BIOMECHANICS

Biomechanics is the study of forces and their

effects on the human body during movement.
Forces are the basis for all movement.
CENTRE OF GRAVITY
 The point at which all parts of an object are
equally balanced.
 Standing up right our centre of gravity is
around our navel.
 The centre of gravity changes depending
upon what position the body is in.
 The centre of gravity can lie outside an
object.
 Generally, the lower the COG the more
stable an object will be.
LINE OF GRAVITY

 The vertical line that passes through the

centre of gravity to the ground.
 The line of gravity is important when
determining the stability of an object.
 If the line of gravity falls within an object’s
base of support the object is relatively
stable (and vice versa).
BASE OF SUPPORT

 The area within an object’s point of

contact with the ground.
 Generally, the larger the area the base of
support covers, the more stable an object
will be.
QUESTIONS
 Copy each of the
objects and draw in
the centre of gravity.
 Which player is more
stable? Explain using
the words base of
support, line of gravity
and COG.
BIOMECHANICS - MOTION
 Linear motion – is in a straight (vertical) line.
All parts of the body move in the same
direction and at the same speed. [Give
examples]
 Angular motion – occurs around an axis. This
can be internal (body parts rotating around a
joint) or external e.g. ………..
 General motion – a combination of linear and
angular. This is the most common of all
movements, as most human movement
requires rotation of body parts around joints
e.g. ……….
BODY TYPES
 ECTOMORPHS
 Typically tall and slender. They don’t have
much muscle and typically little fat.
 Relatively long arms and legs. This allows
them to reach further, which gives an
advantage when contesting the ball in netball
and basketball.
 Typically suited to endurance sports and
sports that don’t require a lot of physical
contact.
BODY TYPES
 ENDOMORPHS
 This body type tends to be shorter and
carries large amounts of fat compared
with ectomorphs.
 Extra body fat allows them to float better
in the water and provides insulation from
the cold.
 Suited to short duration activities not
requiring lots of endurance.
BODY TYPES
 MESOMORPH
 Carries a large amount of muscle.
 People with this body type look athletic.
 Suited to activities requiring strength and
endurance, as the extra muscle provides
the power to perform activities faster and
for longer periods of time.
Identify Each of the Body
Types

Endomorph Ectomorph Mesomorph

Newton’s Laws of Motion

 Law 1: A body continues in its state of

rest or uniform motion unless an
unbalanced force acts upon it.
 An object at rest tends to remain at rest
unless acted upon by some external
force.
Inertia

 The body’s tendency to remain at rest.

 The greater the mass of the body, the
greater the inertia.
 Which object has greater inertia, a ping
pong ball or shot?
 This directly relates to Newton’s 1st Law.
How?
Newton’s Laws of Motion
 Newton’s 1st Law
illustrated.
Newton’s Laws of Motion
 Law 2: The acceleration
of an object is directly
proportional to the force
causing it, is in the same
direction as the force,
and is inversely
proportional to the mass
of the object.
 When a force acts upon
a mass, the result is
acceleration of that
mass.
Newton’s Laws of Motion
 Law 3: Whenever a
force is applied there
is an equal and
opposite reaction.
BIOMECHANICS

FORCE SUMMATION
  Many skills performed in sport require maximum
speed or force to be generated.
 Some skills require maximum force to get a result,
while others require maximum speed or velocity.
 In order to do this, an athlete needs to involve as
many body parts as is technically possible.
  The movements occur at relatively the same
time but in the correct order.
 The more body segments involved the greater
the force or speed generated.
EXAMPLE
 An athlete competing in a
discuss competition would
generate less force and therefore
less horizontal distance, if only
the arm and shoulder are used.
 Another competitor using force
built up from using legs, hips,
back, shoulder, arm and wrist in
order would throw further.
 SUMMATION OF FORCES
 Maximum speed is achieved by adding the speed of each
segment and transferring this to the final part of the body.
 The speed of the last part of the body at the moment of contact
or release will determine the velocity of the implement or
projectile.
 When serving in tennis or hitting a tee shot in golf, at the end
of the movement of body segments, the accumulated speed
should be transferred to the racquet or club to generate
maximum speed or force.
WORKING EXAMPLE OF FORCE
SUMMATION
 The student is unable to produce enough force to
propel the basketball to the basket.
 A solution maybe the students awareness of force
summation.
 Eg: When performing the basketball set shot it is
important that the body parts move sequentially.
 Force summation is the ability to use all body
segments involved to generate greater force or speed.
 Firstly the basketball player needs a stable base from
which to execute their shot.
 The knees must flex then move to extension in order
to start the movement.
 The muscles involved in this actions are the
hamstrings and the quadriceps.
 The hamstrings initiate flexion followed by the
quadriceps being the prime movers for the knee
extension.
 This movement continues with shoulder
extension, elbow flexion and wrist extension.
This moves to shoulder flexion, elbow
extension and wrist flexion( prime movers
included here? )
 The end result is a more powerful force that
can be transferred to the ball so that it travels
as far as it can towards the rim.
PROJECTILE MOTION

