What's up guys? Jake Hutton from Fitness Culture. Today we're gonna be going over
how to master the pro agility. So the pro agility is a drill that's measured at
high school and NFL combines. I've helped a ton of high school athletes and a ton
of college guys going into the NFL master this drill, and there's basically
three things that we're gonna go over that you need to be able to do to really
perfect the drill and make it so that when you practice it you get better
every time that you do it. So the first thing we're gonna talk about is
basically your body positioning. This is one of the most important things
when you're coming out of the line that a lot of people don't set their body up
for the line, so we're going to go over that real quick, and some things you can
do to help your body positioning while you're touching the line. Alright, so the
biggest thing that you want to think about when you set up for any change of
direction, especially when you're doing a shuttle type of a drill, is how your body
is set up when you approach the line. So some of the fastest guys that I've ever
worked with have the biggest problem setting their body up because they are
moving so fast, and so all they're thinking about is running fast.
And then they're gonna take a bunch of choppy steps before they turn around.
By the time they get here, their body's leaning this way, they got to touch the
line, transition out to get away from the line. So that's where you lose the
most time. Running in between the cones doesn't matter as much as
transitioning out of the line. That's where you're gonna save the most time during this.
So the thing you want to think about is when you're
coming into the line, you want to already set up getting your body leaning away
from the line, so when you come into the line and touch, you're already moving the
other direction. Alright, so the first drill that we're going to do that we use
with all of our athletes to give them an awareness of where they are when
they approach the line, is just going to be a side run and, basically, pause at the line drill.
And so what we're focusing on here is we're gonna set up in a nice
athletic stance, you're gonna do a side run, and then pause at the line.
So notice how my body weight is away, I'm paused at the line, and then from
there you can kind of see where you're at. If you're here on the line, obviously
that's gonna be in a bad position. You're gonna have to transition back before you
get away from the line. So you want to set up for when you touch the line to be here.
We usually do sets of about six to ten reps, and all you're going to be
doing is running, pause, set up away from the line. So it's basically
a body control drill that's gonna teach you where you're sitting every time that
you touch the line. The next thing we're going to talk about when you're setting your
body up is how to touch the line. I learned this technique
when I was training for the combine. And basically they found out that when
you approach the line, guys are getting faster times if they didn't open up here
to touch the line, but basically you try to not get to the line and you're gonna turn away.
And what that's gonna allow you to do is set your body up to go the
other direction. You can warm up and get used to doing this by just kind of
shuffling back and forth into the line, kind of look where you're touching, and
see what it's gonna feel like to really do that to get away from the line.
So once you dial in your body positioning, the next thing we're gonna talk about is
gonna be your setup for the drill. Number one, you want to try to hug the line
to that direction as much as possible. And they're not gonna let you get
away with doing this, obviously. But just a little bit, if you're splitting the
line here, just give yourself just a little bit. Any advantage is gonna
be better than nothing. So you'll set up, stagger just barely to the direction
that you're going. From there you're gonna sit down, load your hips basically,
your weights already on this foot, so you're gonna come across your body,
get as much distance as you can on that first step. Because that first step is
gonna set you up to be able to immediately change directions and go
back the other way. So what you want to be thinking right from that first step,
is thinking about turning the other direction the entire time. The next thing,
and probably the most important thing that people don't work on is the steps for the drill.
So if you do the exact same steps every time it's gonna set you
up to get better every time. If you don't work on your steps and you don't know
how many steps you're going to be doing, and I've seen this with a ton of
different people, there's a good chance that every time that you line up to do
the drill you're gonna get a different time. And the reason that is, is because
especially when you've got a real fast guy coming into the line, everyone pretty
much sets up and does that first touch almost the same, unless you haven't done
this drill very often. But the big thing is coming out of that first touch, a lot
of guys are here and they're all out. They're running so fast and it
causes them to take a ton of choppy steps. And every time their steps are
gonna be different, so their set up to the line is gonna be different, and then
they come through the line. So really, it allows you to dial it
in so you're coming out of that transition perfect every time, and you're
not risking over speed, turning at the wrong moment. Because really, a lot of guys
will just say start turning your shoulders once you get past
that first cone on that second touch, and that could mean you're turning
your shoulders here and it works out perfect. And then maybe you're moving
so fast you came out of the line weird, and the next time you're not
turning until here, and so you're taking all these choppy steps, and your
transitions gonna be super slow. Instead of gambling and not practicing
the steps, we practice the same steps every time, and that way it allows you to
perfect the drill and then get faster and faster and faster once you've
perfected the drill. So you perfect it and then you make it faster. So practicing
the steps is probably not going to increase your athleticism a ton because
you're just practicing a drill, and that's not how you ever change direction
in a sport. And we know that, but the goal here is to do great at this drill, and so
by practicing this it's not gonna take a ton of time. You can do this before you
work out, practice a few reps, and then get into your workout.
It doesn't take a ton of time to get good at this drill if you're a good athlete, but it's
really, really important to perfect these steps. Alright, so the steps on this drill
are gonna look like this. You're gonna take four steps to that first cone, six steps
to the next cone, and you're gonna finish through in three steps through that last
cone, and run all the way through. So you'll set up, you're gonna open up 1, 2, 3, 4, at
the line. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And then 1, 2, 3, finish through. If you're on electric time,
which most of the combines now will be, it's just going to get you when you come
through the line. If you're on a hand time, really make sure you're hugging the cone,
and you dip when you come through the line. Just to get that guy to hit the button.
So now I'm just gonna break it down through every touch really quick.
So the first one is a 4 step touch. So the biggest thing to think about here,
your first step is going to open up, you want to take a big open step, and then from
there you're going to transition your body back 2, 3, 4, touch the line.
So basically that first step is the only
step where your hips are going to be here, and then you're gonna transition
your hips back with the other few steps right off the bat. So for the next
touch, your second touch, you're gonna set up out of the line, come back 1, 2, 3,
and make sure that you're past this cone in three,
then that will set you up, because you only have really two more steps to
make sure you're ready. So it's gonna be 4, 5, 6, and that's sixth step is just
a touch step to come back the other direction.
All right, then that last transition you're just gonna come out of this line,
you're gonna be here, and then from there you're just gonna open up and try to
make it in three. So it's gonna be 1, 2 3, past the line.
Your first step needs to be big and powerful, your steps out of that transition are gonna be
big, driving, powerful steps, then you need to finish with big, powerful steps.
Once you dial these steps in, it'll actually probably make you look like you're
running slow during the drill, or basically that you're not trying,
but it's just so dialed in that it's usually faster than everyone else in the
combine who is doing it with you. So the first thing that I do as a coach, because
I know these steps work so well, when I have a group of guys, is I'll get
everyone's time, and then I said I'll say, "Look, these are the steps, and I bet I can
beat your guys' times by just running through it at like half speed, 3/4 speed."
And almost every time I beat everyone in the group just because it's
one of the first times ever doing the drill, so they're not good at it yet,
and obviously the steps are so efficient that they're just fast even at a jog speed.
And so it gets everyone to buy in right off the bat. So if you're a coach,
I would practice these steps if you're helping combine guys, and that'll get
them to buy in instantly. So that's it on how to master the pro agility.
If this helped you out, and if you tried this out and you got faster, leave us a comment, let us know,
I appreciate it. I hope you get something out of this and we'll see you next time.