Level up your boxing footwork with ladder drills!
These speed ladder drills are essential if you want to increase your agility, improve your balance, and gain better timing.
Keep reading to add these ladder drills to your boxing workout!
Ladder Drills For Boxing
Here are four ladder drills you can do to level up your boxing footwork:
- Toe-Tap Drill
- Lateral Drill
- Step and Jab Drill
- In-and-Out Drill
For each drill, it’s best if you start slow so you can do each pattern at a steady pace.
Once you get the movements down, then you can increase your speed.
Toe-Tap Drill
The first drill that you can do with a boxing ladder is the Toe-Tap Drill.
This will teach you to stay light while moving on the balls of your feet.
To do the Toe-Tap Drill:
- First, start at the beginning of the ladder with your hands up and your feet just outside of the first box. You should be positioned perpendicular to the ladder.
- Next, alternate your toes in and out of the first box, making sure to land on both toes at the same time.
- Lastly, do the same for each box as you go down the ladder.
Once you get the hang of this movement, try pivoting after each box so that you’re facing the opposite side of the ladder.
This drill is a great way to introduce the Ali Shuffle into your skill set.
Lateral Drill
The next drill that you can do with a speed ladder is the Lateral Drill.
This is an essential drill for learning how to advance towards your opponent and create angles at the same time.
To do the Lateral Drill:
- First, start with one foot inside of the first box and the other foot outside of it. You should be facing the end of the ladder. Your weight should be on the foot inside the box and your torso should be slightly leaning towards that foot.
- Next, hop to the next box as you switch feet; the foot that was on the inside will go out, and the foot that was on the outside will come in.
- Lastly, keep alternating your feet as you work your way down the ladder.
The keys to this drill are to keep a low center of gravity and to land each foot in the same place as the other foot.
For a bigger challenge, add an uppercut with the hand that is inside the box.
After a lateral, all your weight is on the inner foot which gives you the perfect leverage to land a power punch.
Step and Jab Drill
Next on our list of agility ladder drills is the Step and Jab Drill.
This is an essential drill for practicing range: leaping into the pocket to land a shot, and then hopping out again.
To do the Step and Jab Drill:
- First, start with your boxing stance outside of the first box. You should be positioned perpendicular to the ladder, similar to the Toe-Tap Drill.
- Next, hop into the box with your lead foot and jab at the same time.
- Next, hop out and bring your hand back to your face.
- Lastly, work your way down the ladder and repeat the steps above for each box.
For a bigger challenge, add more punches to your combination. For example, as you hop out, add a cross.
Though this requires a greater sense of timing and rhythm, it will develop your ability to fight off the back foot.
In-and-Out Drill
Last on our list of boxing ladder drills is the In-and-Out Drill.
This is the most complicated drill on our list and is used by athletes in other sports that require fast footwork, such as football, soccer, and basketball.
To do the In-and-Out Drill:
- First, start with both feet inside the box as you face the end of the ladder.
- Next, step with your right toes outside of the box, followed by your left toes. Your heels should never touch the ground.
- Next, step with your right toes inside of the box, followed by your left toes, so that you’re back to the starting position.
- Lastly, repeat the steps above with each box as you work your way down the entire ladder.
Again, first get it right slow and then speed up once you get it down so you can gain precise footwork.
Benefits of Speed Ladder Drills For Boxing
The benefits of speed ladder drills for boxing include:
- Increased Agility
- Improved Balance
- Gain Better Timing
Increased Agility
First, training with a speed ladder will give you increased agility.
Even though we recommend doing these drills slowly first, you’ll get faster feet as your mind and muscles get used to the movements.
For example, after you get the In-and-Out Drill down, you’ll be able to chop your feet, making it seem like you’re barely touching the ground.
Improved Balance
Next, training with a boxing ladder will give you improved balanced with your footwork.
Balance and keeping a low center of gravity play key roles when doing the Lateral Drill.
Without them, you won’t be able to do the Lateral Drill properly.
As you do these drills more, you’ll find that your balance will improve to the point that you can mix up all of these drills, performing a unique one for each box.
Better Timing
Lastly, training with a speed ladder will give you better timing.
In all the drills above, you should be moving down the ladder at an even pace; you don’t necessarily have to go fast.
This plays an important role with the Step and Jab Drill.
Your whole body will have to work in unison if you want to throw combinations off the back foot while moving down the ladder at the same time.
Conclusion
With these simple ladder drills, you’ll level up your footwork in the ring.
Mix them up and create your own drills; they’re only limited by your imagination!
Of course, you don’t really need a ladder to do these drills; you can do them anywhere and anytime as long as you can imagine the boxes in front of you.
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