BASIC PHYSICAL ABILITIES

Physical fitness is improved by means of working the four basic physical abilities:
endurance, strength, speed and flexibility. All these physical abilities take part, to
a greater or lesser extent, in any movement or exercise.

ENDURANCE

Regular endurance exercises improve our cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary

systems which are formed by heart, lungs, arteries and veins. Some examples of
endurance sports are: marathon, triathlon, route cycling, long distance swimming
and so on.

Definition: Endurance is the ability to maintain an effort for a long period of time,
as well as the ability to keep on working out despite the fatigue.

Characteristics:

Type of effort: low intensity and long duration.

Source of energy: fat.
Factors: it depends on the cardiovascular and the cardiopulmonary system
and the training level.

Endurance and heart rate:

One of the most simple and convenient method to know the effort intensity is
monitoring the pulse through the heart rate (HR), measuring the beats per minute
(BPM) of our heart.

How to measure it?

During 15 seconds and multiply the result by 4.

Use your middle and your index fingers.
Zones: neck, heart an wrist.

STRENGTH

The strength occurs through the muscular contraction which allows the locomotor
movement. A good level of strength is necessary in order to prevent joint injuries,
maintain a correct posture and improve your performance.

Definition: Strength is the ability to overcome resistance or move weight. It

depends on muscular contraction.

Types:

Endurance-strength: ability of the muscles to work for a long time.

 Maximum-strength: maximum weight that you can lift in one maximum
repetition.
Power: it is the result of combining two abilities, strength and speed. It is
the ability to produce strength in a short period of time.

Training methods:

Selfloads.
Weights.
In pairs.
Medicinal Balls.

SPEED

There are a lot of sports where speed is essential to reach a better performance.
For example, a tennis player needs reaction speed to see fast a drop ball and a
good acceleration and power to start the movement quickly to return the ball.

Definition: Speed is the ability to react with maximum speed to a signal and/or to
do movements quickly in a very short period of time.

Types:

Reaction speed: It is the time it takes you to react to a stimulus.

Speed of an isolated movement: a movement you do only once (a karate kick
or a tennis service).
Speed of movement: It is the time you spend to travel from one place to
another, for example a sprint in running.

FLEXIBILITY

Flexibility helps improve quality of life maintaining a good range of motion in the
joints. Loss of flexibility can lead provoke pain, injuries or balance disorders.
Exercise including stretching often improves flexibility.

Definition: Flexibility is the ability of reaching the maximum amplitude in a

movement in a specific joint.

Individual factors:

Joint structure (ligaments, tendons and cartilages).

Body temperature. The best moment to increase flexibility is when the
muscles are warm.
 Age. This physical ability can be lost if you do not exercise it.
Sex. Girls usually have more flexibility than boys (genetic and muscular
factors).
Activity level. A regular practice of sport helps to have more flexibility.
Genetic. There are individual differences.

Types:

Active: The muscular activity is voluntary.

Passive: Elongation is produced by an external force, our body weight or
gravity activity.

ACTIVITIES

1. Define one example for active flexibility and one for passive flexibility.

2. Write three sports in which speed is important and three in which

endurance is important too. Explain why.

3. Crossword

H E A R T R A T E E P O
A X Y S L J G S L G T U
X N H P Z O R T R S S P
R F L E X I B I L I T Y
F U J E V N N O P Y R S
U G N D E T A S V P E L
I Q T R L Z N L S O N A
B A Q W S Z W N A W G R
P E N D U R A N C E T I
O D Y L I S U L A R H J

4. What physical ability is related to each one of these tests?

1. Sit ups (1 minute)

2. 50 metre dash

3. Cooper test

4. Long jump

5. Throw the medicine ball