The physicality of a sport involves the combination of endurance, strength, power, agility, flexibility and durability it requires to participate effectively in that sport. There are many arguments for each sport and some require more of one of these factors than others. Most sports are very physically demanding on the body and require a great amount of practice and routine to participate in.
Some sports are more physically demanding than others; compare the sport of boxing to that of fishing as an example.
Criteria to Determine the Most Physically Demanding Sports
- Endurance in the ability to sustain a particular skill or action for long periods of time.
- Strength in the ability to exert force.
- Power in producing strength quickly
- Agility in being able to quickly change direction.
- Flexibility to perform a wide range of motion and stretch muscle groups.
- Durability to withstand physical punishment over a sustained period of time.
The 5 Most Physically Demanding Sports According to the Experts
According to ESPN Page 2, 60 sports were evaluated by experts to determine which sports were the most demanding in all categories overall.
- Boxing
- Ice Hockey
- Football
- Basketball
- Wrestling
Sixty sports overall were evaluated using many aspects of athleticism such as endurance, strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility, nerve, durability, hand eye coordination and analytic aptitude by a panel of experts assembled from sports scientists, academicians who study muscles and movements, athletes and journalists.
Physical Training is Necessary for the 5 Most Physically Demanding Sports
Athletes who participate in these physically demanding sports professionally require hours of conditioning each day. They endure extreme punishments on their body each time they compete. Muscle building, conditioning and strengthening are just the beginning of the training necessary to sustain the onslaught of abuse their body will endure with each competition. A boxer must be able to not only exert force and power on his opponent but he be physically conditioned to accept it as well.
Wrestlers must be able to maintain exerted strength for long periods of time. Football and basketball players, whether they are offensive or defensive players, must be physically fit to be effective. Ice hockey players must be able to endure long periods and physical alterations without faltering. All of these athletes and others require many years with many hours each day of practice and training to participate in these very physically demanding sports.
