agility-related stories
Top Off With Agility
Photo: tetraconz, Flickr
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.
Medicine Balls
Medicine ball training is an "old school" form of exercise that's making a big comeback. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates stuffed animal skins with sand so his patients could toss them back and forth. Today, medicine balls are generally covered in leather, vinyl or polyester. Firm medicine balls are ideal for resistance training, while the softer, polyester-covered models are great for throwing, catching, bouncing and partner exercises.
Medicine ball training is ideal for both beginners and advanced exercisers because the weight of the ball can be scaled to participants' fitness levels. Lighter medicine balls -- four, six and eight pounds -- are the best option for partner exercises like one-arm throws, chest passes, overhead throws and rotations. A 10- or 12-pound ball can be used for sit-ups, squats and lunges in place of dumbbells, and may even be more effective in getting toned than using dumbbells or weight machines.
Check out these 10 cool exercises with medicine balls for easy ways to incorporate medicine ball training into your workout routine.
Kettlebell Workout
There are numerous benefits from kettlebell workouts. Training with kettelbells builds strength without adding bulk by allowing users to develop lean muscles. Kettlebell workouts also increase explosive power, agility and stamina. Those who want to outfit their home gym without too much expense often turn to kettlebells, too. Just one or two kettlebells can replace tons of other equipment like weights, barbells, dumbbells and cardio machines.
Kettlebell workouts are effective for toning the entire body because multiple muscle groups are engaged throughout each exercise. These workouts can be customized to different fitness levels, but beginners should work with an experienced instructor to make sure they are using correct form. Like any other piece of exercise equipment, kettlebells that are used incorrectly can cause injuries.
Basic kettlebell moves include the swing, high pull, snatch, overhead press and Turkish get-up. Classic kettlebells can be purchased online and range in price from $47 to $218 each.
When you're ready to begin using kettlebells, you can pull together your own kettlebell workout.
CrossFit
CrossFit was developed by Greg Glassman in the 1980s and has been adopted as the workout of choice for thousands across North America, including police officers, military personnel and professional athletes. CrossFit's legion of dedicated followers pledge allegiance to the the program because of its varied nature, meaning that, unlike some typical gym routines, the workout is never boring. CrossFit workouts can be done by people of all ages and fitness abilities.
Ready for a challenge? Try this Crossfit exercise.
Bear Crawl for Tight Abs
How would you like one exercise that works your whole body, requires no equipment, is easy to learn and is fun to do? Consider the bear crawl.
"The bear crawl engages many muscle groups including the shoulders, core and quads," said Crystal McReynolds, a coach at CrossFit Central.
To do the bear crawl, simply drop onto all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders, then rise up onto your feet. Now you're in the bear position! You can move forward and backward more quickly than in a standard crawl, and you'll work every major muscle group in the process.
Reaction time: Try this fun, reaction ball workout
Bouncing a regular ball back and forth may not be much of a workout, but just try it with a reaction ball! Reaction balls are six-sided, so they bounce unpredictably. You never know if you're going to be darting to the left or the right in order to catch it. Try standing 3-4 feet from a partner and bouncing a reaction ball toward your partner. The object is to catch the ball after only one bounce. It may not sound hard, but you'll find yourself darting back and forth and moving quickly in order to catch the ball. If you want to make it even more challenging, just back up a bit.
Not only is it a fun, effective workout. Playing with a reaction ball helps you improve your hand-eye coordination and increases your reaction time -- beneficial skills for any sport. You can also practice by yourself, by bouncing a reaction ball against a wall. Try it with your kids, too ... it's sure to be a hit!
Sure, you're fit, but how's your agility?
I recently came across this agility workout at Women's Health, which got me thinking about the role agility plays in everyday life. If you have kids or dogs and run around with them, you know how beneficial it is to be able to stop on a dime and switch direction. And, it goes without saying that if you compete in sports, agility is a must. But what about the rest of the time?Agility comes in handy in a million daily situations. You're walking through the office and see that open drawer at the last second -- with good agility, you'll avoid it without knocking yourself over. Or at home, in the kitchen, you pull something hot out of the oven, turn around, and ... there's your cat, right under your feet. If you're agile, you can avoid hurting Fluffy and still get dinner to the table.
Check out the exercises Women's Health suggests for agility -- they can all be done in your home. Additionally, consider jumping rope. If that's easy for you, do some fancy footwork between jumps. You'll be super-graceful (and in great shape) in no time!
Agile as a cat
Agility is the ability to effectively and efficiently change the direction of your body. A dig in volleyball, a dive to return a sharp tennis volley, a spellbinding cut past a defender in football -- those moves require agility. But improving agility means addressing its four components -- balance, speed, strength and coordination.
I took quick, multidirectional moves for granted most of my organized sporting years until knee surgery in my late 20s and a recent blown achilles took the "a" out of my agility. Neither injuries bothered my balance or coordination much, but that knot of scar tissue around a repaired achilles tendon and a weaker post-surgical knee definitely compromised strength and speed. No wonder physical therapists had me working on an agility ladder, it's a terrific tool to improve a wide range of foot and body movement patterns.
If you'd like to work on your agility at home, you can buy a collapsible agility ladder or go cheap with a roll of masking tape, sidewalk chalk, remnants of moulding gathering dust in the garage or even a handful of straight sticks. Standard agility ladders measure ten yards long with 18" squares. Lay out your agility ladder on the driveway or a smooth, grassy area and start practicing. Check out these seven agility ladder drills -- master two to four before adding more. With practice, your competitors may just call you 'agile as a cat!' At the very least, agility ladder drills are a unique addition to your workout. Picture from www.onlinesports.com.
Best Workout of the Week Award - Buddy Lee's Jump Rope Training System
Healthy Habits, Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
As a kickboxer and full time fitness trainer of almost 20 years I've become a huge fan of the jump rope. The benefits of jumping rope are infinite: it offers an unbelievable cardiovascular workout which offer the propensity to burn a ton of calories, can increase speed and explosiveness, it's inexpensive, light weight, travels easily. The perfect piece of equipment! I remember long ago when I began fighting, my trainer gave me a rope and told me to 'jump'. Well, I was terrible at it and struggled for a long time to become good at it. Why? I had very little guidance on the skill of jumping rope. My trainer wasn't trying to be mean, he just didn't know the techniques of teaching this skill either.
I think since we all jumped rope as a child, it's assumed we should all just be able to do it now. If you've tried it as an adult, you may have experienced the constant rope kicking, stopping, reshuffling, whipping of the legs, and frustration. How defeating! For years, I have been having my clients jump rope with only the guidance I could give from my experience. Some have had great success, some have had major struggles. Frustrating for me too.
So Friday at the fitness conference I attended, I ran into a man named Buddy Lee. He's a former Olympic wrestler and master of all there is about jumping rope. I instantly approached him because I'm in LOVE with the jump rope. I hoped he'd be able to provide the direction I needed to improve my personal skills and help me break it down for my beginners. Buddy did not disappoint.
