Describe the fitness requirements for three contrasting sports.
Football is a game that requires aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Aerobic fitness is the most important quality in football, closely followed by anaerobic fitness, running, speed and agility. Footballers tend to cover less distance and work at lower intensities during the second half of games then during the first half. This is because fatigue limits a player. To sum it up if a player was fitter they would perform more effectively. Therefore if a player was to improve aerobic capacity then overall fitness would boost performance on the football field.
Team sports like football make it even harder to determine what areas of fitness are required. The types required will depend upon positions and role in the team, but one key area is skill and specificity. Football players should be football players first and athletes second. This doesn't mean that their athletic areas of fitness, speed, strength, stamina etc. are not important, because they are, but skill and specificity and perhaps sprint are the most important.
Football players need a combination of aerobic and anaerobic fitness due to the nature of the game and the fact that there is continuous movement with lots of short bursts of more intense activity. Some positions require higher levels of anaerobic fitness than others, some require more aerobic fitness. A midfield player is required to cover a lot of ground during a game and needs a good aerobic engine. A striker on the other hand requires short bursts of repeated activity and requires more speed and anaerobic fitness.
Interval training boosts the footballer's ability to play at high intensity's. Interval training uses fixed patterns of fast and slow exercise. You have to finish a set which is a group of repetitions before the footballer gets a rest. An advantage for a footballer using interval training for there training method is that you can mix aerobic and anaerobic exercise. A disadvantage is that it's hard to keep going. An example of Interval training: 10 x 100m sprints with a 300m jog between each sprint.
Fitness requirements a footballer needs to have:
o Aerobic Fitness
o Anaerobic Fitness
o Speed
o Agility
Aerobic Fitness
Aerobic fitness refers to endurance, or the ability to sustain work for prolonged periods. This is usually experienced in the abilities to walk, run, climb uphill, swim, etc. The term aerobic implies that the oxygen necessary to achieve the work is taken up by the individual during the activity. In aerobic work, oxygen is obtained from the air and is transferred from the lungs to the blood and then to the muscles via the circulatory system. It is important for a footballer as research tells us that there is a high correlation between a player's VO2max and the distance covered in a game.
(http://www.soccerclinics.com/Fitness.htm)
Anaerobic Fitness
Anaerobic exercise, unlike aerobic exercise, does not require the body to provide a large amount of oxygen, and is used to strengthen and tone muscles in the skeletal muscle system. Anaerobic fitness determines the level at which you can work at a high intensity. This usually means short bursts of activity, where you will often be out of breath. You are working at a level where your body cannot provide enough oxygen and your muscles need to get energy from glycogen. You can only work for a short time at this level before you get too fatigued and go into something called oxygen debt. An example of anaerobic exercise is sprinting in football. Anaerobic training will make your body more efficient at using glycogen as a stored fuel and also help it deal with oxygen debt. One effect of oxygen debt is the build up of lactic acid, which is felt when your legs for example, feel a burning sensation at the end of an intense long sprint. This lactic acid needs to be removed from muscles as quickly as possible and anaerobic training helps make your muscles more efficient at coping with lactic acid and better at removing waste products from muscles.
Speed
Speed is the shortest time taken to move the body or a body part over a specific distance. In football you have to move your leg to kick the ball, you need to do this quite fast as the other team could tackle and take the ball off you.
Agility
Agility is the ability to change body position and direction quickly and with accuracy. In football you need to do this to move into spaces to receive the ball and to pass the ball to other members in your team. Agility is important to football as it's a starting and stopping game.
Swimming is one of the few fitness activities that are aerobically intense without being high impact. Swimming is suitable for people of all fitness levels including elderly and people with health conditions that find it hard to participate in other sports. Also the air around a swimming pool is so humid that swimming is often the sport for people who suffer with asthma.
Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that works your abdominals, arms, gluteus muscles, hamstrings and quadriceps. Swimming is also good for building stamina and muscle tone.
Co-ordination is a very important skill ...
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Swimming is one of the few fitness activities that are aerobically intense without being high impact. Swimming is suitable for people of all fitness levels including elderly and people with health conditions that find it hard to participate in other sports. Also the air around a swimming pool is so humid that swimming is often the sport for people who suffer with asthma.
Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that works your abdominals, arms, gluteus muscles, hamstrings and quadriceps. Swimming is also good for building stamina and muscle tone.
