In the world of physical training there are a series of basic qualities that determine the physical condition of the athlete. These qualities can be divided into two large groups: conditional physical abilities, which refer to strength, speed, flexibility and endurance, and coordination abilities, a group related to orientation, balance, agility, etc.
In this oneHOWTO article we are going to focus on the first group, so we will explain below what are the conditional physical capacities and why it is essential to work well each one of them.
What are conditional physical abilities
The conditional physical capacities are those functional qualities of the human being that are executed through physical activity. There are four: speed, strength, endurance, and flexibility. Before continuing, we must make clear the difference between conditional and coordinative capacities.
The coordinative capacities (balance, rhythm, reaction, orientation, etc.) are carried from birth, so we understand that genes play an important role in their transmission. This means that coordinative capacities are not obtained, but we can only improve them.
The conditional capabilitiesOn the other hand, they are done autonomously, that is, we can obtain them or not depending on the training we do.
What are the conditional physical capacities
Now that we have seen the difference between conditional and coordinative capacities, the time has come to focus on the physical capabilities that we will discuss today.
As we have already seen, there are four conditional physical capacities: speed, strength, endurance and flexibility. Each of these activities is linked to physical performance and training of each person, so we understand that these capacities are functional and energetic qualities that develop due to an action that we carry out voluntarily and consciously.
Next, from UNCOMO, we offer you all the information you should have about what the conditional physical capacities are explained in detail.
Speed
Speed refers to the movement that is performed in the shortest possible time. This quality largely determines the athletic performance of an individual and requires a high level of development and preparation. When we talk about this conditional physical capacity we must take into account three types of qualities:
- Translation speed: is the one that refers to the ability of a person to move from one point to another in space in the shortest possible time.
- Reaction speed: is the ability of the individual to react to a given stimulus in the shortest possible time. Example: the person makes a run and upon hearing the signal he flexes and continues running.
- Speed resistance: this quality responds to all those motor actions that the subject performs in a long time at a high speed.
If you want to improve this quality, from UNCOMO we suggest you visit this other article about Exercises to gain speed.
Strength
Force is the ability to move the body by tensing the muscles and, through them, overcome or counteract a certain external resistance. This quality can be periodically trained for the development and preparation of our muscles for any physical exercise. The human being can exercise three types of force in your physical activity:
- Resistance force: is the ability of a person to perform a prolonged strength exercise resisting exhaustion. This is clearly seen, for example, throughout push-up exercises.
- Maximum strength: This refers to the maximum effort of the muscles to counteract a large external resistance. An example of this is weight lifting, since it responds to an overload activity in which the individual tries to reach their maximum state of strength.
- Quick force: it is the force that is executed to overcome an external resistance derived from a muscular contraction in a short time. An example of this is seen in the exercises in which we perform a squat before a jump.
You ask yourself How to do strength training? Visit this other oneHOWTO article for more information.
Endurance
This physical ability allows perform and endure a certain exercise over the longest possible time. By developing endurance we are able to slow down or mitigate fatigue, as well as keep it as low as possible. So, we are talking about one of the most essential qualities in the world of sport. There are two types of resistance:
- Aerobic resistance: refers to the resistance that we use in activities of moderate intensity that allow the body to stay oxygenated during the course of exercise. We talk about aerobic endurance when we bike or jog.
- Anaerobic resistance: This type of resistance, on the other hand, implies that the individual performs intense physical activity in a short period of time. Along with the resistance, the individual has to exert a great effort in the exercise, so taking the previous examples, we would talk about pedaling faster on a bicycle or running faster if we jog.
You may also be interested in this article by Exercises to improve endurance.
Flexibility
The last of the conditional physical capacities is flexibility, a quality that although we all have when we are born, it gets lost little by little over time if you don’t train. This quality consists of making large joint movements without using a lot of energy in the exercise. An example of flexibility training is that carried out in yoga. There are two types of flexibility:
- Dynamic flexibility: It is derived from the performance of exercises in significant movements for a certain time.
- Static flexibility: consists of maintaining a stretching body posture for a certain time without any movement occurring.
Take a look at this other article by 14 Flexibility exercises to increase this quality.
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