What is agility training?

Introduction

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about plyometrics, with Dr Yessis claiming that ‘plyometrics is the most misused term in our vocabulary’ [1]. At the time I contended that, in the world of strength and conditioning, it was hard to disagree. The word ‘agility’, however, provides a strong contender. The aim of this article is to first define agility, and then, with this definition in mind, discuss how best to assess agility, and train for it (hint – don’t use the agility ladder).

Defining Agility

Typically, athletes and coaches alike confuse change of direction speed with agility and so the two terms are used interchangeably when in fact they are quite different. It is therefore pertinent to first define the two terms before we delve any deeper:

Change of direction speed (CODS): the ability to change direction to a predetermined location and space on the field or court [2].

Agility: takes into account both the physical change of direction and includes perceptual and decision-making domains [2].

It is, therefore, the perceptual-cognitive ability to react to a stimulus, such as an opponent, that distinguishes the two.

Testing Agility

Bearing the above definitions in mind, tests that have typically been used to test for agility ability, such as the traditional 5-0-5 test, in fact test for change of direction speed, due to the fact that the assessed change of direction is pre-planned. Additionally, there can be considerable discrepancy between tests that assess change of direction as some demand a rapid change of direction from the athlete whereas others require multiple change of directions, and thus might be better described as manoeuvrability tests. This is not to mention the metabolic demand of some tests due to their relatively long duration.

As such, to truly assess agility the test used needs to contain a reactive component. Traditionally, the original reactive agility test (RAT) has been used to do this. What distinguishes this test from the change of direction tests mentioned above is the demand on the athlete to respond to a stimulus on a screen, which may take the form of an arrow or light, a video or a human stimulus. A high-speed camera is used during the test to measure the decision-making time from when the stimulus initiates movement to when the athletes initiates movement in the intended direction i.e. it assesses the perceptual-cognitive ability of the athlete [2].

Training Agility

In order to develop an athlete’s agility performance, a three-pronged approach often works best [3].

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How to Perform an Effective Warm Up

Introduction

An effective warm up is the precursor to an effective training session. As the saying goes, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. In order to effectively stimulate the body for the session ahead whilst at the same time reducing the risk of injury, an effective warm up should consist of 6 steps. The reasons behind including these different steps, and examples of what to incorporate at each stage, are detailed below to help inform your next warm up.

Step 1: Tissue Quality

When athletes train hard, trauma is caused to the tissues of the body which results in heightened activity of muscles spindles (mechanoreceptors which detects changes in muscle length and rate of this change) in particular areas of the muscle. As a result of this, ‘knots’ or ‘trigger points’ form in the soft tissue which decreases the normal elasticity of the soft tissue. Through the use of self-myofascial techniques (think foam rollers, lacrosse balls etc.) mechanoreceptors which detect changes in muscle tension and rate of tension change called Golgi Tendon Organs are stimulated resulting in autogenic inhibition, that is, inhibition of the muscle spindle causing the brain to relax to prevent that muscle from tearing [1].

Step 2: Get Warm

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Box Jumps – what are they? What are they not?

Box jumps have to be one of the most misunderstood exercises out there. This article is in response to seeing a lot of box jumps on social media that simply defeat the purpose of the exercise, yet people are in awe of these videos that they see. So if we first look at how a box jump should be performed, and what it is good for, then consider what box jumps are not, by the end of the article you should have a pretty good idea of how to correctly include this exercise in your training routine.

How to Perform a Box Jump Correctly

A box jump should be performed with a soft foam box in order to maximise the reduction in eccentric stress upon landing. After all, the purpose of the raised box is to reduce eccentric stress (a box jump entails less compressive stress than landing from a vertical jump and less shear stress and compressive stress at the knee compared to a broad jump) so why would you use a hard box for this?[1] Box jumps can therefore be particularly good in lower limb rehab scenarios where the player is not yet ready to be exposed to the full eccentric demands of landing on the ground (think 8-10x ground contact forces upon each landing).

The Importance of Hip Displacement

 

Taken from @lachlan_wilmot twitter, https://twitter.com/lachlan_wilmot?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor, Head of Athletic Performance at the Parramatta Eels

When it comes to box jumps, hip displacement (i.e. how high your hips travel) is key. If you look at the photos above, you will see that the athlete’s hips reach the same height during his flight for both the 75cm box jump and the 105cm box jump – i.e. he has jumped the same height, the only difference is the amount of knee flexion upon landing. Yet telling someone you do box jumps with a 75cm (30 inches) box sounds nowhere near as impressive as telling them you do it with a 105cm (41 inches) box does it?

The difference in the two jumps is about the amount of hip flexibility required in order for the athlete’s feet to land 30cm higher for the higher box. Extremely high box jumps are almost always the product of a pretty good jump and fantastic hip mobility rather than pure explosive power [2]. As a general rule of thumb you never want to land on a box which requires you to land with more than 135 degrees of knee flexion due to increased risk of knee and spine injury and if you are required to land with more than 90 degrees of knee flexion then the box is already too high [2].

So what happens when you start landing on a 30 inch box with less than 90 degrees of knee flexion? You simply jump higher and land softly (improved landing mechanics) – the training adaptation is still the same. The only good exception to this rule that I have come across is the similarities between the deep catch position required in the clean and a very high box jump [3]. Yet this is with a very niche population – for the vast majority of us using box jumps to improve athletic performance this is not relevant.

How Not to Perform a Box Jump

So if that is what box jumps are and how they should be implemented, then what are they not?

Box Jumps are Not Plyometrics

Dr Yessis contends that ‘plyometrics is the most misused term in our vocabulary’ [4]. When it comes to the world of strength and conditioning, it’s hard to disagree.

A true plyometric makes use of Dr Verkoshansky’s principle of ‘The Shock Method’, that is, a ‘sharp, compulsory muscular tension, initiated by the body’s impact (collision – e.g. ground reaction forces) with an external object’ [5]. Specifically, this was used to refer to the training exercise he created in the 1960s called the Depth Jump, arguably the most revolutionary exercise of the 20^th century [6].

A true plyometric exercise, one which makes use of ‘The Shock Method’, is thus very different to simply a jumping exercise. It is used to develop true explosive power, and thus can only be performed for up to approximately 10 jumps per session – not multiple sets of 10 jumps. Unfortunately, however, nowadays all kinds of jumping exercises are referred to as plyometrics.

Put simply – a box jump is a jumping exercise, not a plyometric exercise – it lacks the ‘shock’ required to be a true plyometric.

Box Jumps are Not a Conditioning Tool

Secondly, box jumps are not a conditioning tool. If, as discussed above, the purpose of using box jumps is to reduce eccentric stress, why perform multiple reps on a hard box therefore accumulating a significant amount of joint stress?

Additionally, landing mechanics start to falter under fatigue causing the risk of injury to significantly increase, not to mention the ingraining of poor landing mechanics. You want to practice how you perform – practise poorly, perform poorly. Of course, the caveat to this is their use in Crossfit – but even then I would argue that just because you have to express a certain ability in competition, does not mean you develop that ability in the same way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, box jumps can be an excellent tool if used correctly. They should be performed on soft foam boxes in order to maximise the reduction in eccentric stress upon landing. Hip displacement is the key performance indicator for box jumps, not the height of the box that the athlete lands on. It must also be remembered that box jumps are not a plyometric exercise nor should they be used as a conditioning tool.

Written by Joshua Bridgeman, Head of Performance at Rigs Fitness, Birmingham  

References

[1] Eric Bach, ‘Stop Doing Box Jumps Like a Jackass’, https://www.t-nation.com/training/stop-doing-box-jumps-like-a-jackass (accessed 23/08/2018).

[2] Jason Ferruggia, ‘How to Do Box Jumps Properly’, http://jasonferruggia.com/how-to-do-box-jumps-properly/ (accessed 23/08/2018).

[3] Max Aita & Chad Wesley-Smith, The Jugglife Podcast Q&A episode.

[4] Dr. Michael Yessis, ‘Dr Yessis on Prof. Verkoshansky and the Shock Method’, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFS9oc-vLQ0 (accessed 23/08/2018).

[5] Natalie Verkoshansky, ‘Shock Method and Plyometrics: Updates and an In-Depth Examination’, http://www.verkhoshansky.com/Portals/0/Presentations/Shock%20Method%20Plyometrics.pdf (accessed 23/08/2018)

[6] Yuri Verkoshansky & Natalie Verkoshansky, Special Strength Training Manual for Coaches (Rome, 2011), p. XI.

Youth Athlete Development

How young is ‘too young’ to start training?: Part 1

Introduction

The age at which it is appropriate for youth athletes (people under the age of 18) to participate in strength and conditioning training has long been a debated topic. The purpose of this article is to show that, conducted in the right environment, youth athlete strength and conditioning is perfectly safe and reduces sports-related injuries. So what are the facts?

Benefits of Resistance Training

It seems that for many parents the prevailing view is that youths should not undertake resistance training as doing so may harm their physical development. Yet it’s unlikely that many of these same parents would think twice about letting their son or daughter play on a climbing frame (such as monkey bars, pulling themselves up, or jumping off onto the ground) in the local park even though this is still resistance based, just with the child’s bodyweight as the resistance.

Support of Strength and Conditioning National Bodies

In recent years, many national strength and conditioning bodies have issued updated position statements on the topic of youth strength and conditioning [1][2]. More and more research is concluding that it is perfectly safe for youths to undertake strength and conditioning as long as it is appropriately prescribed and supervised [2].

It is not the undertaking of strength and conditioning training that is in itself dangerous; rather, it is the fact that youth athletes, left unsupervised, adopt poor training modalities with unsafe technique and dangerous loads, leading to injuries. It is therefore imperative that this training is part of an appropriately structured training programme conducted in a safe environment [3].

Reduced Injury Risk of Resistance Training

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Rigs Fitness Wins THIRD National Award in 5 Years