The most basic definition of agility is the ability to move quickly and easily. Here at TLA, we take that a bit further. Agility is one of the 5 major Components of Athleticism. A complete, and thus lifetime athlete, needs to be not only strong, fast, powerful, and enduring. He or she must be AGILE.
Agility consists of 4 unique components. They are mobility, stability, reactivity, and fluidity. Agile movers possess these characteristics in concert.
- Mobility involves having access to full (or nearly so) range of motion throughout the body. This requires adequate flexibility such that each joint has the excursion necessary to move through space without resistance or compensatory patterns.
- Stability is the ability to resist unwanted movement. In the athletic sense, it’s often viewed as pulsatile stiffness. This is the quality of temporarily stiffening (stabilizing) a segment or body area to facilitate movement in the mobile area and avoid collapse or breakdown in the system.
- Reactivity is all about being able to adjust one’s movement output (the mix of mobility and stability) to adapt to the ever-changing environment. This includes the avoidance of obstacles, changes of direction, and the actions of opponents during sport. A reactive athlete rapidly adjusts the motor plan in anticipation of or response to…change.
- Fluidity is a property that can be easily recognized. A fluid athlete moves in a shapeshifting, flowing manner that seems almost effortless. Coordination and balance come into play to create graceful, artistic motion.
All 4 elements of agility must be present in the competent athlete. Deficits tend to be problematic.
You can be mobile but if you lack stability your movements won’t be effective. You’ll be a wet noodle whose body wanders under load and experiences greater shear forces at the joints and a higher risk of early onset arthritic degeneration.
You could be stable without being very mobile…otherwise known as “stiff as hell.” This makes one quite powerful yet not highly capable of change of direction and predisposed to muscle strains and tendon ruptures.
An absence of reactivity indicates a CNS that is not responding appropriately. That zone or flow state, which is variable depending on context, is necessary for successful motor output.
Fluidity, which I often term supple fluidity, goes far beyond aesthetics. Yes, fluid movement is pleasant to observe, but it’s more than that. It is economical. No wasted energy. Critical for peak performance and…it minimizes wear and tear on the body.
The previous points are something every Lifetime Athlete needs to consider. Moving well does not just mean getting results in training or winning at sports (but those are important). It means making your body last a lifetime. Not outliving your joints. Not being on the sidelines. Being able to do what you love…for LIFE.
Enter the MOVEMENTSMITH. Someone who owns every position and who has mastery of motion in every direction. That’s an agile athlete. High competency and proficiency in the body’s relationship with space. I have a deep appreciation for agility. I recommend it for everyone. I program it for the Training Tribe and the athletes I coach. For people I care about who want to keep on keeping on. If you don’t train agility, it eventually slips away, and bites you in the buttock.
Having made the case for agility, we can now discuss the nuts and bolts of Training for Agility…for Lifetime Athletes.
The key for agility development and maintenance is frequency. You don’t have to do hours of gymnastic or diving practice to become adequately agile, although those athletes are definitely showcases of extremely high agility. Lifetime Athletes simply need to incorporate a small to moderate amount of agility work (play) into most workouts and aspects of everyday life. Your body “learns” to be agile because you continually show it and teach it what we expect (and require) it to do.
We can go back to the 4 constituents of agility to identify some of the training that benefits the lifelong high-performing human. Some folks are very passionate about certain aspects of training, and they often become argumentative or defensive. All of the things we’ll talk about are “good” and have a place. It’s just that in isolation (without the others), they’re not quite good enough. Let’s keep an open mind here and appreciate the value of how everything needs to come together to build comprehensive agility.
- Mobility is affected by stretching and movements which emphasize range over force or velocity output. Static stretching, dynamic stretching and various drills come into play. Yoga is popular here. Tissue work such as massage, foam rolling, and other devices can be utilized as preparatory procedures. Almost any resistance exercise, if done with light-to-moderate load and a focus on range of motion, can be very effective. This is especially true when the motion is triplanar, unilateral, and over large excursions. Breathwork, expansion, and facilitation of parasympathetic autonomic nervous system states are a part of this objective.
- Stability is practiced both consciously and subconsciously. There are many exercises in which we attempt to solidly hold a position, with or without extrinsic resistance. Isometric lunges and prone planks are great examples. But, interestingly, through the process of self-organization, the brilliant human (beastly) body is always stabilizing as it goes through the positions and movements of life. For Lifetime Athletes, using a variety of exercise patterns and positions can aid in multidirectional stability.
- Reactivity is best developed in sports participation. Play and competition are automatic drivers of this attribute. However, change of direction drills, throwing and catching, jumping and landing, and other extensive (not too aggro) plyometrics are great. In the PT world we often talk about perturbations, or upsetting a client’s center of mass over base of support, or environmental conditions requiring greater concentration, and we tune up reactivity. Play with a training partner and compete with an opponent. It’s not just fun…it’s necessary.
- Fluidity. Aahhhh Yess! That’s what an onlooker says when they see a fluid athlete. This comes from modeling and repetition. Watch a fluid mover in any desired setting. Over and over again. Then copy and practice. A lot. At some point (sooner for some, later for others), something will click and you’ll experience some upregulated fluidity. Skill practice in any task such as hurdling, throwing, tumbling…all good.
Agility training for Lifetime Athletes can and should be fun. Most of it is enjoyable, playful movement. Or actually straight up play. The bulk of that is not demanding the highest output. We dial back a little to emphasize quality. Consequently, agility training is not beat-down conditioning. It’s a different kind of challenge (and a real one as we get older). It’s movement problem-solving.
In our TLA system, we usually design workouts to have a preparatory, primary, and accessory segment. Most of the year, I just make sure that agility is being addressed in the prep or accessory portions. But during our 2-month Agility Block in our block-periodized Annual Training Plan, we put agility-based exercise in the primary section. It’s a chance to tune up and shore up some qualities and we do this in December-January. It’s just one way but it’s a great way.
Lifetime Athletes are a unique breed. With every decade, you pick up a few issues and restrictions. Injuries. Surgeries. Habits. Prolonged positions and repetitive motions. Some of these can be corrected, eliminated, and rectified. But others just ain’t going away. That’s where you need a little acceptance and open-mindedness. There will be some things that you once did with ease that you can no longer do. Maybe not entirely but at least not quite as well. Explore these possibilities with respect for your body. Find ways that you can accommodate or work around your problem areas if you just can’t improve them too much. The important thing is to avoid saying “I can’t” and “f**k it!”
Being aggressive in the pursuit of agility, and fighting back The Reaper is a game of balance. Staying agile of body as we grow older is entirely dependent upon being agile of mind.