Strength, endurance, cardio, agility—these are all aspects of a well-balanced fitness routine. But for the everyday athlete looking to up their game or meet a goal, agility training is paramount. Agility describes our ability to speed up, slow down, or change body direction. In our workouts, we can amplify agility by working on balance, strength, coordination, and specific skills. But there’s also a number of things we can do outside of our workouts to take agility to the next level. Whether it’s proper hydration or repping the most agile Under Armour gear, agility is a full-on lifestyle. So get ready for these moves and plus-up tips to take you to your goals a whole lot faster—with speed, strength, and style.
SHORT SPRINTS
Short sprints improve our body’s acceleration and deceleration of movement, while supporting our ability to absorb the shock of starting and stopping quickly.
Our All-Time Favorite Agility Moves & The Tips You Need To Crush Them
Let’s start with what matters most: your waistband. We all know what it feels like to fight with a stubborn waistband that has no interest in staying above the hips. But your waistband should stay put, no matter how deeply you’re squatting. If your waistband is sagging with each rep, it may be time to uplevel your gear. The UA RUSH™ SmartForm waistband is constructed to flex with your exact shape as you’re moving. In fact, you might even forget it’s there.
Deep Squats
1
Speed skaters are a classic form of cardio that moves your body, well—all over the place. As you’re jumping and lunging from side-to-side, you’ll notice right away if your leggings are passing or failing. In addition to staying put, you should also notice how your leggings handle sweat in a cardio exercise like this. Under Armour SmartForm RUSH™ leggings wick sweat and dry quickly, while also providing anti-odor technology.
Speed skaters
3
As a full-body exercise that gets the heart pumping in a matter of seconds, jump roping is no easy feat. While each hop may leave you a little more tired, your leggings have no excuse to be dragging. Notice if the waistband or inseams are gradually sliding down as you jump. And then imagine how much lighter you’d feel if they weren’t.
Jump roping
2
You’re going to need all the support you can get for this core-strengthening move. Find a slick surface (like hardwood floors or tile). Do a plank with a small towel folded under your toes. Engage your core to pike your hips to the ceiling as you bring your toes toward your hands. Then push your feet back to plank. If your leggings haven’t moved yet—you’ve found the one.
Pike to Plank
4
Burpees are one of the most classic exercises for building strength and endurance. They also require leggings that won’t slide all over the place as you’re jumping, squatting, and planking. As you’re doing your burpees, assess how your leggings are performing and what you notice. Right answer: You shouldn’t notice anything at all.
Burpees
5
Women's UA RUSH™
SmartForm Leggings
SHOP NOW
SHOP NOW
Check out the full
UA RUSH™ line!
The Step By Step:
Set up a short distance using cones or other markers, about 10 to 15 feet apart.
Sprint forward and stop at the first marker, then turn around and sprint toward the other.
Continue this drill for 2-3 minutes at a time. With experience, you can increase your distance and/or time, turn up the speed, and even play with sprinting backwards!
1
2
3
Box Jumps (8 Reps)
Box jumps combine explosive power for the lower body with strength and speed. As everyday athletes, you never know what kind of twists, turns, and jumps we’ll get into—but box jumps prepare us for anything.
The Step By Step:
Stand with your feet shoulder-distance apart, about a foot away from the box.
To find starting position: Squat your hips back, bend your knees, lengthen your spine forward, and reach your arms back.
Drive through your feet and make your jump. When jumping, the goal is to straighten your ankles, knees, and hips to full extension.
You want your landing position to look similar to your starting position: knees bent, hips back, arms back.
Complete up to eight reps.
1
2
3
4
5
High Knees
High knees are a simple exercise that activate the lower body while building endurance, balance and coordination (all key for improving agility).
The Step By Step:
To get started, stand with your feet hip-width distance apart.
Bring one knee up at a time, to
hip height, increasing your pace gradually.
Raise your tempo to a jogging pace. To help bring your knees higher, you can hover your hands hip-height, and try to tap your hands with your knees.