Co-ordination is a very important skill needed in swimming as you have to be able to move two or more body parts at the same time and also be able to do bilateral breathing. An example of this skill is freestyle. You need to move your arms alternating and constantly have a leg kick whilst bilateral breathing (which is breathing after the third arm stroke).
Different types of people swim for different reasons:
* Keep fit
* Socialize
* Exercise muscles
* Have fun
* Make friends
* Compete
There are two types of swimming courses, short course and long course. Short course is sprinting work. When you do this sort of activity your fast twitch fibres contract very quickly and very powerful but they get tired quite quickly. Long course concentrates on endurance. As your muscles work harder, they need more oxygen, so your breathing and heart rate get faster to move oxygen around the body. The more efficient your cardiovascular system, the slower your pulse rate will be whilst resting or exercising, so the quicker it will return back to normal after you have been exercising.
Aerobic activity's need a lot of oxygen present for energy production to be carried out aerobically. This just means that it requires large amounts of oxygen. The level of work will be of a low intensity and it may continue for a long period. You can achieve this by doing cardiovascular exercise. Your heart delivers oxygen to your muscles over long periods of exercise, your heart and lungs can provide a lot of oxygen this proves your CV fitness it good. Stamina is referred to as cardiovascular fitness. It needs to meet requirements of cardiovascular fitness as there must be a continuous supply of oxygen to the muscles so that energy can be produced. This is achieved through the blood supply.
Muscle tone is important to a swimmer as it makes the muscles thicker so they contract more strongly, also beneficial on posture, which leads to being less injury prone.
A swimmer can use two types of training methods interval and continuous. Interval involves alternating periods of high intensity work with rest periods and continuous training is also known as long slow distance. It involves exercising at a constant rate during the specific activity.
An example of interval training: 10 x 50m sprints with a 20second rest between each leg. Interval training is easy to measure progress and improvement unfortunately it's hard to keep going.
An example of continuous training: solid training for 20-30minutes. After a number of sessions time would increase but work load would stay the same. This is ideal for long distance swimmers as it develops stamina rather than speed. Continuous training is good for aerobic fitness but it doesn't improve sprinting.
Fitness requirements for Swimming
I'm going to relate each requirement to a part of the swimming: the stroke, start, turn, or finish.
Activity
Requirement
Justification
All strokes. I've related it to butterfly.
Dynamic Strength
This is the strength needed to keep a load moving over a long period of time, and so this is obviously related to swimming. In any of the 4 strokes the whole body is required to move through the water. Butterfly requires strength and flexibility, over a 100m sprint; it requires strength to keep the body moving and also to maintain the stroke technique so that the swimmer is able to move through the water with maximum efficiency.
All strokes. I've related it to butterfly
Co-ordination
In all aspects of swimming all limbs of the body are involved in a whole body action. All strokes therefore require the limbs to be co-ordinated; with the butterfly and breastroke relying the most on the co-ordination of the movements of different body parts. Take the butterfly for example, the leg action enables the body to remain flat, whilst the arm action propels the body; and so these movements pull together and form one whole co-ordinated movement. If the whole movements co-ordinated the undulating body action will be kept to a minimum as the body will be flowing through the water streamline.
All aspects of swimming, in training, short distance swims, but in particular long distance swims.
Stamina
For the swimmer to continue to keep the whole body moving over a long period of time, the swimmer needs to have a substantial amount of stamina. Stamina is basically what the swimmer uses when they continue to exert maximum effort over a long period of time. In a long distance swim of any stroke the swimmer will obviously pace their selves, and so the enduring energy and strength enables to hold their techniques and continuing to maintain streamline when turning and swimming. The enduring energy and strength would also provide the swimmer with the last burst of energy where the swimmer would be respiring anaerobically for the last 5-10metres, when finishing the race.
In a competition such as a gala, where the swimmer is about to start a 50m sprint.
Reaction time
Here the swimmer is required to carry out a quick response to a single stimulus and this obviously being the gun. At the start the crowd will be quiet, the swimmers will be asked to take up their starting position, then the swimmer will have a matter of seconds to respond to the gun, leave the blocks, then in a split second that they are in the air after responding to the stimulus, the arms need to become extended, the legs drive back and so the swimmer will be in a stretched position when entering the water.
A tumble turn in a freestyle swim.
