Physical fitness
Cardio Respiratory Endurance (CRE)
CRE is the ability of the heart and lungs to work efficiently together to provide the working muscles with oxygenated blood for a prolonged period of time.
This allows a performer to maintain the same pace throughout a long period of play.
Someone with a higher level of CRE will not tire as quickly, therefore quality of movements and skills are maintained until the end of the performance.
Impact on performance
In football, high levels of CRE help you move around the pitch at competitive speeds for the duration of the game. CRE also allows you to perform all the important skills such as passing, tackling and shooting with more accuracy and a greater chance of success until the end of the match.
A gymnast performing a floor routine with high levels of CRE will be able to perform all the movement skills such as tumbling, balancing, leaps sequences, and dance with much more control and quality right to the end of the routine.
In tennis, having low levels of CRE means you will not be able to cover the court quickly enough to get to return shots back over the net. This is more obvious towards the end of games and sets, resulting in more mistakes and fewer points won.
Speed
Speed is the ability of your whole body, arm or leg to move from one point to another as quickly as possible. Examples of this could be a sprinter moving their whole body, a cricketer moving their arm to bowl the ball or a goalkeeper taking a goal kick.
Impact on performance
A squash player with slower whole body speed will take longer to cross the court to various shots, resulting in less chance of them making a successful return.
A player with good leg speed in rugby can kick the ball further during a penalty kick. Being able to kick further away from the posts means that the opposition have to be much more careful about not giving away penalties from inside their own half of the pitch.
A fielder in softball with slower arm speed will not be able to throw the ball as far or as quickly. This means other players will have to move away from the bases to collect the ball, giving the runner a better chance of getting in.
