Components of Fitness
Strength, Aerobic endurance, Muscular endurance, Flexibility, Body composition
Motor components of fitness include, Agility, Speed, Power
1. Strength
Muscular strength can be defined as, ‘ the maximal amount of force a muscle group or group of muscles can generate during one contraction. ‘
The development of muscular strength is useful for two key reasons. Firstly the individual can produce greater maximal force when required to do so. Secondly everyday sub-maximal tasks require lesser percentage of an individuals maximal force thus making tasks easier.
In sport, strength plays a vital role in improving the performance of an athlete which can be achieved through heavy lifting.
Methods of Strength training include weight training and resistance training. The gold standard would be the use of free weights. Primary strength exercises include Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press and Bent over Row.
2. Aerobic Endurance
Cardiovascular fitness can be defined as, ‘ the ability of the heart, lungs and muscles to take in, transport and utilise oxygen ‘.
When you do physical activity the pulse raises, breathing gets deeper it means you are using your cardiovascular system. Through regular training the CV system will become more efficient.
Methods of training the aerobic endurance system include, interval training, fartlek training, continuous training.
3. Muscular Endurance
Muscular Endurance can be defined as, ‘ the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to contract repeatedly for extended periods of time without fatigue.’
The vast majority of everyday activities require an individual to exert force requiring muscular endurance. In sport the ability to endure long periods of exercise can be key to success. For example, some athletes compete for over 2 hours which requires both aerobic and muscular endurance.
The main method of training muscular endurance is through circuit training and specific weight training programmes.
4. Flexibility
Flexibility can be defined as, ‘ the range of movement about a joint or series of joints.
It is important for all athletes and general public to develop and maintain flexibility to ensure freedom of movement. Prime examples of sports that require high levels of flexibility are gymnastics, dance, yoga and martial arts.
One of the most popular methods of flexibility training is yoga. Further methods used by athletes also include, dynamic stretching, static stretches, ballistic stretches, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching.
5. Body Composition
In health related fitness body composition is used to describe the percentages of fat, bone and muscle in human bodies. The percentage of body fat is of most interest because it can help in judging health. In fact this is far superior than measuring body weight which can fluctuate daily.
The national Institute of health recommends that a healthy adult male should have between 13-17% body fat however, normal range is about 20%.
A healthy female should be composed of about 20-25% body fat.
6. Speed
In sport the definition of speed is, ‘ the ability to move quickly across the ground or move limbs rapidly to grab or throw.’
Speed is not just how fast someone can run, but is dependent on their acceleration (how quickly they can accelerate from a stationary position), maximal speed of movement, and also speed maintenance (minimizing deceleration). Movement speed requires good strength and power, but also too much body weight and air resistance can act to slow the person down.
Methods of training to improve speed and acceleration are intervals, fartlek, plyometrics and power training.
7. Power
Power is defined as, ‘ the ability to exert a maximal force in as short a time as possible’
Power development is crucial for success in many sports. The ability to move at speed or move an object at speed requires supreme power. From the football player aiming to sprint to the ball to the MMA fighter landing shots can be the difference to a win or loss. It is mainly developed through plyometrics and specific weight training.
8. Agility
Agility is most often defined as the ability to change direction rapidly (Altug et al., 1987).
So you have the speed, power and strength. Are you able to decelerate, change direction rapidly and accelerate. Agility is fundamental to many competitive sports. For instance, a rugby player that can side step, change direction can be a formidable opponent and very difficult to tackle causing defences many issues.
Methods of improving agility can be reaction drills, ladder drills and speed work using cones.