Rate control
When approaching and driving off from a turn, the swimmer needs to be able to change speed and direction. It is not just this that is required for a good start, turn and finish, the timing of the change of direction and speed has to be effective, and so it is precise. The change of direction in swimming doesn't necessarily have to be precise in the timing of it, however in a tumble turn for example; the body is required to change direction where the outlay of time is kept to a minimum. So basically the swimmer wants to avoid gliding into and out of them, but in the early stage of the turn, where the body is about to curl up, roll and hit the wall, pushing off with there feet, the swimmer needs to do this quickly to build up the momentum to actually hurl the body over.
All aspects of swimming. Stroke and sprint I related it to.
Flexibility
Flexibility is the range of movement around a joint. Flexibility depends on the type and structure of a bone and its shape, ligament and length. Flexibility is a factor that enhances the performance of the swimmer in the example. Better stroke efficiency and increased stride in length is improved and performance is enhanced by flexibility.
Fitness is an important component in a hockey game. Muscle strength and stamina are both important to the hockey player.
Aerobic activity needs a lot of oxygen present, which then energy production is carried out aerobically. As this type of physical activity requires large amounts of oxygen, the level of work must be of a low intensity, but it may continue for a long period of time
Hockey involves an enormous amount of sprinting, turning, stopping and starting
An outfield player covers an average 3 miles in a game and a mid-fielder can cover as much as 5 miles. The distance covered is at a very high intensity.
Fartlek or Interval training is useful for a hockey player. Fartlek reflects the pattern of games that have a regular change of pace for example hockey. This activity involves regular changes of pace e.g. walking, jogging, sprinting and then flat out and also changes of direction. This reflects to some extent the movements of an outfield player. Some players prefer to do repetition runs over long distances e.g. 800, 600, 400metres.
Fartlek and Interval are a few training methods that work on aerobic capacity which enables the player to practice a variety of skills at the same time. This is also the best way to get fit for hockey. Aerobic capacity is directly related to the frequency of training.
A hockey player must have
* A high level of aerobic endurance. This is to ensure they can maintain a high work rate and skill level for the whole 70minutes of a game.
* The ability to produce high intensity sprints over short and long distances.
* Good speed. They need to be quick so they are able to compete at a good standard level as there components may be fast and skilful.
* Strength and power. They need to be able to move and change directions at speed and to carry out there skills effectively
* Good flexibility. They need to be able to reduce the risk of injury and to ensure they can achieve a range of movements as possible.
Fitness components for Hockey
- Speed
- Strength
- Aerobic Capacity
- Endurance
- Skill
- Agility
The most important skill is intelligence; hockey is 75% mental and 25% physical.
Speed
Speed is the shortest time taken to move the body or a body part over a specific distance. The ability to move all or part of a body quickly is crucial in hockey. Speed is supported by many different body parts. The legs are needed to chase the ball in hockey, also the arms are needed to drive the ball over a long distance, and this requires fast arm and the upper body speed.
Strength
Strength is the ability to use muscles to apply force to overcome resistance. There are three types of strength:
* Static
* Explosive
* Dynamic
Aerobic Capacity
Aerobic capacity is basically how long a player can go without "running out of breath" and how quickly the player can recover from physical exertion. Aerobic training conditions lungs, heart and the circulatory system for the stress of physical activity. Aerobic conditioning supplies the energy for low intensity exercise over a long duration. Good aerobic conditioning allows a player to recover more completely between shifts on and off the pitch. A player relies upon aerobic capacity after their shift in hockey, while sitting on the bench breathing heavily, taking in more oxygen and then recovering to go back out on the next shift.
Endurance
Muscles depend on endurance. There are two types of endurance, muscular and cardiovascular. Muscular endurance is how long your muscles can keep going by exerting a lot of force for a long time. Cardiovascular endurance is how good your muscles are at keeping a full supply of oxygen, which is the job of your heart and lungs. Hockey relies on both muscular and cardiovascular. Muscular endurance helps you keep going through the whole match. When your muscles can't work properly any more, your arms and legs start to feel heavy/weak and muscle fatigue sets in. Cardiovascular helps to keep muscles supplied with oxygen. As muscles work harder they need more oxygen, breathing and heart rate gets faster to move more oxygen round the body.
Skill
A skill is a learned ability to bring about the result you want, with maximum confidence and good organization. A skill is something you learn, you aren't born with it. Some people learn it faster than others. With a skill you always have a result in mind as you know what you want to do. Skills should be performed with control and the minimum expense of energy/time. In hockey there are two skills needed, basic and complex. The basic skill is simple like jumping or throwing. The complex skill is a higher level of co-ordination and control. The basic skill in hockey is running and hitting. The complex skill is getting those two skills co-ordinating in time, as it takes practice to master and there is room for improvement.
