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Fitness Testing Newsletter: 11 Oct 2010
Hi and welcome to the third fitness testing newsletter for 2010. These newsletters have been coming less often as I am now concentrating on using Facebook to update my readers of the latest in fitness testing and sport science. You can also join me by visiting the topendsports facebook page and liking it! These newsletters will still be sent, but less regularly.
You are receiving this email as you have subscribed through this website. If you do not want to receive any more newsletters, you can unsubscribe through the Yahoo groups administration panel (link at the base of this email).
Factors of Success in Sports
There is a range of physical and mental components that contribute to successful performance in sports. Each sport and activity requires a specific set of these skills. Being successful in one sport does not necessarily make you successful in another, as success requires a whole range of factors to come together and interact in the right way.
Fitness is just one of the factors, and for many sports it plays a major role in success. In addition, there are psychological factors, then many more minor factors including supply of equipment, opportunity for training, expertise in coaching and skill teaching, nutritional status, a good support network, funding etc.
I have narrowed down the important individual factors to the 15 listed below, though the importance of each will vary for different sports.
- Body Composition refers primarily to the distribution of muscle and fat in the body. Body size such as height, lengths and girths are also grouped under this component.
- Aerobic Endurance also known as cardiovascular fitness and stamina, is the ability to exercise continuously for extended periods without tiring.
- Muscular Endurance the ability to repeat a series of muscle contractions without fatiguing.
- Muscle Strength the ability to carry out work against a resistance.
- Explosive Power the ability to exert a maximal force in as short a time as possible, as in accelerating, jumping and throwing implements.
- Speed / Quickness the ability to move quickly across the ground or move limbs rapidly to grab or throw.
- Anaerobic Capacity long sprinting ability, or the ability recover from repeat sprints (glycolytic system)
- Flexibility the capacity of a joint to move through its full range of motion, which is important for execution of the techniques of sports.
- Agility the ability to quickly change body position or direction of the body.
- Balance and Coordination the ability to stay upright or stay in control of body movement is an important component of many sports skills.
- Reaction Time the ability to respond quickly to a stimulus.
- Analytic and Tactical Ability the ability of the mental system to evaluate and react to strategic situations (tactical ability).
- Motivation and Self Confidence a motivated and focused athlete, with a level of belief in themselves, often seen as arrogance in athletes.
- Coping with Pressure the ability to stay focused and perform up to expectations while under increasing pressure, and under changing conditions.
- Skill and Technique the specific skill set and technique required to be successful in a particular sport.
Rating Sports
I was interested in using the above list to compare sports. To do so I set up a rating system on Topend Sports so you can add your rating as to how important you think each of these factors are to the success of a range of sports. See the Sports Rating List .
The factors list used for the rating system is not the complete 15 as listed above. After some initial testing, this list was obviously too overwhelming, and a shorter list of only 12 factors was used for our online rating system. On the short list, muscular endurance and anaerobic capacity were removed, and muscle strength and power were combined into one factor.
Pages to Check Out
- Psychological Factors of Success in Sports
- Rate Sports using the Factors of Success List
- Components of Fitness
About this Newsletter
Keep subscribing to this fitness testing newsletter for the latest information concerning fitness testing, including notification of updates to the ultimate source of all fitness testing information - 'Rob's Home of Fitness Testing'.
Thank you for your ongoing support of my site.
Rob Wood
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