Components of Fitness - Components of Physical Fitness

diving in the air to save a shot or jumping in the air to catch a ball

from a crossing situation.

Methods of improving strength can vary, weight training is an

effective way of building up muscle strength increasing the

capabilities of the body. It is important to know that concentrating

on just the legs for a football player is not necessarily the best

thing to do as upper body strength is also needed a great deal.

Flexibility

Flexibility is the range of movement possible at a joint. It is an

important part of fitness that we need to keep into old age. We lose

flexibility as we grow older. We should always remember to warm up

before competition to stretch our muscles and tendons. An example of a

flexibility the sit and reach test.

In football, for an attacker flexibility can be very important in the

spine when jumping for a header. It is important to arch the back

correctly in preparation for the thrust movement of the head and neck

as contact is made with the ball. This way, power can be put on the

ball, to generate speed.

For a midfield player flexibility can be when attempting to control

the ball by using the chest. The back, again is arched backwards and

the arms are pushed backwards to bring the chest out more, giving the

ball a larger surface area to land on.

A defensive player would need flexibility in the legs for tackling.

Defenders legs would have to be able to move in a range of different

directions to enable a better chance of taking the ball in a sliding

challenge.

A goalkeeper would need flexibility in the arms, hips and legs to

enable them to spread their bodies accordingly when dealing with

shots.

A good way of training flexibility is a `sit and reach' training

method in which you must try to stretch as far as you can whilst

laying with your feet straight.

Muscular Endurance

Muscular Endurance is the ability of the muscle to work for long

periods of time without tiring. There are two main parts of endurance

that put together endurance, these are: local muscle endurance and

cardiovascular endurance. Local muscular endurance is how long the

actual muscles in the body can continue for before they get tired and

cardiovascular endurance is how long the heart and lungs can supply

oxygen around the body whilst participating in an activity. Good

examples of local muscle endurance are sit-ups and chin-ups.

A main factor of how good somebody's endurance is depends a lot on

body weight and fat. It can be difficult to reach and maintain a good

level of fitness in the mentioned areas if you are carrying extra

weight; this also applies to a good level of fitness. if your body is

underweight it cannot store enough energy to keep you going. Being

underweight can also mean that the body does not build muscle tone,

and can cause joint injuries.

An attacker in football has to have good endurance so they can last

the pace of the game and be prepared to make any runs when playing.

Stamina levels in football have to be particularly good because of the

pace the game is played at and the way the respiratory system works

both aerobically and anaerobically.

Midfielders have to have the best endurance ability in football

because they do the most running; the hamstrings and gastrocnemius

have to be in particularly good shape to last a match and to avoid

injury.

The reason defenders need endurance is because they have to keep up

with any opposing players whilst under attack and if a team is

constantly defending the defenders have to be in very good shape to be

able to cope.

Goalkeepers don't particularly need endurance for running around as

their job in a team requires them to stay inside the 18 yard box,

however they do need to have a good level of endurance to be able to

stay in a constant position of readiness for a whole match.

Bent knee sit-ups are a good method of increasing muscular endurance,

as you have to push yourself to perform well.

SPEED

Speed is the maximum rate at which a person is able to move their

body. Good ways of testing for speed are sprints, extended training of

sprints can also lead to faster times. It is not just leg speed that a

sprinter would have, but athletes who can throw a javelin require arm

speed.

All footballers need to be fast, the flow of the game depends highly

on this and to keep up with the play you cannot be slow.

Attacking players have to have speed when on the ball or making

crucial runs. It is important to beat defenders using speed or getting

behind them to collect the ball.

Midfielders need speed so they can get back and forth on the pitch and

wingers especially need it so they can bring the ball forward and get

into advantageous crossing positions.

Defenders speed is crucial in the game when they are tracking

attackers, man marking or getting back from attacking set pieces.

One of the best methods of training to increase speed is by doing

shuttle run training. This makes you push the body increasingly to get

to higher speeds in shorter distances.

Components of Motor Fitness

Motor fitness is the capability to perform successfully at a

particular game or activity.

AGILITY

Agility is the ability to change the direction of the body quickly.

Goalkeepers and gymnasts are good examples of people who have this

ability to do this.