Agility
Agility is the ability to change body position and direction quickly and with accuracy. In hockey you have to get into space to pass and receive the ball. To do this you would have to change body position maybe if you were standing straight to hit the ball you would need to crouch down with your stick on the floor to receive the ball before you then stand up to pass to your player. You would not only have to change body position but if one of your team mates needed to pass the ball to you and you were not in a space you would need to change direction add a little speed and run into a space to again receive the ball.
Exercise has a major effect on the lung capacity of an individual. In the short term, breathing becomes more rapid and deeper during exercise. More air is inspired so more oxygen can be transferred to the blood stream. This is vital to ensure that the muscles can work. The transfer of oxygen to the blood is called gaseous exchange.
I've looked at Hockey, Football and Swimming. Two of the three sports are team games. Whether they are an individual sport or team games they all rely on aerobic fitness. The main health related components for aerobic activities:
* Heart rate is slower; therefore the heart doesn't have to work as hard.
* Blood pressure is more efficient as heart rate is slower therefore blood pressure is better controlled.
* Oxygen supplied is easier. It's quicker when needed and more can be distributed to major areas which need it.
* Lastly V02 max gets bigger.
They also rely on the same health and skill components such as aerobic fitness, endurance, agility and co-ordination. All the training methods that have been mentioned throughout this assignment:
* Fartlek
* Interval
* Continuous
are a good method used to increase aerobic or anaerobic fitness.
Anaerobic activities are affected less than aerobic ones as they do not need vast amounts of oxygen. The aerobic capacity of muscles deteriorates very quickly if the muscles are not used. They begin to waste away and become smaller and thinner. Weaker muscles are prone to injury.
Training improves muscle tone which improves posture. All of these are beneficial in avoiding injury.
Sport
Fitness Requirements
Swimming
Dynamic Strength
Co-ordination
Stamina
Reaction Time
Rate Control
Flexibility
Hockey
Speed
Strength
Aerobic Capacity
Endurance
Skill
Agility
Football
Aerobic Fitness
Anaerobic Fitness
Speed
Agility
All of these sports all rely on aerobics fitness. Hockey and Football demand of 55% aerobic and they also demand 45% anaerobic. They all need flexibility and co-ordination to allow you to play these sports. Without flexibility and co-ordination you wouldn't be able to move. In swimming you need to be able to co-ordinate your arms and legs at the same time to move. In hockey you need to be able to move your legs to run and also being able to co-ordinate your arms when they are needed to take a shot or receive a pass and to pass to another team mate. In football you also need to move your legs to run up and down the pitch and also you need to co-ordinate your leg to hit the ball.
All three sports all have the same starting requirement being reaction time.
Swimming - On the blocks, you have to wait for the gun before you dive into the water.
Hockey - Centre line pass, you have to wait for the whistle before the centre forward takes the first pass.
Football - Centre line pass, you have to wait for the whistle before the centre forward takes the first pass.
Stamina is important again in all three sports, without stamina you won't be able to keep going.
Swimming - completing your heat in a gala/competition.
Hockey - finishing a match.
Football - finishing a match.
Agility is only really important in hockey and football. You do use it in swimming but not as much as hockey and football. In hockey and football you need to change direction and body position accuracy. In swimming you turn direction when you get to the end of a swimming pool, for freestyle and backstroke you use a tumble turn to change direction, in butterfly and breastroke you have to touch the wall with two hands and push off the wall with your feet.
Again speed is only really important in hockey and football. In swimming there are two types of course, short course and long course. Short course is sprinting. This is where you would need speed. Long course concentrates on endurance.
Strength is important in all three sports. In hockey and football you need to use muscles to apply force to overcome resistance. In swimming it is more dynamic strength as you need to keep a load moving over a long period of time. In any of the 4 strokes the whole body is required to move through the water.
In all three sports the skill doesn't come natural, it takes time and practice. In swimming you would obviously have started off by having swimming lessons for you to know how to swim. Same with hockey and football, you start off with practices where you learn new things week in week out. Then you would participate in matches where you demonstrate all these new findings.
Endurance, all sports use this whether it is muscular endurance or cardiovascular endurance as muscles depend on endurance to move.
In this assignment I am going to explain the health related fitness components and describe the fitness requirements for three contrasting sports of my choice. I will define the fitness requirements and then compare the fitness requirements for the three contrasting sports.
The sports I have picked are: