While some parents and coaches love to talk about linear speed – a faster 10, 40 or even 100-yard dash – many don’t realize the power and importance of LATERAL speed and agility.
Because if you play sports like basketball, volleyball, tennis, or maybe even baseball or softball, being able to move quickly side-to-side is absolutely CRITICAL to your success.
But here’s the thing – a lot of the videos you find for speed training on the Internet show people doing things that LOOK FAST, but don’t necessarily translate to real-world or game speed.
So today I’m going to break down 7 of my favorite exercises for lateral speed training, and how to perform them correctly.
Now before we get into that, here are 3 critical elements you need to lock in on if you want to move well from side-to-side:
- You need a good BASE. The feet should be wide and you should feel your arch or instep on BOTH FEET so you can push in either direction.
- You need BALANCE. Once you’ve got your feet set, you need to sit down into that position by flexing your ankles, knees and hips.
- Once you’re in this position and move out of it, you have to find good ANGLES to push from. If I want to move to my left, I have to get my right foot out wide to do that.
Now let’s get in the gym and get FASTER!
Enjoy the video and if you have any follow-up questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
All the best,
MR
BTW – if you want to learn more about speed training, check out this article I wrote a few years back!