Question

Examine how the fitness of participants help in maintaining safety during sports.

Answer 1

1. A conditioned trainee or athlete enhances his or her performance, decreases the risk and severity of the injury that may occur. By doing this, he or she may be able to return to activity sooner after an injury than a non-conditioned trainee or athlete.
2. Sportspersons or athletes must be prepared to withstand the physical demands of their sports. The fitness components of preparation consist of cardiovascular endurance, body composition, flexibility, strength and power, muscular endurance, speed, and agility. Each of these components must be addressed thoroughly to condition the sportsperson or athlete. Conditioning is a series of biological adaptations.
3. For example, the trainee or an athlete does not attain high levels of strength all at once. Instead, the athlete or the trainee stresses the muscles of his body and becomes a little stronger. He repeats the process over and over again until he attains the desired effects.
4. This is a long-term process and consists of an off-season program, pre-season program, and competition season program. The coach must have competent knowledge and skills for maximizing the rate of biological adjustments in his trainee.
5. Failure to move in a systematic and progressive manner may result in over conditioning and overuse injuries or under training, which does not utilise the true potential of the athlete or the trainee. The coach is critical to the conditioning process.