Comparison of Speed, Strength, and Agility Exercises in the Development of Agility

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether exercises designed specifically to develop strength and speed were as effective for improving agility as exercises designed specifically to develop agility. The 83 male university subjects were separated into five groups with one group each participating in exercises designed to improve agility, speed, strength, speed and strength, and the remaining group participating in lectures. Thirty-one tests were administered before and after participation in the six-week programs, and the data were analyzed by the analysis of covariance technique. The group participating in agility exercises demonstrated statistically significant superiority over one or more of the other groups on four of the seven agility tests. The only other groups which demonstrated superiority on any of the agility tests were the speed group on the 10-second squat thrust test and the control group on the right boomerang run test, thereby leading to the conclusion that agility can best be developed in programs designed specifically for that purpose and consequently that a unique factor of agility does exist.