Conditioning

One of the misconceptions in the sports world is that a sports person gets in shape by just playing or taking part in his/her chosen sport. If a stationary level of performance, consistent ability in executing a few limited skills is your goal, then engaging only in your sport will keep you there. However, if you want the utmost efficiency, consistent improvement, and balanced abilities sportsmen and women must participate in year round conditioning programs.

The bottom line in sports conditioning and fitness training is stress, not mental stress, but adaptive body stress. Sportsmen and women must put their bodies under a certain amount of stress (overload) to increase physical capabilities.

The Components of Fitness

Health is a state of complete mental, physical and social well being where as fitness is the ability to meet the demands of a physical task. Exercise scientists have identified nine components that comprise the definition of fitness.

The following lists each of the nine components and an example of how they are used:-

  • Strength - the extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance (e.g. holding or restraining an object or person)
  • Power - the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements. The two components of power are strength and speed. (e.g. jumping or a sprint start)
  • Agility - the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in rapid succession in opposing directions (e.g. ZigZag running or cutting movements)
  • Balance - the ability to control the body's position, either stationary (e.g. a handstand) or while moving (e.g. a gymnastics stunt)
  • Flexibility - the ability to achieve an extended range of motion without being impeded by excess tissue, i.e. fat or muscle (e.g. executing a leg split)
  • Local Muscle Endurance - a single muscle's ability to perform sustained work (e.g. rowing or cycling)
  • Cardiovascular Endurance - the heart's ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it (e.g. running long distances)
  • Strength Endurance - a muscle's ability to perform a maximum contraction time after time (e.g. continuous explosive rebounding through an entire basketball game)
  • Co-ordination- the ability to integrate the above listed components so that effective movements are achieved.

Of all the nine elements of fitness cardiac respiratory qualities are the most important to develop as they enhance all the other components of the conditioning equation.

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness refers to the capacity of an athlete to meet the varied physical demands of their sport without reducing the athlete to a fatigued state. The components of physical fitness are: Strength, Endurance, Speed, Flexibility and Body Composition.

Motor Fitness

Motor Fitness refers to the ability of an athlete to perform successfully at their sport. The components of motor fitness are: Agility, Balance, Co-ordination, Power and Reaction Time.

Improving your condition

Identify the most important fitness components for success in your sport or event and then design specialised conditioning and training programs that enhance these fitness components and your sport or event specific performance skills.

Conditioning Exercises

The 9 Elements of Fitness

The 9 Key Elements of Fitness

The 9 Key Elements of Fitness breaks down the concept of fitness into each one of its constituent parts, devoting a full chapter to describing and explaining each element.

Then, the workbook tells you exactly how to train each aspect of fitness in turn, so you can make sure you have all the speed, power, flexibility, endurance, co-ordination, and more, that you need to excel at your chosen sport.

Select this link to order your copy of The 9 Elements of Fitness.

Ready, Set, Go

Ready, Set, Go

Phil Campbell, the author of Ready, Set, Go, shows readers step-by-step how to improve fitness, increase energy, lose, cut, and tone in the most efficient way possible.

This is an excellent fitness workbook which contains photographs of people demonstrating the actual exercise with clear descriptions of how the exercise should be performed.

Select this link to order you copy of Ready, Set, Go.

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page:

Associated Books

The following books provide more information related to this topic:

  • Mobility Training, N. Brook, ISBN 0 85134 079 2
  • Strength and Conditioning for Games Players, C. Brewer, ISBN 1 902523 85 7
  • Circuit Training for all sports, M. Scholich, ISBN 0 920905 04 8
  • Medicine Ball Training, Z. Tenke et al., ISBN 0 92095 40 4
  • Strength Conditioning with Medicine Balls, M. Jones, ISBN 0 851 34097 0
  • Advanced Studies in Physical Education and Sport, P Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 4482345
  • Physical Education and the Study of Sport, B. Davis et al., ISBN 0 7234 31752
  • Essentials of Exercise Physiology, W.D. McArdle et al., ISBN 0 683 30507 7
  • Physical Education and Sport Studies, D. Roscoe et al., ISBN 1 901424 20 0
  • The World of Sport Examined, P. Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 438719 9
  • Advanced PE for Edexcel, F. Galligan et al., ISBN 0 435 50643 9
  • Examining Physical Education, K. Bizley, ISBN 0 435 50660 9
  • Sport and PE, K Wesson et al., ISBN 0 340 683821
  • PE for you, J. Honeybourne, ISBN 0 7487 3277 2