Continue for 60 seconds or longer.
1
2
3
4
Dress for success
At the most basic level, every athlete needs gear that moves with them, not against them —especially with an agility move like short sprints. The Women’s UA Infinity High Sports Bra does just that with its ergonomic design built to mold to your body’s natural movements whilestill being breathable and quick to dry. Nothing’s getting between you and that faster time.
Hydrate with electrolytes
Staying hydrated is necessary for any workout, but how does hydration affect our agility? Studies have shown that reactive agility is “significantly lower” in the absence of hydration. Electrolyte supplements have also been proven to improve short duration sprint cycling, earning them a spot in our agility routine.
Fast Feet
An agility ladder is simple equipment designed for specific agility moves, all involving short bursts of quick movement to improve speed, coordination, and balance. “Fast feet” is one of the most classic exercises on an agility ladder.
The Step By Step:
Also known as “One Step,” for this move, aim to get one foot in each box, but as fast as possible.
Start at one side of your ladder, and explode into quick movement, tapping one foot in each square.
Keep your arms tight by your side, using a small swing to help you move quicker.
Lean your body weight slightly forward over your toes.
Continue for 2-3 minutes.
1
2
3
4
5
Meditate for mental clarity
The majority of our athletic progress happens through a sweaty training sesh, but lifestyle activities like meditation can give us an advantageous edge. Research has shown that mindfulness training can improve the endurance performance and executive function (hello, coordination) of athletes.
Grapevine Shuffle
Coordination is an important part of agility, and this exercise gets your body warm and your mind focused. You can either try this exercise on your agility ladder or in an open space using cones or markers.
The Step By Step:
Stand with your feet shoulder-distance apart, about a foot away from the box.
To find starting position: Squat your hips back, bend your knees, lengthen your spine forward, and reach your arms back.
Drive through your feet and make your jump. When jumping, the goal is to straighten your ankles, knees, and hips to full extension.
You want your landing position to look similar to your starting position: knees bent, hips back, arms back.
Complete up to eight reps.
1
2
3
4
5
Consume energy-boosting eats
For more sustained energy, fuel yourself pre-workout with good fats. High-fat meals have been associated with greater exercise performance, so load up on the flaxseed, avocados, and almonds to take your agility to the next level.
Gear up to go fast
Agility is all about moving, stopping, and changing directions quickly—the last thing you want slowing you down is a sagging waistband. Under Armour Meridian Ankle Leggings are designed with a four-way stretch that moves better in every direction, which is exactly what agility is about. Super soft, sweat-wicking, and lightweight, these pocketed leggings won’t just support faster movement—they’ll inspire it.
BEAR CRAWL
This bear crawl exercise strengthens the entire body, with an extra emphasis on the core. Core stability has been proven to enhance agility, speed, and explosive force, while helping us stay safe from injury.
The Step By Step:
Establish a start and end point with cones or any other marker. Begin in a table top position, on all-fours.
Tuck your toes and hover your knees off the ground.
As you crawl forward, keep your back straight, your core engaged, and your knees bent the whole time.
Stay low to the ground as you crawl toward the end marker. Either turn around or try it backwards! Continue for 2-3 minutes.
1
2
3
4
Power-up with protein
Consuming protein before and after a workout has been proven to help build and maintain muscle mass, which is just as important for agility as it is strength-building, endurance, etc. Check out this flavorful protein smoothie recipe as a way to plus-up your agility!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie
Blend together the following ingredients:
1 cup raw almond milk
1⁄2 cup water
1 frozen banana
2 tbsp. peanut butter or almond butter
1 tbsp. raw cacao powder
1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder
1 to 2 pitted dates, or 1 tsp. maple syrup (optional)
1⁄2 cup ice
SHOP THIS STORY
Women’s UA
Infinity High Sports Bra
SHOP NOW
SHOP NOW
Women's UA
Meridian Ankle Leggings
PRESENTED BY
Consume energy-
boosting eats