Lateral Shuffle Drills
The exercises below are great for building lateral shuffle motor programming.
1. Resisted Step Outs- Band on lower leg (leg furthest from attachment) – aggressively step out with just the furthest leg. This trains the inside leg to create positive push off angles and how to use the hips to create lateral force. Assess foot/toe positions, ankle position, and how the athlete uses the kinetic chain.
2. Side Medicine Ball Throw- from a lateral shuffle stance, drive off the back/power leg and push the medicine ball to a partner explosively. The back leg acts just like the first step in the lateral shuffle.
3. Anti-rotation Press outs- From a lateral shuffle stance create tension on the tubing or cable and press directly out from your chest, but do not allow tension to rotate you toward attachment. The key is the stance- knees inside the feet, feet pushing down and away, and ankles dorsiflexed, hips back.
4. Band Assist-Resist One Step Shuffle – With a resistance band around waist start roughly 3-4 feet out in front of starting line. In an athletic stance shuffle one step back to starting line and immediately plant and shuffle away. So the tubing will pull you inward and then resist you as you shuffle away for one step. This teaches proper angles through force creation and absorption.
To learn more information on lateral shuffle technique and drills, I suggest taking a closer look at Ground Breaking 2.
Train Smart
Lee Taft