Cricket
Physical fitness requirements
Strength
Strength can be defined as the maximal force that can be generated by a muscle or muscle group at a specified velocity. This essentially means that being strong enables the muscles to produce a greater force. Of fundamental value, strength is an integral component of speed (running fast between the wickets) as well as power (fast bowling) development. Strength training is vital to the game. It means that bowling is faster and harder, throwing the ball goes further, and running faster between the
wickets and so on. So it is obvious that the objective of the strength training program is to develop strength specifically for cricket.
Cardiovascular Endurance
Optimising your CV endurance is critical to the game of cricket for the following reasons, it enhances the ability to repeat short bursts of activity over an extended period of time, It enables the ability to maintain maximum concentration levels and energy throughout a game. It enables players to maintain high levels of skill and play for long periods of time without becoming fatigued. Cricket isn’t about running at the same pace for an extended period of time. The nature of the game involves a lot of sprinting, quick and fast actions, accelerating, decelerating, changing directions, as well as a lot of standing in the one position and walking around. Therefore aerobic endurance for a cricket player isn’t about clocking up the kilometres
Flexibility
Flexibility basically refers to the range of movement about a joint. Being flexible allows an adequate range of motion about certain joints to avoid conditions of muscular stiffness and/ or the restriction of certain fundamental movement patterns. Maintaining an adequate level of flexibility is integral to playing cricket well. For example, being able to move the arm through the correct movement patterns about the shoulder joint is essential when throwing or bowling.
Skill-related fitness requirements
Body Composition
Basically, it's important to recognise that exercises for the abdominal area are not about achieving a "six-pack." Being strong through the trunk is critical to developing good posture and preventing back soreness and injuries in cricket. With reference to cricketers, core muscular strength is vital to playing for a sustained period of time and playing performance.
Reaction Time
Reaction time is the time it takes for a person to respond to a signal, this is a necessity in cricket as there are many situations where a cricketer will need good reaction times from batting when the ball is travelling at 70+ mph and also in the field with catching as reaction time could be the difference between winning and losing a match because of a dropped catch
Agility
Being agile is the ability to change position and direction quickly; it demands a high level of balance, stability and co-ordination. The nature of cricket brings about unpredictable movements and situations that need to be reacted to quickly.
Basketball
Physical fitness requirements
Cardiovascular Endurance
CV Endurance is the body's ability to exercise whole muscle groups over an extended period of time at moderate intensity, utilising aerobic energy. It is essential in basketball as games last for a long period of time and players need to carry working with their bodies efficiently without tiring to be of full use to the team
Muscular Endurance
A single muscle's or a group of muscles ability to perform sustained work over a period of time. Muscular endurance is also key as in the nature of the game basketball requires many different muscle groups mainly the legs to keep moving over and over again therefore it is key that muscles do not tire easily as the game goes on.
Flexibility
Flexibility basically refers to the range of movement about a joint. Being flexible allows an adequate range of motion about certain joints to avoid conditions of muscular stiffness and/ or the restriction of certain fundamental movement patterns. Therefore in basketball this allows players to move into positions that could get them into a scoring position or block a shot from an opponent due to flexibility in the back and shoulder area as well as the legs.
Skill-related fitness requirements
Agility
Agility is your ability to change direction at speed. Your agility is dependent on a combination of factors such as speed, strength, balance and co-ordination. The way basketball is played brings about unpredictable movements and situations that need to be reacted to quickly therefore agility is an essential part of the game.
Reaction Time
Reaction time is the time it takes for a person to respond to a signal, in basketball this could be the difference between blocking a shot or not due to the reaction time of a player or reacting quickly enough to get into a gap that has just opened up for a scoring opportunity, a good basketball athlete will take advantage of this situations if they have a excellent reaction time.
Task 3
Steven Honeyman 04/12/2007