FACTORS AFFECTING PROJECTILE

MOTION
 Any object released into the
air is termed a projectile.
 The flight path of a
projectile consists of a
vertical and horizontal
component.
 What does this mean?
 Regardless of the 1. Gravity.
type of object that 2. Air resistance.
is being released, or 3. Speed of release.
by what means it is
4. Angle of release.
being projected,
they are all 5. Height of release.
governed by the 6. Spin.
same principles.
GRAVITY
 Gravity acts on a body to give it mass. The greater
the weight of an object the greater the influence of
gravity upon it.
 What is the effect of gravity on a projectile?
AIR RESISTANCE

 There are several key factors that bring air resistance into
play.
1. The larger the surface area, the more air resistance will
affect the object.
2. If the surface is rough then air resistance will be greater.
3. Speed. As speed increases, so does air resistance. (Think
of the space shuttle)
4. Mass. The smaller the mass (lighter the object) the more
air resistance will affect it.
Speed of release.

 Generally, the greater the speed of release, the greater the

distance gained.
 In many game situations this is a factor that must be under
constant control.
 Can you give me an example?
ANGLE OF RELEASE
 For any given speed of release, the optimum angle of
release is always 45 degrees.
 Is this the case in many sports? Why?
 What would happen if the angle of release were to high for a
given activity?
 Poor distance gained
 What would happen if the angle of release were too low for a
given activity
 Poor flight time and possibly poor distance.
Height of release
 The inter-relationship
between height of release
and angle of release is
important to consider.
 Have you ever noticed that
tall basketball players
shoot the ball at a lower
angle than short players.
The reason behind this can be summarized as
follows

1. As the height of release increases, the angle

of release decreases.
2. As the height of release decreases, the
angle of release increases.
3. THINK ABOUT IT!
SPIN

 Consider a game of Tennis. What happens to the distance

achieved with a topspin shot compared to one with
backspin?
 A topspin shot gives poorer distance compared to backspin.
SOOOO……..

 This leads us to the following two

principles with respect to projectiles and
spin.
1. Range is decreased with topspin.
2. Range is increased with backspin.
 WHY?
Practical Example

 Question?
 How is this biomechanical principle applied
to the overhead serve in volleyball. Where
can I see this being applied?
ANSWER.
 Firstly the speed or the force that the ball is
struck/released at is important. The speed at
which the ball is struck will determine how
far the ball will travel. The striking force
must be sufficient enough to allow the ball to
cross the net but not enough to mean the ball
goes out of play.
 The height of release also influences the horizontal
distance covered, too high and the ball may go to far,
too low and the ball may strike the net. The angle is
also important in conjunction with this. The angle and
height of release must be judged correctly in order
that the serve is successful. Spin can also be applied
in order to make the ball dip after the net-making it
harder for teams to return.
levers
 A lever is used when you want to apply more force.
 Most levers have three clearly identified parts:
1. THE FULCRUM
The pivot point around which the movement happens. In the
body this is usually the joint.
2.THE LOAD
The weight that needs to be moved.
3.THE FORCE
The place where the force is applied. In the body this is the
effort produced by the muscles contracting .
CLASSES OF LEVER
 There are three
classes of lever.
 Not surprisingly they
are called:
1. FIRST CLASS
2. SECOND CLASS
3. THIRD CLASS
 First class levers can help to either increase
force or generate more speed depending on the
position of the fulcrum.
 Second class levers allow more force to be
produced because the effort ,or force arm ,is
longer than the resistance arm.
 Third class levers generate speed rather than
force.
LEVERS IN SPORT

 In many sports the equipment you use act as an extension of

the levers in your body and helps to generate greater force or
sped. Two good examples of levers used in sport can be seen
in rowing or golf.
LEVERS
 A lever is used when you want to apply more
force. Most levers have three clearly identified
parts:
1. The fulcrum – the pivot point around which
the movement happens. In body levers this is
usually the joint.
2. The load – the weight that needs to be moved
(resistance).
3. The force – the place where force is applied.
In the body this is the effort produced by the
muscles contracting.
LEVERS

 Can you think of any household

tools/machinery that act as levers?
Levers in Sport
 In some sports the equipment you use acts
as an extension of the levers in your body
and helps to generate greater force or
speed.
 Give some examples of levers in sport.
 Longer levers result in more speed,
beneficial for striking and throwing objects.
 Shorter levers result in greater strength,
beneficial for pushing, pulling, and lifting
objects.