The human body is like a machine. It performs optimally with proper maintenance and usage. Staying fit through exercise and other activities helps our bodies go a long way. However, fitness isn’t restricted to being physically strong; it also comprises mental fitness that trains the mind to drive the body toward the desired goal.
When it comes to sports, the body needs more. Overall fitness is essential for optimal performance in any sport. Sportspersons need to consistently train to build strength and endurance, eat well, and develop a steady, razor-sharp focus with constant motivation to excel. Hence, if a person wants to perform well at a particular sport, they need to be at the best of their physical and mental abilities to develop a competitive edge and emerge victorious.
Achieving holistic fitness for sports requires a different approach. It involves understanding the sport in detail and factoring in the physical and mental requirements to excel in it. Before pursuing any sport, one must consider all these aspects and work towards developing an individualized fitness plan based on their body type, ability, and goals.
The different aspects of fitness required to excel in sports:
- Physical fitness: Physically fit people make better sportspersons, as they are more efficient in learning the skills required for the sport. Physical fitness reduces the chance of accidents and injuries, improves stamina, optimises metabolic rate, strengthens bones and muscles, reduces the occurrence of aches and pains, and helps maintain an ideal body weight. Additionally, it decreases the chances of falling ill or developing any health conditions.
- Mental fitness: Playing a sport places both physical and mental demands on the individual. While physical training pushes the body to its limits to build strength, endurance, and speed, the mind must also push through the limits of focus, determination, motivation, and composure during stressful times. When pressure builds up, mental fitness plays an important role in performance. As per data, 40 to 60% of the success in high-level sports can be attributed to mental soundness, especially at the top levels of the competition. Mental fitness comprises cognitive fitness, sleep, and mental health.
- Nutrition: Proper nutrition supports a sportsperson’s overall health along with their specific requirements, like muscle building and strengthening. A well-balanced diet provides sufficient energy and nutrients to the body to counter the demands of physical training and enables one to perform well and recover from any injury or ailment faster. All sportspersons must be disciplined in terms of their calorie requirements, meal timings, the ratio and portions of macronutrients in their meal, and hydration. In addition, they need an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals for proper recovery. These must be customized and calculated based on one’s body composition and weight to enhance performance levels.
- Psychological fitness: Psychological skills play a vital role in dictating performance outcomes during sports. They exhibit a definitive link between one’s mental and physical health, bridging the gap between the two to achieve favourable results. Developing skills such as perseverance, motivation, teamwork, and self-belief after failure goes a long way towards making a person successful in any sport.
Playing sports requires great focus, coordination, agility, speed, and power. Training the body and mind in unison helps one gear up optimally for the demands of the game to conquer it and emerge as the winner.
-Content partner Happiest Health
