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Military Muscle: Adding agility to your workouts

Agility: (1) “Ability to move quickly and easily,” Oxford English Dictionary; (2) “The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another,” CrossFit’s 10 General Physical Skills of Fitness.

Agility has application regardless of age. For the individual engaging in combat, it is transitioning movement while carrying weight — shifting from straight ahead, sideways, on the ground, up and running (while on uneven ground), or jumping on and off a Humvee.

Have you ever watched the maneuvering done on a carrier deck during flight operations? On more than one occasion, I have seen situations in which agility meant the difference between life and death or, at a minimum, serious injury.

Retired? No requirement for agility anymore? Review the second definition above. True, as you age, your agility will never be what it was, but a serious degradation of agility means balance problems — and that equates to falling.

Here are some ideas for improving your agility or at least keeping it at a working level.

Conscious change of direction

You’re walking along lost in thought and suddenly your vision picks up an obstacle in your path. A quick change of direction helps you avoid it. This is good practice for those who are a bit older. Pick out a spot in the path you are walking and change direction — anywhere. Do this even if you walk with a cane.

Jump ropes

Could it get any simpler? They cost from $4 to $25. Eight-foot ropes are usually for people 4 feet, 9 inches tall to 5 feet, 5 inches; 9-foot ropes for people 5 feet, 6 inches to 6 feet; 10-foot ropes for those 6 feet, 1 inch to 6 feet, 6 inches; and 11-foot ropes for people any taller. At my gym, 60- and 70-year-olds still jump rope.

Agility ladders

Outfitters such as Power Systems of Knoxville, Tenn., carry these, as well as agility cones, markers, etc. The ladders, which lie flat for footwork drills, start at $50.

Exercises

Take a minimum of five aerobic steppers and place them in a line about two feet apart. Adjust the distance as necessary. First, side hop over each step down the line to the last step. Second, side hop on top of the step, then hop into the valley between the steps, repeating through to the last. Third, side hop on top of the step, hop back down in the direction you came from, then hop over the step. Continue in this manner down the line to the last. Complete three to five sets for each drill.

Agility exercises, even modest ones, can reap big benefits.

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Bob Thomas is director of the Navy Wellness Center in Pensacola, Fla. E-mail him at jomof14@cox.net.