Re: Training Agility & Foot Speed

[Guest guest]

The web page http://stage.fitrex.com/fitness_info/muscle_group78.html has

some short clips and instruction for a number of plyometric drills. Also,

http://www.humankinetics.com has a number of books that it has published

that cover the topics of plyometrics, speed, agility, and quickness

training for various sports.

Linder

>Does anyone know of any good resources for training agility and foot

>speed? I have heard of the Health For Life program called Fast on

>your Feet, which provides a number of drills for balance and agility.

>

>I am wondering if anyone knows any resources that can provide general

>principles and theories for training agility and footspeed with some

>examples on how to design some sport specific drills.

>

>Thanks for your Attention,

>

>Angelo Mondragon

[Guest guest]

Angelo wrote...

<<Does anyone know of any good resources for training agility and foot

speed? I have heard of the Health For Life program called Fast on

your Feet, which provides a number of drills for balance and agility.

I am wondering if anyone knows any resources that can provide general

principles and theories for training agility and footspeed with some

examples on how to design some sport specific drills.>>

Me...

On another list that I'm on, a question was posed to several strength

coaches. The question was: If you only had 1hr 3 days/wk to work with a

basketball team in the pre-season, what would you do - please provide a

sample workout. Below is my response, but please see the question at the

end that I submitted to the forum regarding agility training:

Here's my sample pre-season basketball program given 3 days/week for one

hour:

Day 1

Warm up complex

Power Clean:(20kg x 5)2, 60% x 4, 70% x 3, 75% x 3,(80% x 3), 85% x 2, (90% x

2)2

Push Press: 20kg x 10, 60% x 6, 70% x 6, (80% x 5)4

Back SQ: 20kg x 10, 60% x 5, 70% x 5, (80% x 5)2, (85% x 3)2

Glute-ham raise w/wt: 4 sets

Abdominal work

Day 2

Warm up complex

Power Snatch: (20kg x 5)2, 60% x 3, 70% x 3, (80% x 3)5

Clean: (20kg x 5)2, 60% x 3, 70% x 3, (80% x 3)4

Bench press: bar x 10, 60% x 8, 70% x 6, (80% x 5)2, (85% x 3)4

Weighted chin ups: 1 easy set @ bwt, 4 x max with 6RM weight attached

Ab work

Day 3

Warm up complex

C & J: (20kg x 3 + 3)2, 60% x 3 + 1, 70% x 3 + 1, (80% x 3 + 1)3, (80% x 1 +

3)3

Front SQ: (80% x 4)4

Incline DB press: 5 x 5RM

RDL: bar x 10, 60% x 10, 70% x 8, 80% x 6, (85% x 4)3

Ab work

Although the program above may appear to lack variety, I try not to

sacrifice exercise quality for variation. Choosing a less productive

exercise (i.e. using a step-up in place of a front or back squat) for the

sake of variation is not an option, unless recovery/restoration is the main

goal of the workout.

How about this for the next question to the forum:

Strength coaches have very little time to spend with their athletes.

Considering the amount of agility training that occurs naturally in an

athlete's sport practice, does it make sense to use strength/conditioning

time to do agility drills, especially if it " eats up " time that could be

used to maximize strength/power development?

[Guest guest]

Angelo wrote...

<<Does anyone know of any good resources for training agility and foot

speed? I have heard of the Health For Life program called Fast on

your Feet, which provides a number of drills for balance and agility.

I am wondering if anyone knows any resources that can provide general

principles and theories for training agility and footspeed with some

examples on how to design some sport specific drills.>>

Josh Katz:

On non-lifting days you can put together a series of general lift

mechanic drills (somewhat track oriented) with an emphasis on the cycling

(paw back) motion. These can be done moving along the surface starting with

a progression of counting (as your jogging) 1-2-3 LIFT where on the 4th

Count (LIFT), the leg is cycled explosively through the range. Next progress

to a 1-2 LIFT....then a 1 LIFT or deadleg run where one leg exaggerates the

cycle as the other drags along. Finally put it all together with both legs

through a quick stride frequency drill.

