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Components of Fitness

Agility

Agility is the ability of a person to change direction, turn and twist with ease. Agility can be challenged by adding extra components into an exercise such as balls and cones. Agility is important for hockey to change direction while dribbling just as it is for sailors to duck under their mast. 

Coordination

Co-ordination is the ability for a person to simultaneously use opposite limbs at the same time smoothly and efficiently. Combining two different exercises into one or moving upper and lower limbs in different directions at the same time can improve coordination. Coordination is just as important for dancers as it is for people learning how to use crutches.

Power

Power is strength and speed combined. The ability to quickly push/pull a heavy object. Generally the heavier an object the slower it can be moved and vice versa. The point at which these two elements cross is how to train power. 

Balance

The ability to maintain your centre of gravity over your base of support. Balance is just as important for a gymnast on a high beam as it is for an elderly patient to walk on an uneven surface.

Balance can be tested and improved by reducing the base of support, making the base of support uneven (such as wobble boards) and closing the eyes. Proprioception is crucial when training balance.

Speed

Speed is how fast a person can go. Speed is dependent on the activity at hand. A sprinter would beat a marathon runner over the space of 100m, however the opposite would be seen at the 26.2 mile mark. Be aware that speed throughout exercises needs to be carefully managed as form can quickly disappear as speed increases. 

Strength

Strength is the ability of a person to push/pull objects. 

Stamina / Endurance

Stamina is the ability to continue effort for a sustained period of time resisting fatigue (physically and psychologically). Stamina is just as important for footballers in extra time as it is for COPD patients to go about their ADL’s. 

Strength 

Endurance

Strength endurance is the ability to continue a high force activity for a long time or with repeated bouts. For example rugby scrums. 

Proprioception

Proprioception is important for everyday activities. It is the ability for the mind to know exactly where the body is in space. Working on proprioception is crucial, especially after injury. 

Flexibility

Flexibility is the ROM available at joints. Flexibility can be effected by the joint structure as well as soft tissues surrounding the joint. Flexibility is as important for yoga enthusiasts as it is for people to be able to tie their own shoelaces.

Accuracy

Accuracy is the ability to perform with precision. Accuracy is as important for an archer as it is for a neuro patient’s foot placement during their gait cycle. 

Cardiff University School of Healthcare Sciences

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