Health and fitness related components
Fitness plays a small though significant part in the success of a
cricketer. There are several components of fitness that are important
for success for all players. To be a successful member for a team one
needs to be healthy. A state of complete mental, physical and social
well-being is considered as being healthy. Mental health can be
observed as the ability to concentrate on a subject for a long period
of time, control emotions and think logically through a problem. This
could be achieved by regular meeting people that you take part in
activities with. In a sports context this could be as a member of a
club, gym or society. In cricket one should be mentally able to
concentrate on the ball and be able to place in it in little gaps. As
well a bowler should be able to concentrate on wickets balling
straights and at different height and lengths puzzling the batsman.
To achieve physical well-being, a performer would concentrate on five
areas of health related exercise. The five healths related components
of fitness are cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscular
endurance, muscular strength and body composition which relates to all
different sports.
* Cardiovascular fitness relies on a healthy heart, blood and blood
vessels. How active a lifestyle a person can lead depends on the
condition of these. For a cricket player this is an important
component of fitness, so that players can reduce the effect of fatigue
during long periods of play. Strong and efficient heart and lungs will
help a player keep working hard throughout a game without losing
breath and lowering performance. A player with healthy cardio
endurance will be able to cope with the heat stress of playing all day
in the sun. The bleep test can measure heart and lung efficiency
reflecting the oxygen uptake. Harvard step test and the ten minute run
are other methods of measuring cardiovascular endurance. Cardio
endurance could be improved by running long distance and other sports
that involves a lot of movements.
* Muscular endurance is the ability of the muscles to move weight over
a long period without tiring and losing effectiveness. Cricket
performer, working for a lengthy period, need muscular endurance so
they can keep their skill level high throughout the game. Strength
endurance tests include sit-ups, push-ups, chins and dips. There are
other tests for different parts of the body using machines. Lifting
lighter weights many times develops muscular endurance.
* Muscular strength can be seen in a person who can lift heavy
weights. Strength is defined as the ability to lift a maximum weight
in one attempt. A fast bowler needs strength and speed combined
together to create a power to ball at a very fast speed at each
attempt. A batsman having poor strength may not...
