{"id":63927,"date":"2017-12-11T07:15:09","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T12:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=63927"},"modified":"2017-12-20T11:27:03","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T16:27:03","slug":"agility-ladder-drills-cardio-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/agility-ladder-drills-cardio-workout\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Agility Ladder Drills for a Full-Body Burn"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"5
Photos:\u00a0Daily Burn<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019ve ever watched a basketball or football game, it\u2019s not just the halftime-leading three pointers or the game-winning touchdowns that keep us glued to the screen. It\u2019s the remarkable speed<\/a>, skill and agility of the athletes<\/a>. Players need to react quickly, move seamlessly in all directions and jump with precision. That\u2019s where the type II muscle fibers come in. So what\u2019s the secret to activating these fast-twitch muscles? Agility ladder drills.<\/p>\n

CeCe Marizu, a former Division I swimmer and Daily Burn 365<\/a> trainer says, \u201cWe\u2019re creatures of habit and we tend to always stick to routines that we know. An agility ladder works on one\u2019s coordination, balance<\/a> and even our neurological patterns.\u201d After all, sports are as much of a mental game as a physical one.<\/p>\n

But even if the Super Bowl or the NBA final isn\u2019t your goal, these agility ladder drills are sure to keep you on your toes \u2014 from cardio conditioning<\/a> to honing better coordination and reflexes. Tack them onto your strength workout for a great heart-pumping finisher.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Burn Calories Fast with This 10-Minute Plyometric Workout<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Agility Ladder Drills to Train Like an Athlete<\/h3>\n

Ready to step up your fitness? \u201cMaster simplicity before moving onto more complex foot patterns,\u201d Marizu says. As for your arms? They\u2019re key to making each drill a full-body movement. \u201cTry running like a toy soldier and see how quickly you move. Add in your arms, and you suddenly feel a lot more graceful and powerful at the same time,\u201d Marizu says. Repeat each of Marizu\u2019s ladder drills three to four times through.<\/p>\n

\"Agility
GIFs: Life by Daily Burn<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Linear Run Through<\/h3>\n

Quick! Zip through this drill touching both feet inside in each box. At the end of the ladder, hustle back to the start to keep your heart rate up. As you progress, reduce the amount of time your feet are on the ground and add in high knees.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>Get Fit Fast with This Total-Body EMOM Workout<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Agility<\/p>\n

2. Lateral Shuffle<\/h3>\n

Similar to the linear run through, the goal with this drill is to get both feet in the box while moving laterally. Marizu recommends a soft bend in your knees<\/a> to help protect your joints. \u201cThis drill is a great way to get balance work in while keeping the move dynamic,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Agility<\/p>\n

3. Squat Hop<\/h3>\n

Want to add some strength work to your drill? Insert a squat! The bodyweight exercise works your glutes<\/a>, and you get your heart rate up even more by making it plyometric. \u201cSquats add power by increasing the range of motion in the move,\u201d Marizu says. If you want to amp things up, carry a weight, like a sandbag or kettlebell, to make it a goblet squat. Just don\u2019t sacrifice proper squat form<\/a>!<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>5 Planks, 10 Minutes : Your Ultimate Ab Workout<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Agility<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Beast Crawl<\/h3>\n

The beast drill is great for strengthening your upper-body and core<\/a>. But before you run or walk\u2026you have to crawl. Proper beast form starts with getting into tabletop position and lining your shoulders directly above your wrists. Then, lift your knees an inch or two off the floor. \u201cOnce you have it, the move is almost like a puzzle. You move from side to side to find the right spot. Your whole body is engaged throughout the movement,\u201d Marizu says.<\/p>\n

\"Agility<\/h3>\n

5. Heisman Shuffle<\/h3>\n

The Heisman<\/a> is the most advanced drill on the list, so don\u2019t worry if you can\u2019t nail it down right away. \u201cThe Heisman is hard, even for me!\u201d Marizu says. To do this drill, alternate stepping each foot in and out of the box, and then pause to bring one knee up towards your chest to meet the opposite elbow. Alternate knees as you move through the boxes. \u201cI count to myself and start moving super slow. Then, I find my own rhythm and increase the intensity,\u201d Marizu says.<\/p>\n

For more awesome cardio workouts and sports conditioning exercises, <\/em><\/strong>sign up HERE for Daily Burn 365<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Start your free trial today!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n<\/a>3 Cardio Workouts Under 20 Minutes \u2014 No Treadmill
\n<\/a>3 Sprint Workouts That\u2019ll Torch Calories Fast<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want to train like an athlete? Work out with the agility ladder. From the top down, these agility ladder drills keep you moving and thinking on your toes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":63935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[209,288,289,141,341,343,100],"class_list":["post-63927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-athlete","tag-cardio","tag-exercise","tag-sports","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-workout"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}