AVOID the old tried and true BUTT KICKS...they reinforce crappy lift

mechanics since it doesn't follow the proper cycling motion. Additionally

avoid high knees which simply puts the athlete out of posture (Standing

straight up)and delays force application to the ground which is what propels

the athlete.

There are many other drills we can list...including skipping laterally and

with a crossover to work on the crossing move as in stealing 2nd. We will

also do " Let Go's " where a player is held using a device or weight

belt...and released after several steps as force production seems to build

up. This can be done from various angles including Catchers coming out of a

stance to throw to second...a crossover Let Go from 1st to second...or a

shortstop shuffling as if to pick up a ground ball...as examples.

Burkhardt:

On another list that I'm on, a question was posed to several strength

coaches. The question was: If you only had 1hr 3 days/wk to work with a

basketball team in the pre-season, what would you do - please provide a

sample workout. Below is my response, but please see the question at the

end that I submitted to the forum regarding agility training:

Here's my sample pre-season basketball program given 3 days/week for one

hour:

Day 1

Warm up complex

Power Clean:(20kg x 5)2, 60% x 4, 70% x 3, 75% x 3,(80% x 3), 85% x 2, (90%

x 2)2

Push Press: 20kg x 10, 60% x 6, 70% x 6, (80% x 5)4

Back SQ: 20kg x 10, 60% x 5, 70% x 5, (80% x 5)2, (85% x 3)2

Glute-ham raise w/wt: 4 sets

Abdominal work

Day 2

Warm up complex

Power Snatch: (20kg x 5)2, 60% x 3, 70% x 3, (80% x 3)5

Clean: (20kg x 5)2, 60% x 3, 70% x 3, (80% x 3)4

Bench press: bar x 10, 60% x 8, 70% x 6, (80% x 5)2, (85% x 3)4

Weighted chin ups: 1 easy set @ bwt, 4 x max with 6RM weight attached

Ab work

Day 3

Warm up complex

C & J: (20kg x 3 + 3)2, 60% x 3 + 1, 70% x 3 + 1, (80% x 3 + 1)3, (80% x 1 +

3)3

Front SQ: (80% x 4)4

Incline DB press: 5 x 5RM

RDL: bar x 10, 60% x 10, 70% x 8, 80% x 6, (85% x 4)3

Ab work

Although the program above may appear to lack variety, I try not to

sacrifice exercise quality for variation.

---------------------

Josh Katz: I thought variation leads to exercise quality?

Choosing a less productive

exercise (i.e. using a step-up in place of a front or back squat) for the

sake of variation is not an option, unless recovery/restoration is the main

goal of the workout.

Josh Katz: Can you explain this...?

How about this for the next question to the forum:

Strength coaches have very little time to spend with their athletes.

Considering the amount of agility training that occurs naturally in an

athlete's sport practice, does it make sense to use strength/conditioning

time to do agility drills, especially if it " eats up " time that could be

used to maximize strength/power development?

Josh Katz: Isn't part of a strength coaches job to improve the movement skills

of

his athletes? If an athlete has good agility and footspeed...concentrate on

his weaknesses...which may very well maybe strength/power development. IF

however the athlete is not agile...does that not warrant some time spent?

-------------------------------

[Guest guest]

On 15 Aug 2000 " Burkhardt " <emburkha@...> wrote:

> How about this for the next question to the forum:

>

> Strength coaches have very little time to spend with their athletes.

> Considering the amount of agility training that occurs naturally in

> an athlete's sport practice, does it make sense to use

> strength/conditioning time to do agility drills, especially if it " eats up "

> time that could be used to maximize strength/power development?

I work agility only if there is a diagnosed, tested or easily noticed

problem. Our warmup sequence includes light agility work such as one

legged jumps over a two inch high plastic disc. We also combine box

drops fully absorbing the force by finishing the landing in a semi or

squat position. Our staff is trained to observe and report anything

" unusual " .

