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Step 1
Add weight to your typical workouts. Hold a 20-pound dumbbell while doing karate punches. Tie on 5-pound weights to your ankles while jogging a short distance. When you do the same motion without the weight, you will find that you will be quicker.
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Step 2
Practice to hone your skills. This advice can be a monotonous line that you hear from all your trainers, but no one argues that you get better and faster at your given sport with practice. Repetition in certain moves that you especially want to work on will also help. For instance, if your reflexes are weak when you move into a backhand on the tennis court, then have your trainer send you ball after ball to your backhand until you develop lightening reflexes.
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Step 3
Spend some time each day doing isometric exercises. These types of routines require you to squeeze a muscle and hold it for a count to at least 10 and release slowly. Isometric training will help to tighten your muscles, making them more useful and quicker to react.
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Step 4
Keep your body free of chemicals as much as you can. It should go without saying that athletes should not use drugs, but even caffeine and food additives can turn the body sluggish. Since reflexes, when used regularly, almost become part of the autonomic system; you need to have a good circulatory and respiratory system working to back them up. Your reflexes will become faster without thought as your body becomes healthier and you practice your sport.
