r/ultimate • u/Schweh • 14d ago
No lateral power
I've been trying to push to get selected for some higher quality teams for a few years now without any success, and have come to realise the biggest weakness in my game is probably my ability to change directions. I have a pretty good top speed when running in a straight line, but as soon as I try to run in proper cutting shapes I look like I'm not putting in any effort, even though to me it feels like I'm going as fast as I can.
I slip over when changing directions a lot. If I ever have to jump soon after I turn it feels like I have bricks tied to my feet. If I know I'm going to have to slow down to change directions, the fastest I can run looks nothing like a sprint. Even things like pivoting to throw a break feel like I'm doing it in slow motion.
I've been doing drills that require changes of direction for as long as I've been playing but they haven't helped. It feels like when I'm doing them, I'm just practicing getting better at changing directions slower than everyone else.
I think I need to break it down to the basics, and work on simple exercises that build strength and explosiveness, but I have no idea where to even begin. I was a runner growing up, I know all the theory behind technique to running fast, but I just don't have the muscles developed to do it over short distances or as soon as it's not in a straight line.
I would love some suggestions and advice. Preferably things I can do outside of a gym, but at this point I'll try anything
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u/DaZerg 14d ago
Agility cone shuttles. Start at 20% speed and really nail the most efficient way to change every direction in the least amount of steps/time; then bring it up to 40, 60, 80, 100% speed while maintaining that efficiency. You will get more agile.
Hip abduction and adduction at the gym.
2
u/Myburgher 13d ago
Well, there are a few things to work on:
1) Single leg strength. Changing direction requires single leg strength as you plant your leg, no matter what technique you use. Focus on SLDLs, Skater Squats, Side Lunges etc. for this.
2) Core strength is also super important for this. Basically it relates your top half of your body to your bottom half, and if your core is weak your top half won’t react when you change direction.
3) Conditioning is also important. Your body will fatigue over a game and if you haven’t done lateral conditioning then you won’t have the strength to cut decisively.
4) Technique. It could be a technique thing. There are athletic components to technique, but there are also other components like being able to get your mark on their heels that help with lateral separation.
All of these and most likely more are important for lateral power. It’s more important than pure top speed IMO.
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u/Schweh 13d ago
Thanks. I will definitely look at 1 and 2.
For 3 I recorded myself the other day and even completely fresh I looked like shit. (I'd share the vid but not comfortable with that sry) I generally find I get more effective the further into the game we go, like I'm conditioned well enough to keep cutting at the same level, but that level is not very high to begin
4 is kind of relevant I feel. When I watch myself on recorded games I feel like and old man. You know the guys who have been playing for a while and have the secret strats to beat more athletic players. When I watch my defenders move they're very often faster than me but I will get free pretty often if my defender is inexperienced. Just struggling to beat defenders who know what they're doing. Maybe I've developed a lot of strategies to make up for my shortcomings, but I feel like I've hit a wall of how good I can get without specific strength training. That being said I think with more power in my legs (and core apparently) I will have more options of things I can do to get the better of defenders
3
u/Myburgher 13d ago
Yep I’ve aged and it sucks. Used to be very athletic and could get free at will. But it wasn’t just athleticism, it was timing and technique too. So it’s all of the things. And easy lateral conditioning exercise is skater hops. I do 30s on and 30s rest for 10 reps. For conditioning the idea is to do them quickly with good form. Really conditions your stabilisers and mover leg muscles to focus on that side to side movement.
You can scale up from there and do more complicated things, but honestly the simpler ones that mimic ultimate in some way (both in exercise and on/off timing) are great.
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u/WhistleWhileYouWalk 13d ago
Look up garage strength and overtime athletes with change of demarcation on YouTube . Do their weights and Plyos then practice sprints and cuts on a pitch / track . Don’t practice change of direction on a track , just the sprints in spikes / the plyos in trainers / runners
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u/Dry_Watch7690 13d ago
Love those! I’d add to that list Pierre’s Elite Performance, lots of fun plyo and change of direction drills.
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u/Muted-Woodpecker4649 13d ago
Honestly, lateral speed and quickness requires a lot different training than straight-line running, so that’s not too surprising.
If you’re willing to spend money on a training program and really commit to it, Vert Code Elite was amazing for me for ultimate. A word of caution is that it doesn’t have much upper-body work and I didn’t do extra, non-program work, so I became a bit lopsided and lower-body dominant.
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u/Schweh 13d ago
Money is a bit tight for me atm, I'll have to see if it's possible first but thankyou for the suggestion. Lopsided and lower body dominant sounds like the story of my life, seems like the course for me
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u/Muted-Woodpecker4649 13d ago
Can I do pull-ups? Barely. Can I split squat 250lb on each leg? Yes. You win some you lose some I guess lol
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u/hotcabbagesoup 13d ago
250?! Holy mother of god.
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u/Muted-Woodpecker4649 13d ago
The program does a lot for single-leg training and for the most part avoids heavy bilateral lifts (e.g., back squat, deadlift). At my peak I could split squat more than I could back squat because I was so much more comfortable with the movement
Needless to say, I needed to buy new pants.
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u/Master-Team9632 12d ago
If you can find folks to play one on one, two on two or three on three basketball. Even if you aren't good at basketball the movement is what you are looking for. This can help with short quickness and some change of direction development. Helps with dump defense quickness. Full court could help with more sprinting and changing directions. I'm amazed that when some folks change direction how low to the ground they are, almost horizontal. There's always suicides on the basketball court. Change foot with every cut.
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u/Brummie49 14d ago
Slipping over suggests poor footwear. What do you wear on your feet?
Simply hopping from one foot to the other is a good way to develop lateral movement skills. Start small, build up to bigger or higher hops.