Short shuttle running is a great way of speed and agility exercises to improve the speed, agility, and balance of your running. It can also help you prepare for an upcoming race or just work on your overall fitness. If you’re not familiar with it, short shuttle runs [²] are an exercise that involves running at full speed as quickly as possible back and forth between two lines or markers. To find these markers, you can use cones or tape. After a few reps of short shuttle running, your speed will increase and you’ll develop better reaction time during races.
One important thing to remember is that this type of workout should be done when there’s no wind. The workouts are pretty easy so don’t worry about having to push yourself too hard while doing these exercises. This article will show some examples of the best workouts for increasing speed and agility without increasing the risk of injury.
How to Improve at Short Shuttles – Short Run Drills (Suicides)
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Introducing Short Shuttle
To test your cardiorespiratory fitness, a shuttle run drill simulates running in place. If you’ve been involved with competitive team sports, you know all about the importance of cardiorespiratory endurance and speed!
A shuttle run is a fast running test [¹] in which the athlete runs back and forth between two markers at different distances. The distance can vary, but it should be enough to cover 10 yards or meters each time. This type of test will include both speed and endurance components. These tests are designed to assess an individual’s physical conditioning level as well their ability to perform under extreme duress such as during sprinting situations when they have less than 1 second per meter/yard left before being caught by line judges or officials.
Benefits of Doing a Short Shuttle Exercise
Short shuttle exercise is a great way to build endurance and strength, burn calories, get your heart rate up, improve mobility and flexibility. Running in place on the spot with alternating arms gives you an intense cardio workout that activates multiple muscle groups at once! It’s also good for developing balance skills as well as coordination. And did we mention it burns fat?
Shuttle running makes its body feel better after each exercise session by improving overall circulation which increases oxygenation of cells within muscles resulting in faster recovery time between workouts!
These exercises are great for anybody looking to gain some athletic movement, as well as increase speed and agility on the core. Short shuttles, also known as suicides, are great for developing speed and agility for athletic performance.
1. Forward Short Shuttle
You can use cones, basketball court, line to line, football field or whatever depending on your level of comfort. In this workout, we use a basketball court starting at a baseline, going in the free throw line, half court, free throw, baseline and then return back. You are emphasizing proper foot place on the turn, rotating your body to change directions before you can get to the line. This will help you get off the line on the court a lot faster.
Forward Short Shuttle
The short shuttle is a quick short burst of speed or sprint to a line and returning back to its original starting line. So, the emphasis is on the turn. Make sure your feet are properly placed on the line and turn before you get to the line. You definitely want to ease into the lines because if you don’t, you will fall forward or you will injure your knee, hips or back.
2. Lateral Three Line Short Shuttle
Lateral Three Line Short Shuttle
You are starting at the middle. Then you can pick out maybe 5 or 10 yards. You are going from the free throw line and the baseline, half court then back to the free throw. Stand in a nice athletic stance shuffling sideways and getting down low touching the line. You are going across to the half of the line then back to the free throw line. Make sure you are standing low on this, eyes up and feet parallel. You don’t want to hunch the back too much because you will lose power and breathing capacity once you start rounding the back.
3. Reverse Short Shuttle
Reverse Short Shuttle
You are starting in a free throw line and travel forward to the half court line all the way back to the baseline then back to the free throw line. The emphasis on here is the quick change of direction, forward and backward. For this one, you are starting backward run all the way from the baseline to half the court and then reverse run back to the free throw line. Again, the emphasis is on the foot placement and then getting down low into the turns. This will help you get off the line a lot quicker and also reduce your chance of injury.
If you are looking to incorporate a fun and challenging workout into your training routine, try adding a shuttle run once every week. This will help with improving speed and agility exercises as well as building endurance.
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