.

[LilPoppaPete]

.

[dov]

baseball players

[Dipadidu]

baseball players

right after chess players

[ironneck]

right after chess players

don't forget darts players

[ManBearPig...]

Ronnie Coleman.

[dov]

hand/eye coordination goes a long way when crossing over to other sports as a whole. Guaranteed that a shortstop or centerfielder can cross over to other athletic competitions better than a football player, track/field, basketball, etc

[#1 Klaus fan]

Dorian Yates.

[dr.chimps]

baseball players

LOL. Riiiiight. I give you 'smokes in the dugout' John Kruk and 'pitch a perfect game on acid' Doc Ellis.   

/ballplayer 

[local hero]

best all round athlete.......... as in fitness and strength, id go world class boxer... power/strength, stamina/endurance and coordination..

[noworries]

Baseball players are great atheltes because of what it takes to catch or hit a ball.  Alot of things have to come together including the hands and eyes and shoulders and hips.  They say getting a hit in baseball is the hardest thing in sports.  You have a guy throwing a ball at you at 90+mph and 9 people trying to catch the ball after you hit it.  It is you against 9 with a ball that moves and not all the time straight.  Baseball players are usually pretty good at golf because of the eye and hand and rotation similarities to baseball.  Only the ball doesn't move.

[#1 Klaus fan]

best all round athlete.......... as in fitness and strength, id go world class boxer... power/strength, stamina/endurance and coordination..

Except most boxers can probably bench about 2 plates...that's it.

[dr.chimps]

Baseball players are great atheltes because of what it takes to catch or hit a ball.  Alot of things have to come together including the hands and eyes and shoulders and hips.  They say getting a hit in baseball is the hardest thing in sports.  You have a guy throwing a ball at you at 90+mph and 9 people trying to catch the ball after you hit it.  It is you against 9 with a ball that moves and not all the time straight.  Baseball players are usually pretty good at golf because of the eye and hand and rotation similarities to baseball.  Only the ball doesn't move. they're good athletes and have a good-sized off-season to practice.

[dr.chimps]

C'mon, guys. Best general athlete is the decathlete. That's why the event(s) was set up - to find the 'best' general athlete. You want to argue the merits of your favourite sport, carry on.

/not a decathlete

[Playboy]

best all round athlete.......... as in fitness and strength, id go world class boxer... power/strength, stamina/endurance and coordination..

Agreed. Plus they can scrap.

[Per Se]

C'mon, guys. Best general athlete is the decathlete. That's why the event(s) was set up - to find the 'best' general athlete. You want to argue the merits of your favourite sport, carry on.

/not a decathlete

I hear your point, but for the most part decathletes are not outstanding/excellent at any individual event.  Just reasonably good at many.  That's why I find it hard to see them as the 'best', as much as I respect them.

[Fury]

Cyclists.

[dov]

C'mon, guys. Best general athlete is the decathlete. That's why the event(s) was set up - to find the 'best' general athlete. You want to argue the merits of your favourite sport, carry on.

/not a decathlete

best endurance athlete perhaps....can they hit a baseball, play tennis, golf, shoot/dribble a basketball, win a flag football game, throw anything, catch anything?   I'd love to see how uncoordinated Usain Bolt is when trying to do anything that takes hand/eye coordination.

Baseball players have teh best skill set to cross over to most sports/recreations and hold their own for teh most part.

[americanbulldog]

World Class Wrestlers.

Fast, athletic, agile, coordinated, muscular endurance, explosive strength, flexibility.  Nuff said. 

[#1 Klaus fan]

best endurance athlete perhaps....can they hit a baseball, play tennis, golf, shoot/dribble a basketball, win a flag football game, throw anything, catch anything?   I'd love to see how uncoordinated Usain Bolt is when trying to do anything that takes hand/eye coordination.

Baseball players have teh best skill set to cross over to most sports/recreations and hold their own for teh most part.

Those are just man made special skills. Running, jumping, lifting stuff and throwing for distance is more natural.

[Tapeworm]

Biathletes.  Someone who can ski after you and then shoot you commands respect.

[Per Se]

I was thinking, perhaps one way of assessing who the best athlete is, would be to take the said athlete's skill set, and see how many other sports his skills would allow him to compete in at a high level.

For example Nate Robinson a short compact player, tremendous leaping ability, also played football at the Uni of Washington.  In high school he was a tremendous hurdler and long jumper.

I always get the impression that world class boxers could be excellent 800m and 1500m runners with a little specific training.

What do you guys think?

[noworries]

I'm still sticking with baseball players when talking about crossing over to other sports.  But I also think Decathletes have unreal athletic ability and skill and could probably do very well in other sports if trained long enough.  But, natural talent and skill are hard to come by and a natural gifted baseball player is usually pretty damm good at most general sports.  Wrestlers are strong, agile, flexible, and have endurance but all that put together can not help them hit a baseball coming at them at 90 mph or catch a ball while running full speed towards a fence and so forth.  Sprinters are athletic and built for speed and yes there are less people who can run a sub 10 sec 100m than can bench 600 lbs.  And in what other sport including track can you say having a success rate of .300 is considered very good.  Only in baseball.  If you had those stats in any other sport you would be considered shitty.  Can you imagine only making 3 out of 10 free throws or complete 3 of 10 passes or only making 1 in 3 serves in tennis. 

