COMPONENTS OF FITNESS AIM: TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

FITNESS The term ‘fitness’ relates to our overall ability to meet the demands of the environment. In a sporting context, this is made up of several different elements that enable us to play sport and indeed to improve at sport In total there are 11 components of fitness that we must be aware of. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

PHYSICAL FITNESS Components of physical fitness involve all the things that our body enables us to do due to it’s make up and composition. There are 6 components of physical fitness. 1.Aerobic endurance 2.Muscular endurance, 3.Flexibility, 4.Speed, 5.Strength, 6.Body composition. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

AEROBIC ENDURANCE Aerobic endurance is the amount of time which you can exercise without your muscles tiring. It is sometimes to referred to as stamina, the amount of time you can maintain physical exercise. Sports which require good levels of aerobic endurance are marathon running, swimming, cycling TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

MUSCULAR ENDURANCE Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle to do continuous work over a long period of time. Muscular endurance is very important for people playing sports and who have to sustain an activity for long periods of time Muscular endurance is important in any sort of physical activity that lasts for long periods. For example, such sports as hockey, football, tennis, TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

FLEXIBILITY Flexibility is the range of motion of a joint, which may be increased by stretching. The more you stretch your muscles, the more flexible they will become. Good flexibility improves performance in sport, but also greatly reduces the possibility of injury. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

SPEED Speed is the quickness of movement of a limb, whether this is the legs of a runner or the arm of the shot putter. Speed is not just about how fast you can run, but how fast you can perform a movement. Speed is important in sports where you need to cover an area in a short space of time TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

STRENGTH This is the muscle's ability to generate force against physical objects. This involves the muscles working hard for a short period time and applying a large amount of force. Muscular strength is important in sports that are short and dynamic, such as sprinting, shot putt, and gymnastics. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

BODY COMPOSITION Body composition is the percentages of fat, bone and muscle in human bodies. Because muscular tissue takes up less space in our body than fat tissue, our body composition, as well as our weight, determines leanness. Two people at the same height and same body weight may look completely different from each other because they have a different body composition. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

SKILL RELATED FITNESS Along with components of physical fitness, the term fitness can be broken down into skill components. These are important in performing the more technical aspects of many sports. There are 5 components of skill related fitness that we must be aware of 1.Agility, 2. Balance, 3.Coordination, 4.Power, 5.Reaction time. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

AGILITY Being agile is all about being able to change your direction and the speed at which you are travelling, quickly and efficiently. This is common in sports such as football and rugby where the player with the ball dodges a defender, or in badminton or tennis, moving around the court quickly to reach the shuttlecock/ball in time. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

BALANCE Balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium whilst stationary, or moving. Balance is important in all kinds of sporting situations, most notably in gymnastics and dance but also contact sports where having good balance may prevent you being tackled to the floor! Balance is linked to agility, as in order to quickly and efficiently change direction you must be balanced. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

CO-ORDINATION Co-ordination is the ability to use the body parts and senses together to produce smooth efficient movements. We have all seen someone who is uncoordinated, their movement looks awkward and shaky. Being co-ordinated is vital in all sports, for example hand-eye coordination in racket sports and the co-ordination to use the opposite arm and leg when sprinting. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

POWER Power is the product of strength and speed. When we perform a task as quickly and as forcefully as we can, the result is powerful. For example, a sprint start, a shot-put or javelin throw or long-jump. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

REACTION TIME Reaction time is how quickly your brain can respond to a stimulus and initiate a response. This is important in most sports. The most obvious being responding to the gun at the start of a race, but also a goalkeeper saving a penalty, or a badminton player reacting to a smash shot. TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT

QUESTIONS 1.Identify 3 physical and 3 skill components of fitness. 2.Explain the difference between physical aspects of fitness and skill related aspects of fitness. 3.Analyse the impact that the components of fitness have on sports performance TO LEARN BOTH THE PHYSICAL, AND SKILL ASPECTS OF FITNESS, AND THE IMPACT THEY HAVE ON SPORT