and badminton, table tennis players are reported to be more agile at side stepping. 3 In addition, table tennis stroke skills are also crucial, which can be quantified by ball speed. Therefore, power, agility, and ball speed play essential roles in a table tennis player’s ability to win competitions
Search Results
Fang-Yu Hsu, Kuei-Lan Tsai, Chia-Lun Lee, Wen-Dien Chang, and Nai-Jen Chang
Bethany L. Anderson, Rod A. Harter, and James L. Farnsworth II
researchers noted statistically significant improvements in vertical jump height (in centimeters) in the dynamic stretching plus foam rolling groups compared with the light walking plus dynamic stretching group. 2 No significant improvements were noted for flexibility or agility between treatment groups. 2
Daniel J. Brinkmann, Harald Koerger, Albert Gollhofer, and Dominic Gehring
Agility running is a key component of soccer performance and includes accelerations, decelerations, changes of direction, and initiations of whole-body movements. 1 The frequency of such soccer-specific movements (>700 cuts and turns within a match by a player in the English football association
Javad Sarvestan and Zdeněk Svoboda
, tennis, and volleyball, also require cutting and turning in both the lateral and frontal planes. 15 For optimal performance, athletes in all of these sports require increased ankle stability. Agility tests demand quick deceleration, direction change, and reacceleration during the movements. 16 These 3
Gary B. Wilkerson, Dustin C. Nabhan, and Ryan T. Crane
values for the diagonal-backward movement direction. 24 Figure 2 System used for assessment of whole-body reactive agility (TRAZER ® Sports Stimulator; Traq Global Ltd). Statistical Analyses Receiver operating characteristic analysis quantified the association of each baseline assessment continuous
Damien M. Hess, Christopher J. Joyce, Brent L. Arnold, and Bruce M. Gansneder
Context:
Agility training has been proposed as an important tool in rehabilitation. However, it is unclear which types of agility training are most useful.
Objective:
To assess the effects of agility training on balance in individuals with functionally unstable ankles.
Design:
A 2-group experimental design with repeated measures.
Setting:
Laboratory.
Patients:
Twenty college-aged volunteers, each with 1 functionally unstable ankle, were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups.
Interventions:
Subjects in the experimental group performed agility training 3 times per week for 4 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures:
Subjects were tested for static single-leg balance before and after the training period. Anterior/posterior sway amplitude, medial/lateral sway amplitude, and sway index were assessed using the Chattex Balance System.
Results:
No significant differences in balance were found after the agility training.
Conclusions:
Agility training did not improve static single-leg balance in subjects with functionally unstable ankles.
Jaci L. VanHeest, Jim Stoppani, Tim P. Scheett, Valerie Collins, Melissa Roti, Jeffrey Anderson, George J. Allen, Jay Hoffman, William J. Kraemer, and Carl M. Maresh
Objective:
To determine the effects of Vicoprofen® and ibuprofen on aerobic performance, agility, and pain after exercise-induced muscle damage.
Design:
Double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled, repeated-dose clinical trial.
Setting:
Human-performance and sports-medicine laboratory.
Participants:
36 healthy men.
Methods and Measures:
Baseline testing was performed, 72 hours after which subjects performed eccentric exercise to induce muscle damage. They were evaluated for pain 24 hours postdamage and placed randomly into 3 groups: Vicoprofen (VIC), ibuprofen, or placebo (P). Postdamage testing was performed every day for 5 days. Subjects performed an economy run and a t-agility test to determine exercise performance.
Results:
The drugs had no significant effect on performance throughout the 5-day evaluation period. Pain was lower at days 4 and 5 in the VIC group than in P.
Conclusions:
It appears that Vicoprofen reduced pain after muscle damage, but the drug interventions did not enhance performance in aerobic and agility tasks.
Jay Hertel, Craig R. Denegar, Phil D. Johnson, Sheri A. Hale, and W.E. Buckley
Two studies were performed to estimate the reliability of the Cybex Reactor in assessing agility tasks. In Study 1, participants (n =13) underwent identical testing sessions twice in 1 week. In Study 2, participants (n = 13) underwent identical testing sessions twice in 1 week, once 3 weeks later, and once 6 weeks later. Testing sessions consisted of four identical agility tasks requiring participants to react to cues shown on a video monitor. In Study 1, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were .47 for Day 1 and .75 for Day 2 for time to complete each task. Participants performed faster on Day 2 (p < .05). In Study 2, ICC ranged from .58 to .83. ICC between sessions ranged from .59 to .73. Participants performed significantly faster each successive session except between Weeks 3 and 6 (p < .05). The Reactor appears to be reliable in assessing agility tasks with test–retest intervals of up to 6 weeks.
Tania Spiteri, Nicolas H. Hart, and Sophia Nimphius
The aim of this study was to compare biomechanical and perceptual-cognitive variables between sexes during an offensive and defensive agility protocol. Twelve male and female (n = 24) recreational team sport athletes participated in this study, each performing 12 offensive and defensive agility trials (6 left, 6 right) changing direction in response to movements of a human stimulus. Three-dimensional motion, ground reaction force (GRF), and impulse data were recorded across plant phase for dominant leg change of direction (COD) movements, while timing gates and high-speed video captured decision time, total running time, and post COD stride velocity. Subjects also performed a unilateral isometric squat to determine lower body strength and limb dominance. Group (sex) by condition (2 × 2) MANOVAs with follow-up ANOVAs were conducted to examine differences between groups (P ≤ .05). Male athletes demonstrated significantly greater lower body strength, vertical braking force and impulse application, knee and spine flexion, and hip abduction, as well as faster decision time and post COD stride velocity during both agility conditions compared with females. Differences between offensive and defensive movements appear to be attributed to differences in decision time between sexes. This study demonstrates that biomechanical and perceptual-cognitive differences exist between sexes and within offensive and defensive agility movements.
Alison Locke, Michael Sitler, Christopher Aland, and Iris Kimura
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a softshell prophylactic ankle stabilizer (PAS) on performance in events involving speed, agility, and vertical jump during long-term use. The events examined were the 24.384-m sprint, 12.192-m shuttle ran, and vertical jump. Subjects were high school basketball players who were randomly assigned to either a PAS (n = 11) or a nonbraced control (n = 13) group. Results of the study revealed that the softshell PAS had no significant effect on any of the three performance events tested over a 3-month basketball season. However, there was a significant difference in 24.384-m sprint and 12.192-m shuttle run times across test sessions regardless of treatment group. In conclusion, the softshell PAS neither enhanced nor inhibited performance in activities involving speed, agility, or vertical jump during long-term use.
