Top Off With Agility

You may be first in class in cardio and weights, but what about agility? Training for the Turkey Trot, hanging out with an elliptical, and lifting yourself silly will definitely build your body, but you need to transfer these heart and muscle gains to the specific movements inherent in outdoor sports you do love -- snow skiing, tennis or even chasing the dog.

If you don't break up your love affair with forward-plane cardio and the same lifting regime, you're just another weekend-jock trading former excellence for a sub-par performance. You're also at greater risk for injury when the annual ski trip comes round.

Outside Magazine's "Four Steps to Peak Agility" re-focuses your fitness on two critical, but oft-forgotten skills -- agility and coordination. First, you must be willing to move laterally. Then prepare your knees, before mixing in agility exercises. Finally, learn how to get your mind and body working together so when you lose your weekend warrior balance, and you will, the body will respond in agile kind instead of tearing in two.



If you're willing to leave cardio/weights-only behind, here are a few drills for knees, agility and a coordinated response when your balance is threatened:

• Decelerating Lunge: Cuts and pivots get dangerous as you age, and suddenly beginning agility training is not advised. Improving your body's proprioception -- or, awareness of movement -- will avoid straining the knee. In this exercise, take a giant step forward and drop into a standard lunge, while slowing your momentum with your forward leg. Lean in a bit. Tie a bungee cord to the base of a pole in front of you, keep it taut as you dip into the lunge. The cord pulls you forward and loads your knee, while you train the knee to stay stabilized. Outside's prescription: 2-3 sets of 15 reps twice a week.
• Agility Time. Once those knees are ready, add 15 minutes of agility exercises once a week, up to 45 minutes, three times per week for advanced athletes. Mix it up, perform until tired, but not fatigued. Stop before sloppy form. Check out Outside's instructions for eight great exercises -- fast feet, pulse squat to jump, agility ladders (here are a bunch), hops and jumps, depth drops/jump-ups, dodgeball tennis, reaction ball and blindfold drills. Perfect prep for a blind-out snowstorm on a late day run down the ski slope.
• You Will Fall. Accept it, if U.S. presidents and superior athletes stumble, so will you. But how you react can make all the difference. Read Outside's descriptions on BOSU catches, lateral hurdles and a balance walk. These should be performed outside -- the unevenness of the real world will give you an edge. Just like any mountaineer will tell you: Training on authentic hills beats strapping on a pack and huffing up and down corporate stairwells.

Hope you're inspired to add agility on your fitness radar. Remember, weekend warriors as agile as cats will turn competitor heads.