Each type of sport is based on a different mix of the fitness factors stamina, strength, coordination, flexibility, and speed. While stamina and strength are the mainstays of endurance sports, coordination and speed are more important in ball sports, and strength and speed in martial arts. However, you won’t get far in all three sports without the other three factors. Both your performance capability and your heightened risk of injury depend on the degree to which they are trained. It is therefore all the more important to not look at “your” sport in isolation, but always keep these five factors in mind when preparing your training programme.

The more versatile, the more complete

The good news first: whatever you do, it has an impact on your body and your performance capability. Thus, if you complete an intensive stretching program today, it automatically has a positive effect because your muscles become suppler. Or, if you do coordination training, you lay the foundation for being better able to control your muscles, not to mention maintain a higher speed for longer in a competition because you consume less energy for the same performance. 

The bad news is that it takes more than just endurance training. So, if you dare to try out a new sport, it's best to seek advice from an experienced coach and then work specifically on the challenges that come with the sport. Because you will soon enough reach an impasse with one-sided training. A stagnation in performance can become just as noticeable as a lack of motivation or complaints. When you bear in mind that two out of three runners struggle with orthopaedic problems, for example, throughout the year, this is astounding considering the enormous improvement in equipment, training instructions, and medical care in recent years.

With supplementary measures and versatile training, you can take effective countermeasures that will build up your foundation and lay the basis for improved performance and complaint-free sports.

Specific examples for improving the fitness factors

Speed

Speed training is of great importance not only in ball sports. Here is an example for runners:

3 x 60 m sprint runs
3 x (30/40/50 m) with 1 min break per 10 m
3 x 60 m «in and out» for 15 m with 1 min break per 10 m
1-3 x 120-150 m (90%) with 6 min break

Coordination

Coordination knows many facets. These are improved by balance exercises, stretch jumps with 90 degree rotation, bouncing of two different balls, short sprints on acoustic signals, push-up variations or rope jumps.

Flexibility

Exercises to improve your flexibility can be found here. 

Strength

8 simple exercises to increase the condition factor "strength" can be found here. 

Stamina

Training examples for the individual intensity levels can be found here. 

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