4 Ladder Drills to Improve Quickness

-January 24th, 2012-

The Agility Ladder (some call it a Speed Ladder) is a tool that you can use to help develop quickness.

Overall, I think people place too much value on the use of Ladder Drills. There is no need to spend 20 minutes performing every ladder drill you know in a single training session.

However if used correctly the Ladder can add great value to your training program.

Using it for 5 minutes as part of a dynamic warm up is all you need. It will help stimulate your nervous system to prepare you for the real workout to follow and will improve your co-ordination and fine motor control of your feet to help improve quickness.

Perform a drill through the ladder then jog another 10 yards, and then perform a dynamic stretch back to the start. Repeat this with 4 or 5 ladder drills (2 or 3 reps of each drill) and changing the stretch you do to return every time and you just had one of the most complete warm ups you can have.

Here’s a video from Corey Crane showing 4 drills that you can use. I like that he stresses the importance of mastering the drills before advancing,  Most athletes stress speed over perfection in the ladder, missing boxes and making wrong steps.

Anybody can go through the ladder fast, but not everybody can go through fast without making a mistake. Get the drill perfect, than increase the speed of the drill.

P.S. Corey Crane has been a leader in Lacrosse Strength and Conditioning for quite some time now. To learn more about his training philosophy check out Lacrosse Training Experts!

Tags: agility ladder, corey crane, foot speed, quickness, speed