[#1 Klaus fan]

I'm still sticking with baseball players when talking about crossing over to other sports.  But I also think Decathletes have unreal athletic ability and skill and could probably do very well in other sports if trained long enough.  But, natural talent and skill are hard to come by and a natural gifted baseball player is usually pretty damm good at most general sports.  Wrestlers are strong, agile, flexible, and have endurance but all that put together can not help them hit a baseball coming at them at 90 mph or catch a ball while running full speed towards a fence and so forth.  Sprinters are athletic and built for speed and yes there are less people who can run a sub 10 sec 100m than can bench 600 lbs.  And in what other sport including track can you say having a success rate of .300 is considered very good.  Only in baseball.  If you had those stats in any other sport you would be considered shitty.  Can you imagine only making 3 out of 10 free throws or complete 3 of 10 passes or only making 1 in 3 serves in tennis. 

So what if it's hard? It's equally hard for everyone. Pole vaulting is one of the hardest things around and that is why so few people even try it. That is why if you really tried you most likely could become a good pole vaulter...and then there is the other extreme. Kicking ball. Easy. But try to become good at football (soccer for you who call American rugby football) player. 

[Royalty]

I would say the hardest sport to turn pro in is pro football.

I would say that NFL linebackers, defensive ends, cornerbacks, safety's, and running backs, are some of the best athletes.


Strong and super fast.

[MB_722]

formula 1 drivers

Racing Form - why F1 drivers are the fittest athletes on earth

Publication Date: 15th June 2005

Fitter than footballers and leaner than athletes: the word on the Formula One circuit is that racing car drivers possess the most finely tuned bodies on earth.

Medical studies consent. During a race a driver must remain calm, focused and in constant communication with a technical team whilst perfectly manoeuvring a highly complex vehicle around an unfamiliar track alongside competitors travelling at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour.

All this in an environment where one wrong move can cost lives calls for a sportsman at the very peak of physical – and mental – strength. Fifteen years ago drivers achieved this by visiting the gym twice a week. These days they know better.

The heart

A fit human being has a resting heart rate of around 60 beats per minute, rising to around 150 during a run on the treadmill.

David Coulthard has a resting heart rate of 40 beats per minute rising to 198 beats per minute during a two hour race, a figure - roughly the same as that of a Marathon runner crossing the finishing line – which initially stunned medical researchers.

Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli, from Italian sports medicine clinic Formula Medicine explains why a high speed drive can be as challenging as a 26 mile run: "The difference is one of mental stress. There is no sport that demands such intense concentration. A huge amount of adrenalin is being pumped, and this - as well as the physical strain - causes the high heart rate.”

The body’s ability to cope with such extremes is a result of intensive workout, and so drivers undergo cardiovascular exercise for up to four hours a day – jogging, cycling, even rollerblading.

This also helps to keep weight in check - drivers such as Heinz-Harald Frentzen and David Coulthard maintain a body fat ratio of 7%, similar to that of a runner at the start of a race.

The neck

"I know of no other sport that places such big demands on the neck muscles,” says Riccardo Ceccarelli. “A head and F1 helmet together weigh about 6kg. Add about 4G-Force as experienced when cornering in a Grand Prix, and the neck has to support 24kg."

The neck, then, is a driver’s most important muscle. During training, large elastic bands are used to simulate the demands of high G-Force. Drivers also incorporate resistance work into their exercise regime – rowing and weight lifting.

But they have to be careful not to go overboard: Formula One cockpits are very small and don’t accommodate someone with the physique of a weight lifter.

Diet

Formula One drivers eat much like track and field athletes – carefully regulating their carbohydrate and protein intake. In the lead up to a big race they’ll gorge on carbs – pasta and bread – for energy.

Immediately before the race and sometimes throughout, drivers absorb huge amounts of water. Failure to do so could bring on dehydration through sweating – the extreme heat found in a Formula One cockpit means drivers can sweat off up to 3kg of their body weight during the course of a race.

Mental health

Racing car drivers don’t just take pristine care of their bodies; they look after their mental health too. Many teams work with sports psychologists to ensure that a driver can exert unwavering mind control during a race.

Methods include reviewing track maps, visualising a route and a perfect lap, in order for the driver to feel he has driven the course many times before he even arrives there.

Drivers also learn breathing techniques to stay calm at crucial moments, and techniques for shutting out the outside world – a driver getting into a car surrounded by a medical team, technical staff and thousands of screaming fans and members of the press may use the click of the seat belt as a trigger to block these distractions and get to work.

Formula One - vital stats:

A racing car driver has to be in peak physical condition. This calls for:

A resting heart rate of around 40 beats per minute (the average, healthy human has a resting heart rate of around 60bpm)

Being able to maintain a heart rate of up to 200bpm for the duration of a two hour drive (the average healthy human has a heart rate of around 150bpm during an intense gym workout)

A constant body fat ratio of around 7%, similar to that of a marathon runner just before a big race.

Neck muscles able to support up to 24kg when rounding corners at high speed.

Hydration levels able to compete with the 3kg in weight a driver has been known to sweat off during a race.