The agility ladders are used for functional training of coordination and agility.
Ladders are a training material to improve physical preparation. They are used for any type of sport, both individual and collective, especially in sports where there are many changes of direction and lateral runs.
Due to their structure, they can be used both indoors and outdoors. Most ladders are about five or six metres long and forty centimetres wide, divided into fixed rungs of about forty or fifty centimetres or adjustable to the measurements we want.
The steps are usually made of phosphorescent plastic (flat, so as not to trip) and the edges or sides are made of nylon. They weigh less than 1 kilo and are easy to transport. They can be moved from one place to another in a simple and comfortable way, as they can be rolled up and carried in a bag, and a wide range of exercises can be carried out with them.
There are also doubles or you can simply join two of them in a simple way so that they can give us other types of exercises. Nowadays you can find all kinds: single, double, triple, in the shape of a cross, with rings, with steps.
Ladders are essential equipment for sports teams, football teams, gyms, schools and sports schools.
What are they for?
They are used for lower body exercises: running technique, coordination, laterality, footwork exercises.
They improve and develop coordination, leg agility, balance and strength. They can also be used to recover from lower body injuries, for proprioception, reaction speed, balance and stability.
This equipment can be used to work on all general physical abilities (strength, endurance and speed) and is useful for improving running acceleration and changes of direction. In addition to developing aerobic capacity, it will allow players to move fast, in different directions and to be able to change direction and direction. You can perform different supports, bipodal or monopodal.
They can be used in all ages and categories: in early ages and training from 6 to 14 years old, to encourage learning. In youth for improvement and in adult ages to get in shape.
- The ladders are widely used both in training warm-ups and in matches.
- Here we share some videos with exercises to work with stairs:
- Ladder work with children.
- Various exercises for people who are not specialised in sport:
How are they used?
Before performing the exercises, it is advisable to warm up well. Exercises with stairs should be performed in the first part of the training session or as a complement to the warm-up.
- Some exercises can be performed:
- Running technique: controlling the frequency, amplitude, support, turns, lateral runs, backwards runs, etc.
- Exercises combined with other elements: cones, hoops, sticks, …, with other technical-tactical football actions.
- Strength exercises: resistance strength or explosive strength.
- Rehabilitation exercises: knee, ankle, hip, muscular.
At the beginning we trained one or two exercises and in a calm manner, with low intensity. From less to more, from simple to complex. Then we introduce different exercises and at different speeds, always modifying them depending on the athlete’s ability to execute them.
The possibilities of doing different tasks is very large and depends a lot on the imagination of the trainer, and the objective of the exercise. But it is normal not to do more than 10 minutes in each session, but it is important to do it in many of the training sessions.
It is very important to carry out this work in grassroots football and in initiation (teaching basic skills), always going from less to more.
Exercises for training with stairs
- Stair training in senior football players.
- Coordination stairs we add a ball