Understanding Physical Qualities: Strength, Speed, Endurance, and Flexibility

Posted on Feb 28, 2025 in Physical Education

Understanding Physical Qualities

Endurance is defined as the capacity that allows us to maintain physical effort for a long time and recover more quickly afterward. Key elements that condition endurance include:

  • Muscular System: Fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers, energy stores, and the ability to remove lactic acid.
  • Nervous System: Coordination of different muscles performing the movement.
  • Circulatory System: The amount of blood circulating through the body determines the ability to transport oxygen and energy substances.
  • Respiratory System: The capacity of supplying oxygen to the body and exchanging oxygen properly in pulmonary alveoli and muscle cells.

Anaerobic Endurance

Anaerobic alactic endurance: Lasts 10 seconds at most, and does not produce lactic acid (e.g., 10-meter sprint).

Anaerobic lactic endurance: Lasts between 10 seconds and 2 minutes, and produces lactic acid (e.g., 110-meter hurdles race).

Strength

Strength is defined as the ability of our bodies to overcome resistance or oppose it using tension generated by the contraction of muscle fibers. Elements that condition strength include:

  • Muscular System: Types of muscle fibers, the thickness and length of muscle fibers, and the type of muscle contraction (especially important in younger age groups).
  • Nervous System: Coordination of the different muscles performing the movement.

Types of Strength

  • Maximum Force: Maximum mass, null acceleration (e.g., weightlifting).
  • Explosive Force: Small to medium mass, maximum acceleration (e.g., long jump).
  • Strength Endurance: Average mass, average acceleration (e.g., competitive rowing).

Speed

Speed is defined as the ability to make one or more movements in the minimum possible time. Key elements include:

  • Muscular System: Fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers, and the strength of muscles.
  • Nervous System: The speed of nerve impulse transmission.
  • Biomechanics: Implementation of proper technique.

Flexibility

Flexibility is defined as the maximum capacity of movement in a given joint. Factors influencing flexibility include:

  • Mechanical Factors: The type of articulation, and musculoligamentous flexibility.
  • Emotional Factors: Nervous or calm state of the person.
  • External Factors: Temperature, age, and social customs.

Types of Flexibility

  • Absolute Flexibility: Refers to the maximum range of movement of a joint.
  • Working Flexibility: The necessary degree of movement to successfully execute a technique.
  • Residual Flexibility: The level of movement that is always superior to the working flexibility, which the athlete must maintain to prevent stiffness and injuries.

Adaptation Phases

  • Reaction or Alarm Phase: A stressor alters the body and causes a loss of homeostatic balance, followed by a spontaneous reorganization of adaptation capacity, thereby increasing the body’s level of resistance.
  • Resistance Phase: Action against the stressor; the body struggles to re-establish the initial balance, adjusting and acquiring a state of resistance to the stimulus.
  • Depletion Phase: The stimulus disappears or exceeds the limits of the body, thereby reducing the body’s ability to adapt and the resistance phase.

Training Principles

  • Principle of Individuality: Training programs must be based on each athlete’s individual needs.
  • Principle of Adaptation: Adaptation, fatigue, rest, and supercompensation.
  • Principle of Progression: A slow but steady increase in workload is necessary. A progressive increase allows the body to adapt to the training and produces supercompensation, improving performance.
  • Principle of Continuity: To improve performance, it is essential to apply training stimuli during the supercompensation phase. Avoid alternations that lead to overtraining.

Training Cycles

Macrocylces

These are training structures with alternations between volume and intensity, which are repeated during the annual cycle (duration between 4 weeks and 10 weeks):

  • Basic: Non-specific to the sport.
  • Introductory: Beginning specialization in exercises.
  • Polishing: Working on fitness, technique, and tactics, adapted to the sport.
  • Recovery: Decreasing training loads.
  • Vacation: Recreational.

Microcycles

These last a week and allow a real adaptation to training and competition:

  • Preparation: High volume.
  • Competition: Enhances the intensity of training.
  • Maintenance: The objective is to maintain a level.