Not counting the postrehab or specially trained populations (where

agility and plyometric work may encompass the entire training session),

I leave these issues to the coaching staffs. There is barely enough

time to work basic and advanced strength, speed-strength and power

movements in sessions that run 1 1/2 to 2 hours during the offseason

training period.

[Guest guest]

wrote...

Although the program above may appear to lack variety, I try not to

sacrifice exercise quality for variation.

Josh Katz...

I thought variation leads to exercise quality?

....

OK, good/fair question Josh. I'm not so sure it does. I've often wondered

how much of the benefit from exercise variation is psychological and how

much is actually physiological. Let me explain: If you change exercises

frequently, it keeps the program fresh and enthusiasm remains high, and

that's a good thing. This will most likely enhance adherence to the

program. The downside is if less productive exercises are substituted for

better ones simply for the sake of variation strength gain will suffer. A

good example is the step up in place of a front or back squat. I don't

think any knowledgeable strength coach would disagree with the fact that a

front/back squat has greater potential to develop strength than step ups.

In conclusion, if you're substituting step ups for squats with regularity, I

think you are not going to maximize strength. My comment below still

remains. I DO think step ups have their place when more recovery is needed

or when working around an injury........

Choosing a less productive

exercise (i.e. using a step-up in place of a front or back squat) for the

sake of variation is not an option, unless recovery/restoration is the main

goal of the workout.

Josh Katz....

Can you explain this...?

....

Hopefully above makes sense.

-------NEW TOPIC-----

....

Strength coaches have very little time to spend with their athletes.

Considering the amount of agility training that occurs naturally in an

athlete's sport practice, does it make sense to use strength/conditioning

time to do agility drills, especially if it " eats up " time that could be

used to maximize strength/power development?

Josh Katz....

Isn't part of a strength coaches job to improve the movement skills of

his athletes? If an athlete has good agility and footspeed...concentrate on

his weaknesses...which may very well maybe strength/power development. IF

however the athlete is not agile...does that not warrant some time spent?

....

Another good question. Maybe we should be called Strength & Movement Skill

Coaches. If you increase strength and power won't that improve movement

skill. Maybe not, but I bet in weak athletes it will a lot. I've worked

with many tall weak volleyball and basketball athletes whose ability to make

volleyball and basketball specific movements increased tremendously when

their total body strength and power increased. I agree with your comments

above re: working on weaknesses, but again, I ask you to take a look at your

typical clumsy, non-agile athlete. These athletes are almost always weak

and lack explosiveness. Would you agree with this statement. If they are

strong and explosive but clumsy and non-agile, they are probably just poor

athletes. I work at the division 1 level and a poor athlete would never get

to me anyway.

We have a 7' basketball player right now who is very athletic. He shoots

well and has wonderful touch around the basket, but he is extremely slow,

weak and not very agile in certain movements. I honestly think you could do

agility work with him until the cows come home and he still wont improve.

This may sound strange, but I think his nervous system knows good and well

how to be agile but he lacks the ability to execute it. IOW, he simply is

not able to enough of the right motor units to be able to execute movements

that require great agility and all the agility, foot speed and whatever

other foo-foo drills you do won't do much to change this. I think it will

help, but UNLESS HE DEVELOPS HIS STRENGTH AND EXPLOSIVENESS THROUGH SQUATS

AND OLs (and maybe some med ball exercises) he'll only get so far with his

agility development. Emphasizing agility work over strength and power

training with this athlete would be a huge mistake IMO.

So, this gets back to my original question. How much additional agility

work is necessary? What agility drills would you do that would improve his

agility more than the nearly limitless movements that will take place

naturally when he is practicing on the court. Don't get me wrong. I DO

think there are some agility drills that definitely have their place, but

the ones I am thinking of would almost be considered more of a plyometric

drill than an agility drill.

Josh, can you:

1) Define agility?

2) Give an example of an agility drill and what quality you are training

that is unique to any movement that will occur naturally in the sport

practice?

3) From your answer to question # 2, can you describe how performance and

improvement is measured in that drill.

