Fitness Components for Ultimate Frisbee
In addition to the skills required, to be a successful Ultimate player you need good speed, acceleration, power, agility, strength and endurance. However, which of these are more important?
You Need to be Quick and Agile
We have a poll about the component of fitness most important for success in Ultimate Frisbee. Out of the options of Body Size and Composition, Muscle Strength, Muscular Endurance, Power, Speed / Quickness, Agility, Flexibility, Balance and Coordination, and Cardiovascular Endurance, the factors which are considered most important by the readers of this site are Agility and Speed / Quickness, followed by Cardiovascular Endurance. You can add your vote too, and see the latest results.
Agile but not Quick?
In a similar poll, we have asked people to rate the 12 factors of success for sports. Visitors to this site have rated each of these factors for the sport of ultimate, and the most important according to them are: skill, agility, aerobic fitness, speed and reaction time. You can also add your ratings of Which Factors Make Successful Ultimate Players.
Most Important Factors for Success in Order of Importance (data from 2018)
4.6 Skill and Technique
4.5 Agility
4.4 Aerobic Endurance
4.4 Speed / Quickness
4.4 Reaction Time
4.4 Analytic & Tactical Ability
4.2 Balance & Coordination
4.2 Motivation & Self Confidence
4.0 Coping with Pressure Situations
3.6 Strength & Power
3.4 Flexibility
3.1 Body Size and Composition
Expert Advice
Coaches, players and scientists who work with the sport will have a greater understanding of the physical and other demands of playing Ultimate. We are fortunate to have some feedback from Melissa Witmer, an Ultimate competitor who has competed in the USA Ultimate Nationals Championships, as well as having a Masters Degree in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois and NSCA Certification as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She travels around the world giving clinics about training for the sport of ultimate and runs a website that provides training programs for ultimate players at The Ultimate Athlete Project.
Melissa has given her ratings of importance for a range of fitness components for Ultimate. As we found in the polls above, speed and agility are seen as some of the most important factors for success in Ultimate.
- Extremely Important: Speed / Quickness, Agility, Analytic & Tactical Ability.
- Very Important: Aerobic Endurance, Strength & Power, Reaction Time, Motivation & Self Confidence, Skill and Technique.
- Moderately Important: Body Size and Composition, Balance & Coordination, Coping with Pressure Situations.
- Slightly Important: Flexibility.
She also asks about anaerobic endurance? 'The ability to sprint repeatedly throughout the course of a long point and a game is extremely important for ultimate and I think is a different quality than aerobic endurance."
Related Pages
- See more about Ultimate Fitness
- Ultimate Home
- Fitness for Sports
- About Ultimate Frisbee
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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