Ladder agility drills are an excellent way to improve foot speed, agility, coordination and overall quickness.
They are an integral part of many Speed Agility Quickness programs and compliment many different sports.
Speed ladder drills are about quality and form rather than producing overload. The drills are not meant to leave you fatigued or breathless in the way that shuttle runs might.
It is better to perform these drills at the start of a session after the warm up. Your muscles should be fresh to ensure good quality of movement.
Performing Ladder Drills with Speed Bands
The drills demonstrated in the video above can increase performance in any sport that demands complete body control over footwork on the field.
Using the Speed Bands along with an agility ladder adds extra resistance to every movement. This develops strength in the quads, glutes, hips and core. When changing direction at high speed, these muscles must be strong and powerful to lose your opponent and avoid muscle tears.
Ladder drills have also proved to sharpen reflexes and improve balance. Performing the drills in the video as quickly as possible enables athletes to think fast and stay in control.
Guidelines for Quick Feet Ladder Drills:
For each sequence:
- 2-3 Resisted sets followed by 2 unresisted sets.
- Full recovery between sets.
Once you take the resistance bands off, your legs will feel light and strong so move through the ladder drills as quick as possible to improve your footwork.
Completing these drills at a slow pace will not improve your speed in anyway. Working at maximum speed is the only way to truly get faster.
