Skill Related Fitness

Welcome to 5.14 Fitness,




This post will identify and hopefully explain the 6 key areas of skill related fitness. These are skills that contribute to a sporting performance. Apologizes for not posting yesterday, myself and will were both really busy. I had just had a tough week of sporting fixtures and a really difficult game of football that morning, so I totally crashed out the rest of the day and only did one ab workout, where as Will was on his way to Wembley in order to watch the England-Slovenia Euro 2016 Qualifier.


Without further a due; skill related fitness:


Power


Power is the ability to do strength performances quickly. The mathematical equation for power is strength x speed. You need power in sports like javelin to be able to throw (propel forwards) the javelin as far as possible. You generate the strength and speed are generated from muscles in the arm.
Ways you can test your power are the Hand Grip Test and the Sargent Jump Test. Other sports that rely heavily on power are shot-putt, tennis (when you hit a shot) and high jump.


Balance


Balance is ability to retain the body's centre of mass above the base of support with reference to static or dynamic conditions of movement, shape or orientation. This means being able to stay in the position you need to be in whilst you move or when you stand still. You need balance in climbing to be able to prevent your self from falling as you move. You can test your balance with the Standing Stork Test.  Other sports that rely heavily on balance are dance, gymnastics and darts (to reach out to get closer to the board and be able to throw accurately.) 


Co-ordination


Co-ordination is the ability to use 2 or more body parts effectively at the same time. You need good co-ordination to be able to catch the ball in baseball so that you can field efficiently, you require your hand and eyes to work at the same time to follow the ball and to catch it.  You can test your co-ordination with the Alternate Wall Toss Test. Other sports you require good co-ordination in are tennis, dance ( to move arms and legs together ) and cricket.


Agility


Agility is the ability to change position of the body quickly and control the entire movement of the body. You need agility in hockey to be able to dribble the ball quickly and change body position to avoid other players without falling over and having control of the ball. You can test your agility with the Illinious Test. Other sports that rely heavily on agility include football (soccer), American football and rugby.


Speed


Speed is the differential rate at which an individual is able to perform a movement or cover a distance in a period of time. This means the ability to move or do things quickly. You need speed to be able to move quickly in a 100m sprint so you can run faster than the others. You can test speed by doing a 30m sprint. Other sports that rely on speed are hurdles, 200m sprint and cycling pursuit.


Reaction Time


Reaction time is the time between the presentation of a stimulus and the on set of a movement. This means the time taken to move from when it is that you have to start. You need good reaction time in netball to be able to catch the ball when it is thrown at you with pace, you have to be able to react to the sight of seeing the ball coming your way then get yourself in the correct position to catch the ball. You can test your reaction time with the Ruler Drop Test. Other sports that rely heavily on reaction time are tennis, boxing (to move out of the way ) and football -soccer- (as a goal keeper to be able to react to a player shooting at the gaol and to be able to save it.


Hope this helps, more back to basics to be released soon. Please read again, check out other posts, some comments plus ones etc., would be nice and any following is returned (you can also add the blog to your reading list and follow that way so please do so it is much appreciated)- work hard and peace!










Jason