A situation when attackers may need to be agile is when a challenge is

made upon them. They may need to avoid the tackle and changing the

shape of the body whilst evading any harm is a necessity.

Midfield players need to be agile when taking opposing players on,

being able to twist and turn with the ball and able to confuse a

player so you can beat them is a good skill to have. Also, being able

to skip challenges is a good skill to be able to do, this also applies

to strikers and attacking players.

Defensive players agility is required for trying to challenge a player

with the ball, if an opposing player manages to turn the defender they

have to be agile enough to reposition themselves quickly enough to

stay with the game.

Goalkeepers, as mentioned above are required to have great agility as

they need to be able to get to the ground or dive across the goal

within a split second to save any shots.

Shuttle runs are also a good way of improving agility with training as

you have to turn quickly in small spaces.

REACTION TIME

Reaction time is the time it takes to respond to a stimulus. The stimulus

could be a starting pistol in a race, or a ball being returned over the net

in tennis.

In football attackers reaction times have to be good so they can get

to the ball as soon as possible. For example, trying to deflect a shot

away from the direction the goalkeeper is going or collecting the ball

from a ricochet.

Midfield players reaction times have to be fast so they can respond to

short passes or so they can fit into a fast flowing game of football

with lots of passes in the build ups of attacks.

Defenders need good reaction times so they can respond from set pieces

or shots where they can get the ball away from the danger areas.

Goalkeepers moving to get their body in line with the ball to save a shot

need very fast reaction times.

POWER

Power is, in simple terms, "strength x speed" or doing strength

movements quickly. A shot putter uses power when moving a shot from

their neck. A high jumper needs power in their legs to lift their

body, vertically, over the bar.

Attackers need power so they can force their way through on goal and

try to have a shot.

Midfielders rely on their power to help them dribble the ball past

players, it is important so they can get past players easier without

getting forced off the ball.

Defenders use power to tackle opposing players and use it to stand

their ground, not letting anyone get past.

Power can be improved by learning how to incorporate the strength

training into practice. For example, by improving the strength of the

muscles in the arms a goalkeeper should be able to throw a ball out of

the area further and harder.

BALANCE

Balance is the ability to keep upright while you are standing still or

moving. Gymnasts balancing on their hands or on a beam are often

thought to have good balance, but we all have to balance when we are

standing or riding a bike. There are two types of balance; static,

such as a gymnast or dynamic, such as a footballer under pressure from

a challenge.

Attackers and midfielders in football when dribbling a ball have to

have good balance when an opponent tries to shoulder charge them. The

players need to shift their body weight to prevent themselves from

falling over. When being tripped to stop yourself from falling over

you have to move your centre of gravity quickly.

Defenders may need to use balance when turning around quickly to keep

up with a player taking the ball past them.

Goalkeepers use balance to keep the angles that the ball may come from

narrowed down, increasing their chances of making a save or stopping

the ball.

Balancing can be improved with simple exercises such as trying to walk

across a beam, eventually you would learn how to shift your weight so

you could make it across the beam without falling.

CO-ORDINATION

Co-ordination is the ability to use different senses and body parts

together to perform smooth and accurate motor tasks. Hand/eye

co-ordination is needed when hitting a moving ball in tennis, cricket

and baseball. Foot/eye co-ordination is needed when volleying a

football or juggling the ball.

Attackers, especially strikers, are expected to be able to volley a

ball well enough to make a considerable impact with the target. This

requires precise timing, thought and concentration.

An example fo when a midfield player may use co-ordination in a game

of football is if they flicked the ball up and then volleyed it over a

player so an attacker could run onto the ball.

Defenders co-ordination skills would not really be expected to be as

precise as attackers and midfielders. Times a defender may use this

type of skill may be a simple act of volleying the ball high and away

from danger.

Goalkeepers need both hand/eye co-ordination and foot/eye

co-ordination to do their job properly. Saving the ball by catching it

or punching it away requires skill and dealing with pass backs using

the feet are also examples of this.

Training to improve co-ordination can be done with simple training

methods such as juggling small balls using the hands or using

footballs and using your feet.

Another aspect of fitness is attitude. A good mental attitude will

help a person want to stay in shape and help the body achieve high

levels of fitness. If a person has decided that they're "not sporty",

then they're going to have a difficult time working past their

attitude to achieve even basic fitness for health.

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