Agility Ladder for Faster Footwork

Many sports rely on fast footwork. Soccer, football, lacrosse, karate, tennis, basketball and more all require change of direction with explosive movement. An easy way to add footwork drills into your exercise routine is with an agility ladder. Even if you are not playing a sport currently, an agility ladder is a good way to mix up your cardio routine. An agility ladder allows you to work on speed, coordination and quick change of direction.

I started using an agility ladder with my trainer a couple of years ago. We would go through spurts in our training regimen when we would use it often. I’m not a very coordinated person, so the first few sessions using the ladder I was very slow. However, once I got the steps down, I noticed a lot of improvement. Now I use the agility ladder four times a week with our karate competition class workout. We are working on that explosive movement and change of direction necessary for sparring.

There are so many different agility ladder drills that you can do. Currently we are doing the following:

Two feet in: two feet in each square, one after the other, as fast as you can down the ladder.
Lateral High Knees: Turn your body sideways and do high knees down the ladder (both feet landing in each square before moving down the ladder).
In-Out Jump: Standing sideways to the ladder with your feet together, jump in and out of each box. Stay on the balls of your feet jumping in and out as fast as possible.
Slalom: With both feet together, do a zigzag hop down the ladder. Hop in one box, hop out to the side of the next box, and then hop in the next box. Basically you skip a box each time you hop in and out.

To find other agility ladder drills, search on You Tube or visit the Sklz website. I purchased the Sklz Agility Ladder on Amazon for about $25. It’s easy to pack up and take anywhere. Not only do I use it, but my boys can use it to work on their footwork skills. This is a great way to get moving with your kids!

If you don’t want to spend money on a buying a ladder, take sidewalk chalk and draw a ladder on cement.

Bio
Latest Posts

Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.