Loosely defined, fitness is one’s ability to complete work at a designated rate that is required to be successful in their sport. The primary energy system being utilized may differ depending on the sport and/or position, but overall, fitness really comes down to one’s capacity to do the work needed to compete at a high level.
When we look to periodize out work and manage “physical loading,” we also typically look for the minimum effective dose, aiming to give athletes enough to be successful but not too much to overload them. However, this begs the question, what are we defining as “successful”? My first thought tends to immediately jump to them performing on the field or court: if they were effective in the game, then they were successful. There are, however, other benefits to being fit than simply being able to fulfill one’s game-obligations. Some of these are outlined below:
- We want a high capacity for games that must be won by physicality.
While most matches we want to win with a moderate physical output and maximum technical output, there are some games that need to be won by pure grit, who wants it more, and who has the CAPACITY to go hard in the final moments.
2. Relatively less internal load experienced=easier on the body.
At the end of a game, how big of a toll did it take on the athlete? The higher the fitness level, the less costly the game was for the athlete. While alcohol tolerance may not be the classiest of analogies, it is one of the better ones. Those with a high tolerance, can withstand a higher volume of ingestion and it somehow still does not affect them in a big way. The same can be said for physical loading. The fitter one is, the less of an effect game-like loads will have on them in terms of tearing them down.
3. Faster recovery post-match=less soreness
While very much related to the prior point, it stands to reckon that those that have a higher level of fitness, also recover more quickly. If a match load is A LOT for an individual and feels like a lot, it will likely take 2-3 days to fully feel like they’ve recovered. In my experience, fitter individuals that consistently are in the top 10% in terms of weekly production of distance or volume, typically are the ones who walk in the next day acting like they’re ready to train.
Being fitter isn’t the end all be all but it definitely helps in more ways than the traditional sense of merely being able to compete in the game. So when athletes demand to know why they must do additional work when they are “fine” in-game, explain to them that there’s a host of other benefits they will experience as they develop a higher level of fitness.
Peak Performance Platform 