. Set a cone or some other obvious marker at each point on the W.
2. Start on the upper left point and backpedal (run backward) to the first point.
3. Stop, then sprint while facing forward to the next point.
4. Backpedal to the next point.
5. Stop, and sprint face-forward through the finish line.
6. Perform 10 repetitions of this W (unless performed within an obstacle course; if so, keep going).
I really enjoy this little agility drill as part of a bigger workout. By itself, it could feel a little like high school basketball practice. But when added into an obstacle course, it's a lot more fun.
I think anyone can appreciate the way this drill will challenge your ability to change directions quickly. Enjoy!
Matt Parrott has a doctorate in education (sport studies) and a master's in kinesiology and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.
vballtop@aol.com
ActiveStyle on 07/28/2014