All different types of sports need different variations of physical strength. Some need more core body strength while other sports rely more on limb energy and stamina. Regardless of the type of sport, all outdoor sports require one to have a fully functional physique capable of progress and improving it with diet and practice.
Speaking of football and basketball, both games are truly very versatile in nature. However, the athletic abilities and physical requirements to master each game don’t differ very drastically from each other. Importance of hydration in sports, diet, and training go hand in hand.
Let’s delve more into the details of how football and basketball work, and the kind of physical prowess one needs in order to stay true to the game.
- Stamina:
No sportsperson can play a game without good stamina. Both football and basketball require their players to have exceptional stamina levels to master game. Of course, pre-workout and energy drinks do help to keep up one’s stamina, but only to a certain extent.
However, if were to draw a comparison here, football requires slightly better levels of stamina than basketball does.
An average professional football field is about 100 x 70 meters in size. This is quite large in comparison with a basketball court of the same professional level which measures approximately 30 x 15 meters. A football player has a much larger field to cover and keep up with in their game without going out of breath.
Moreover, they must be able to kick a ball hard and long in order to score a goal from a couple of meters away, despite there being a goalkeeper to ruin their efforts. Therefore, football is a more difficult game in terms of stamina requirement of stamina.
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2. Core muscle strength:
Both sports require immense core muscle strength in every aspect. There is no choosing here since both games need their players to have exceptional stamina and core strength to keep up with the needs of the games and master them.
The core strength of the players is built with proper workout techniques, appropriate diet plans, and strict lifestyle habits that help keep their mind and body on track. Professional basketball and football players have a team at their back that regulates their lives so that their performance is not hampered in the slightest.
3. Upper body strength:
Football doesn’t require as much upper body strength as does basketball. Football is more of a lower-body game. It needs one to run around and kick more than use their hands. Basketball, on the other hand, involves more of dribbling the ball and passing long shots with the hands.
In addition to that, a basketball player needs to jump up to 10 feet and lunge the ball with their hands into the basket to score a goal. This happens multiple times over 90 minutes. Football players seldom need to use their arms to tackle the ball. They mainly work with their legs to score goals.
This explains why basketball players have strong shoulder and ripped arms while football players have better toned calves and thighs.
4. Height:
A midget can become a good football player, the best example being that of Lionel Messi. But a basketball player needs to stand tall and strong. They are required to master the technique of aiming the ball in the basket with their bare hands from a couple of feet away.
They not only need to grab the ball from the opponent but also score a basket by jumping up high when all of the opposition team members are trying to pull them down.
In other words, basketball is a tall man’s game. Sure, exceptions do exist. But naturally, a person blessed with exceptional tall genes has a better chance of making it big in basketball than football.
5. Lower body strength:
Football requires more lower body strength than basketball. A football player needs to run long distances on a whim, constantly even. They need to be high on stamina along with being constantly ready to score. They need to keep up with the position of the football.
If that isn’t enough, a football player must be able to kick the ball long and hard with proper aim and perfection to bypass the goalkeeper and score a point from a good distance away. This is why they have better toned legs than their basketball-player counterparts.
Basketball players also need to jump up high and keep up with the dribble as a team. They, too, need to stay ready across the court to receive the ball immediately. However, in terms of lower body strength, football still takes the cake.
Which sport requires better fitness levels?
However, naming either football or basketball as the one that demands better physical fitness is unfair. Both sports require equal intensity of athletic abilities, hard work, dedication, and commitment to the game.
Basketball requires the players to perform on quick, short bursts of energy while football is a sport that relies more on endurance and stamina. Being able to jump about 10 feet high at get-go multiple times in 90 minutes makes you a perfect basketball player. But football players who can run quick and long, and score a goal with just one strong kick a couple of meters away, all without going out of breath.
True that each sport will have a different training module since the requirement of each game is different. Many players also use rucksacks to keep up with their hydration during the game and in-between. They know how to use a rucksack for better hydration during sports. But the performance largely depends on the diet, lifestyle, training, coaching, and dedication of the individual to the sport.
Summing it up:
As mentioned before, both the sports are not drastically different from one another. Both need core body strength, stamina, and strong physical abilities to be able to master the game.
All other requirements are tweaked during training by the respective coaches in order to extract the best performance in the game out of each individual player.
In conclusion, both football and basketball require different physical abilities to be able to play the sport correctly. While football relies more on lower body strengthen, basketball functions on a combination of both lower and upper body strength.
