Agility & balance developement advice

Two very important components of many sports are agility and balance. Working towards improving your functioning level on these measures will definitely help to also improve your overall performance in the activity.

Agility and balance can be defined as the ability to change the direction of your body as quickly as possible while also maintaining control over all of your limbs. Generally, the further your body parts move away from your centre of gravity, the more difficult both of these components become. Therefore, when beginners are just starting to work on balance and agility, it is best to keep the legs straight down underneath you and arms at your sides as much as possible.

The speed of the movement can also have a large effect on how well you perform. Higher speed movements will definitely cause you to lose your centre much easier and thus be more challenging to the individual.

In order to improve these components of your fitness level, there are a variety of exercises you can do. The first one includes moving in and out of a ladder that is lying on the floor. This will help to increase how quickly your feet are able to move and the dexterity with which they move.

Another exercise may be simply walking across a balance beam. By doing so you will challenge your ability to maintain control over your body while standing on a very small base of support. If this is too challenging at the beginning, then you'll simply want to start by standing in one spot on the beam and then progress to where you are able to move across it.

Finally, the last exercise you can perform is a standing ball toss. To do this, first stand on one leg with the other bent at the knee so the foot is resting on the inside of the thigh. Once you have control over your body and are able to stay in this position then have a partner toss a ball towards you. Since the ball will be adding an element of moment, it will really challenge your ability to catch the ball while not letting yourself be knocked over.

So make sure you start implementing some training for these two components of your fitness today. Not only will it make everyday activities easier but it will also help you excel at any sport you participate in.