Through my experiences working as a strength and conditioning intern at the University of Iowa, I was able to learn many different exercise to improve speed and agility for the athletes. One of my favorite parts of this experience is to be able to apply some of the movements I did with the athletes, to the individuals I work with that are older or have mobility impairments. When I program a lot of the balance and agility movements for seniors, I try to think of ways that I challenged the athletes I worked with at the University, and ways to scale down the movements to make them easier. Today, I am going to show you a variation of a movement that I have done myself, and with athletes to improve their overall speed and agility. This movement is called the “shuttle run,” and can be easily modified to provide a great workout to improve quickness and reduce the risk of falls in seniors. Let’s see how it’s done!
Before You Exercise
There are a couple of pieces of equipment used in the video mentioned above to complete the agility exercise. The pieces of equipment are a medicine ball, and an agility cone. I personally bought myself a set of agility cones, which can be used for a wide variety of exercises and drills to improve your fitness. If you would like to purchase the equipment mentioned in the video above, I will put my amazon associate link to these products next for you to check them out.
Medicine Ball: View Product
Balance Cones: View Product
Agility and Speed Exercise for Seniors
As mentioned in the first paragraph, this is going to be a demonstration of the “shuttle run.” To setup the shuttle run, you are going to place one of your cones about 10-15 feet away from the stool, or “boost” that you have your ball put on. If you are more comfortable in your balance and agility abilities, you can separate the distance from these two objects a little bit more. Visa versa, feel free to move them closer if you are a little more unsteady on your feet. With the ball starting on the stool and your body by the cone, you will then do the following:
- Walk as quickly as you can to the ball.
- Bend over and pick up the ball.
- With the ball in your hand, walk back to the cone as quickly as possible.
- Place the ball down on the ground by the cone.
- Quickly walk back to the stool, and touch the top of the stool.
- Walk back to the ball next to the cone, and pick it up.
- As fast as you can, walk back to the stool and place the ball back on it.
- Shuffle quickly back to the cone.
- Rest as long as needed, and complete the exercise numerous times until you are tired.
As with any agility exercise for seniors and individuals with disabilities, I recommend to go as quickly AND comfortably as possible. There is no point in completing these exercises if you are so under control that you are falling over in place. The idea with any agility and balance exercise is to practice it in a way that gives your body a chance to work itself and adapt. Good luck with your agility exercise.. and keep moving!
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