How many 5-10-5 shuttle runs should I do in a session?

Six runs, three leading to each side, with two to three minutes of rest between them. Every run is a maximal effort rather than a set, so treat it like a sprint. As a test, take the best of three runs per direction after thorough preparation. Once a week, early in a session, is enough.

How do I make the 5-10-5 easier or harder?

Easier: shorten it to a 5-5-5, run it at three-quarter speed while you learn the plant and the touch, and use grass, which is more forgiving than turf. Harder: run it against a clock, start from a three-point stance, react to a call for the first direction instead of choosing it, or catch a ball out of the final cut. Timing it is what makes people run it honestly.

What is the 5-10-5 shuttle for?

It measures and trains short-area quickness, deceleration and 180-degree changes of direction, which is why it is a combine and team-testing staple in football, soccer, basketball and baseball. It is a poor choice in a general fitness program, where the hard plants bring risk without much reward, and a poor choice for anyone with a recent ankle, knee or groin problem. It is a test, not conditioning.

Intermediate

5-10-5 Pro Agility Shuttle

The 5-10-5, also called the pro agility shuttle, is the benchmark test for short-area quickness and change of direction. Starting straddling a center line, you sprint five yards one way, cut hard off the outside foot, sprint ten the other way, cut again, and finish five yards back through the middle. The two 180-degree cuts demand explosive acceleration and violent deceleration, loading the quads, glutes, and hamstrings on every plant. It is both a test and a powerful training drill for athletes.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Glutes, Quads
Type: Cardio, Functional
Browse by muscle: Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris
Browse by movement: Gait Drill

How to do it

1
Straddle a center line in a three-point or athletic stance with cones five yards to each side.
2
Sprint five yards to touch the first line with your hand.
3
Plant hard off the outside foot and accelerate ten yards to the far line.
4
Touch the far line, plant again off the outside foot, and sprint five yards back through the center.
5
Stay low through each cut and drive the arms to reaccelerate out of the turn.
6
Run the drill leading to both sides so neither cut direction lags behind.

Tips

Drop your hips and shorten your steps before each line so you can decelerate and redirect without overrunning it.
Plant on the outside foot and push off it explosively rather than stopping flat-footed.
Stay low out of every cut; standing tall too early wastes the acceleration you just set up.

Variations

Common mistakes

The turn gets rounded like a lap of a track instead of cut on the line, which adds distance to the exact thing the clock is measuring.
The hand slaps at the line while the body is already turning away, so the touch is missed or the trunk twists out of the direction you need to go; reach with the inside hand.
The first movement out of the stance is a false step backward, which costs more time than either cut; open the lead hip and drive straight into the first stride.
Runs get repeated with thirty seconds between them, and by the fourth it is a jog with a shuffle in the middle. This is a maximal effort, so take two to three minutes.
Shoes and surface matter more here than in most drills, because a slipped plant at full speed with the foot outside the knee is how ankles and knees get hurt.

Frequently asked

How many 5-10-5 shuttle runs should I do in a session?: Six runs, three leading to each side, with two to three minutes of rest between them. Every run is a maximal effort rather than a set, so treat it like a sprint. As a test, take the best of three runs per direction after thorough preparation. Once a week, early in a session, is enough.
How do I make the 5-10-5 easier or harder?: Easier: shorten it to a 5-5-5, run it at three-quarter speed while you learn the plant and the touch, and use grass, which is more forgiving than turf. Harder: run it against a clock, start from a three-point stance, react to a call for the first direction instead of choosing it, or catch a ball out of the final cut. Timing it is what makes people run it honestly.
What is the 5-10-5 shuttle for?: It measures and trains short-area quickness, deceleration and 180-degree changes of direction, which is why it is a combine and team-testing staple in football, soccer, basketball and baseball. It is a poor choice in a general fitness program, where the hard plants bring risk without much reward, and a poor choice for anyone with a recent ankle, knee or groin problem. It is a test, not conditioning.

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