Components of Fitness Coordination

Components of Fitness Coordination
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Coordination in fitness refers to your ability to perform smooth and controlled complex muscular movements with ease. You can improve your coordination in fitness and physical activities by performing particular movements faster or increasing the number of obstacles you must contend with to perform a particular movement. Altering the size and weight of objects that you manipulate during activities can improve your coordination. Performing a particular fitness or physical activity on different surfaces also can enhance coordination.

Balance

Balance is one of the primary components of coordination. Several systems in your body work together to track sensory information from your nerves and muscles. Balance training can improve your joint function because it involves coordinating the movement and intensity of contractions in your muscles. Improve your balance with balance board exercises, skateboard drills and balance beam walking. Basic activities such as shifting your weight from one side of your body to the other and standing on one foot also can improve your balance.

Agility

Agility combines coordination and speed during fitness and physical activities. Activities that require rapid changes in muscular movements or changes in the direction of different parts of your body require agility. Bodybuilding.com recommends plyometric workouts to increase your agility. Plyometrics consist of jumping, bounding and hopping exercises. These exercises emphasize full muscular contractions that you perform as fast as possible. An athlete may use plyometric exercises to increase the power of his muscular contractions to enhance athletic performance.

Stability

Stability is closely related to balance. Multiple muscles around your spine and other joints work together to stabilize the position of your body parts. These muscles simultaneously contract and relax to stabilize your joints. Swiss ball abdominal exercises, balance and multidirectional exercises can enhance your stability.

Muscular Strength

Coordination in fitness and physical activities involves muscular strength, because you coordinate the force of the strength that your muscles exert. Muscular weaknesses impede your ability to perform coordinated multimuscular movements, especially with activities that require exerting higher amounts of force. A pitcher uses muscles throughout his upper body to throw the ball. A swimmer exerts force that propels the body across the surface of the water by coordinating muscles throughout the entire body. A runner performs coordinated movements in her lower body to exert force for events such as sprinting.

References

Article reviewed by Debbie C Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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