Sports Fitness
by Patrica A. Stuart, M.D.
Norwich Orthopedic Group

One of the misconceptions in the sports world is that a sports person gets in shape by just playing or taking part in his/her chosen sport. If a stationary performance level is your goal then engaging only in your sport will keep you there.  However, if you want the utmost efficiency, consistent improvement, and balanced abilities athletes must participate in year round conditioning programs. The bottom line in sports conditioning and fitness training is stress. Not mental stress, but adaptive body stress. Sportsmen and women must put their bodies under a certain amount of stress to increase physical capabilities.

Exercise scientists have evaluated general fitness and identified nine separate elements:

Strength - the extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance (holding or restraining an object or person)

Power - the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements (Jumping or sprint starting)

Agility - the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in rapid succession in opposing directions (Zig Zag running or cutting movements)

Balance - the ability to control the body's position, either stationary (e.g. a handstand) or while moving (e.g. a gymnastics floor exercise program)

Flexibility - the ability to achieve an extended range of motion without being impeded by excess tissue, i.e. fat or muscle (Executing a leg split)

Local Muscle Endurance - a single muscle's ability to perform sustained work (Rowing or cycling)
Cardiovascular Endurance - the heart's ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it (Running long distances)

Strength Endurance - a muscle's ability to perform a maximum contraction time after time (Continuous explosive rebounding through an entire basketball game)

Coordination - the ability to integrate the above listed components so that effective movements are achieved

Of all the nine elements of fitness the cardiac respiratory qualities are the most important to develop because they enhance all the other components of the conditioning equation.

Some of the elements listed above are complex and interrelated.  Agility, for example, is ability to change the direction of the body in an efficient and effective manner and to achieve this the athlete will require a combination of:

Balance - the ability to maintain equilibrium through the coordinated actions of our sensory functions (eyes, ears and the proprioceptive organs in our joints) subdivided into static balance, the ability to retain the center of mass above a fixed base of support and dynamic balance, that is, balance under changing conditions of body movement.

Speed - the ability to move all or part of the body quickly

Strength - the ability of a muscle or muscle group to overcome a resistance

Co-ordination - the ability to control the movement of the body in co-operation with the body's sensory functions e.g. catching a ball (ball, hand and eye co-ordination)

We can improve the athlete's agility by identifying those components parts of agility that require improvement and then practicing those movements in training.

Fitness of an athlete refers to their ability to meet the varied physical demands of their particular sport without reducing the athlete to a fatigued state.  The role of the coach is therefore to:  Identify the most important components for success in each athlete's sport or event, Evaluate each athlete's current status for each of these components and Design athlete specific conditioning and training programs that enhance these components.

Patricia A. Stuart, M.D.,      
Orthopedic Surgery

For an appointment call:  Norwich Orthopedic Group, PC at 860-889-7345
or for more information about Dr. Stuart visit http://www.norwichorthopedic.com/