Instinctively has to possess certain Physical Qualities of an Athlete. It is essential to have all these physical qualities to be a Successful Athlete. Because, in competition, an athlete has to demonstrate physical fitness and therefore, has to acquire physical qualities in order to be champion. Physical qualities such as mobility, speed, endurance, balance, coordination, and some more such qualifications make a perfect athlete. In this post, we will discover in detail what most essential physical qualities of an athlete need to have and must be proficient in performance.
Physical Qualities of an Athlete
Most often, athletic trainers utilize some proven athletic principles to develop athletic qualities. These qualities include agility, coordination, flexibility, power, speed, endurance, balance, awareness, and time sense. Let us know in-depth the seven potential physical qualities of an athlete essential for being a great athlete.
1. Power
Power refers to a person’s ability to apply the maximum amount of energy in the shortest possible time. Think of a sprinter forcefully driving into the starting blocks, a high-jumper propelling himself off the ground, a football player exploding off the line, or a weight lifter squatting a near-maximal load. Although each of these movements is individually distinct from each other, in both form and speed, they require power.
Every athlete needs explosive power. Athletes who can display large amounts of force in relatively short periods of time would do well in a competition. Why power is so important for an athlete? Simply because it is unthinkable to be an athlete without proper power. An athlete has to demonstrate his power in every moment of the competition. Athletes can increase the required power through accurate training and regular physical exercise.
2. Speed
Speed is the ability to move quickly across the ground or move limbs rapidly to grab or throw.
We can understand how important speed is for an athlete through an example. The men’s world record of a 100-meter sprint is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt in 2009 at present, while the women’s world record of 10.49 seconds set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 remains unbroken.
The speed with which Killian Mbappe of France has won the 2018 FIFA World Cup has caught the attention of the football world. Croatia lost to France in the final, just because of the speed of Killian Mbabane. Or suppose you think a little about how important speed is in swimming.
3. Endurance
Then the most important physical qualities of an athlete that an athlete needs to have are endurance. An ideal instance is a distance running events (800 meters upwards to marathon) with the required degree of endurance training increasing with race distance. Rest two popular examples are cycling (particularly road cycling) and competitive swimming. Other sports for which extensive amounts of endurance are required include rowing and cross country skiing. Athletes can also undergo endurance when their sport may not necessarily be an endurance sport in the whole sense but may still demand some endurance. For instance, aerobic endurance is necessary for racket sports, football, rugby, martial arts, basketball, and cricket.
4. Balance
Movement is essential for not only athletic performance but also for the performance of any daily activity. You need control of the body’s postural alignment to be able to move efficiently. It means that you need a strong balance to move efficiently. When there is no balance, it is extremely challenging to carry a bag of groceries, climb stairs, or do simple tasks like standing and sitting. For athletes, balance helps you run more, cycle longer, and swim stronger.
When you have a strong balance, your body responds easily to small debuts on the road. To improve your balance, it is important to understand the types of balance and include balance exercises.
Basically, balance is divided into two types: static balance and dynamic balance. Static balance refers to the ability of the body to maintain the center of mass based on its support. Dynamic balance refers to the ability of the body to move beyond the support base while maintaining physical control.
5. Flexibility
Flexibility means the range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints to induce a bending movement or motion.
It is the ability to flex the ankles, the knees, the hips, the lumbar spine, the shoulders, etc. The ability to rotate through hips and shoulders as well as upper back/thorax. And the ability to separate hips similar to the idea of hip flexion, but taking it a step further.
There are three components that affect flexibility such as muscle elasticity and length, joint structure, and the nervous system.
Flexibility increases the mobility and movement of athletes. Static and dynamic flexibility training is important and necessary to “flexibly fit” and to boost performance. Dynamic flexibility is important for everyday activities and sports because they require movement throughout the full range of motion.
Static flexibility, on the other hand, is preferred for increasing overall flexibility through muscle elasticity and joint mobility. This is one of the most essential physical qualities of an athlete indeed to become successful in competition.
6. Agility
Agility for an athlete is the ability to combine coordination, acceleration, and deceleration in the performance of a task or series of tasks. It consists of some specific types as follows:
Closed Chain Agility – the agility required while moving away from a fixed base of support. The ground is an example of a base of support that an athlete would move away from in this type of agility.
Optional Skill Agility – the agility required in an unpredictable and constantly changing environment. For example, the footwork needed for a soccer player.
Fixed Skill Agility – the agility required in a predictable and choreographed environment. For example, the footwork needed for a figure skater.
7. Coordination
Balance, rhythm, spatial orientation, and the ability to respond to both auditory and visual stimuli have been identified as elements of coordination.
Athletes need to learn to master the elements associated with good coordination like balance, rhythm, spatial awareness, reaction, etc in order to perform better.
Indeed, the development of good coordination is a multi-layered sequence that improves from the efficiency performed with good spatial awareness.
Athletes must acquire a variety of motor skills and ultimately perfect to ensure both future athletic success and injury prevention. Developing basic coordination through movement stimulation is a must, with the ultimate goal of developing sports-specific coordination over the years.
Every athlete is unique, and not all of them need the same degree of each physical quality. A powerlifter doesn’t need the same amount of conditioning as a cricketer, and a soccer player doesn’t need the power or speed development as an elite sprinter.