4) Where do you draw the line when deciding whether it's the strength

coach's job or the sport coaches job to improve agility? Above you state

that " Isn't part of a strength coaches job to improve the movement skills of

his athletes? " . What if an athlete isn't performing the proper footwork to

execute a volleyball or basketball skill, and part of the reason is agility.

Is it the strength coach's job to step in to the sport practice or is it the

sport coach's job?

[Guest guest]

On Fri, 18 Aug 2000 " Burkhardt " <emburkha@...> wrote:

>I've seen Swiss balls being used as a chair or bench while doing seated

military >or dumbbell bench press exercises almost every time is use a

commercial gym.

Shaq O'Neal's trainer has published his workout routine which includes

OH Press on Swiss Ball. Somehow I receive no comfort when the MVP of

the NBA has " core stability " issues!

> Why not just use a solid supporting surface

> (floor or bench) so that the amount of weight used can be maximized.

Sometimes I wonder if we, as strength trainers, are unhappy with our

" limited " role of maximizing strength, power and speed and invent

training which will, supposedly, attach us closer to the success of the

athlete on the field.

Joe

[Guest guest]

Hello

From: " Joe Alden " <joealden@...>

> Sometimes I wonder if we, as strength trainers, are unhappy with our

> " limited " role of maximizing strength, power and speed and invent

> training which will, supposedly, attach us closer to the success of the

> athlete on the field.

This is a bit of a me too reply but I think that Joe has hit the nail on the

head here.

I worked with a cyclist in 1993 who everyone had written off as a prima

donna who would never win anything. After chiselling the chip off his

shoulder he turned into a pretty decent rider and it was no surprise that

when he won the NZ Championship in 94 that all these nay sayers turned up

claiming any involvement they had with him had been the key to his success.

Cheers

Hamish

[Guest guest]

From: " Joe Alden " <joealden@...>

> Sometimes I wonder if we, as strength trainers, are unhappy with our

> " limited " role of maximizing strength, power and speed and invent

> training which will, supposedly, attach us closer to the success of the

> athlete on the field.

I also agree with Joe (and Hammish) on this comment. I think this is why

you're seeing so many college S & C coaches getting overly involved with

agility training and other goofy unproven training methods.

[Guest guest]

" Joe Alden " <joealden@8...> wrote:

> Shaq O'Neal's trainer has published his workout routine which

includes OH Press on Swiss Ball. Somehow I receive no comfort when

the MVP of the NBA has " core stability " issues!

I agree--based on Shaq's performance, it's hard to believe that a

deficiency in " core stability " is limiting his performance on the

court. In that case, his Swiss ball work is nothing more than a

waste of time, except for any placebo effect that might be accruing.

Food for thought: is this more anecdotal evidence that the top

athletes in professional and collegiate sports have not attained &

maintained their positions 'because of' the time & effort they

devote to strength training, but 'in spite of' it?

[Guest guest]

On Tue, 22 Aug 2000 12:51:35 -0000

" s " <johnstevens@...> wrote:

> Food for thought: is this more anecdotal evidence that the top

> athletes in professional and collegiate sports have not attained &

> maintained their positions 'because of' the time & effort they

> devote to strength training, but 'in spite of' it?

It would seem impossible to find a valid statistic but, if you accept

opinion, mine would be that " strength training " is not always a positive

factor in athletic performance. The reasons are wide and varied. The one

that is most disconcerting is when the strength trainer determines or

exacerbates injury.

My gut feeling is that, as a community, strength trainers (novice to

expert) add considerable value to athletic performance. It's sad when

strength training is anything less.

Joe Alden

[Guest guest]

" Joe Alden " <joealden@8...> wrote:

> Shaq O'Neal's trainer has published his workout routine which

includes OH Press on Swiss Ball. Somehow I receive no comfort when

the MVP of the NBA has " core stability " issues!

s...

<<I agree--based on Shaq's performance, it's hard to believe that a

deficiency in " core stability " is limiting his performance on the

court. In that case, his Swiss ball work is nothing more than a

waste of time, except for any placebo effect that might be accruing.>>

I also agree w/