Lifestyle factors that can affect sporting performance

Factor 1- Gender: Gender can affect sports performance as in general males have a larger percentage of muscle mass. Men also have a different angle to their hips and knees making them less prone to injury. They also have larger skeletons which can give better leverage. Some sports are better suited to a small light frame such as gymnastics, trampolining and netball, so these sports are predominately female.

An example of women not being allowed to participate in a sport is ski jumping. Women are not allowed in the Olympics. The governing body  claims “women’s ski jumping does not reach the necessary technical criteria and as such does not yet warrant a place alongside other Olympic events”.

Factor 2- Lack of exercise:  Lack of exercise can contribute to stress and depression as exercise reduces levels of cortisol (a stress hormone). Blood pressure can increase sports people who do not exercise are also at risk of cardio problems. The brain works slower and muscle bulk decreases.

An example was when Joe Martin was released by Blackpool F.C and did not play for a team for eight months. When he was finally signed by Gillingham F.C, he had to exercise to get match fit otherwise he would have been more prone to injuries and cramps cause by not enough oxygen in the blood.

Factor 3- Smoking: If you are an athlete and you smoke, you will suffer with breathing problems as the lung capacity is reduced. Also if you are an athlete and you decide to smoke, tar will build up in the lungs which will mean the athlete will be short of breath. Smoking can also reduce your cardiovascular fitness.  If you smoke you cannot perform for long periods of time. Finally, if you do smoke it can also reduce the ability to recover from injuries.

An example of an athlete that smoked was Wayne Rooney; he was caught several times smoking a cigarette during his break between the world cup and the start of the premier league season. He has now been advised to quit smoking immediately as it could end his footballing career.

Factor 4- Diet: If you are an athlete and you have a bad diet, you could build up fat which could lead to obesity. Without the vitamins and minerals the body is more at risk from infection and disease. If you do not drink water enough it could lead to dehydration which will affect the athletes’ performance. Also if an athlete has too many carbohydrates it can make the body bloated and digestion uncomfortable. Finally if an athlete doesn’t have enough fibre it could lead to problems with digestion.

An example of an athlete that recently has a poor diet is Ronaldo (Brazilian player). He has been issued a diet plan, he has been told not to have any carbohydrates at night. Also on the plan was a list of food that he should not eat, the list was: pizza, kebabs, soft drinks and alcohol beverages.