Biomechanics

Biomechanics is the science of movement of a living body, including

how muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments work together to
produce movement.
The 5 different principles I will cover

● Projectile Motion
● Balance & Stability
● Newton’s Laws
● Force Summation
● Levers
Projectile Motion

When an object is thrown then the object is projectile therefore its motion is called
projectile motion.

An object in motion is influenced by the principles that govern projectile motion - gravity,
air resistance, speed, height, and angle of release.

As long as something is in the air with nothing but gravity resisting it then it is a projectile
motion.
 Influences on an object in motion
Speed, height, and angle of release
are three principles that decide the
distance and height an object will
travel.

If you are wanting an object to go

anywhere higher than ground level
then height of release is important.
The angle of release needs to be
greater than 45 degrees.
Forces that act to oppose objects in motion

● Friction
● Air
● Water resistance

These all act as a force to resist or stop an object from moving. The resistance is known as a
drag. The faster an object is moving the greater the drag.
** Activity **
Create a catapult out of rubber bands, paddle pop sticks and plastic spoons.
 RECAP
● Explain what is happening in this picture in
relation to the players body, its movements and
performance result.
● First OUTLINE the principle
● Second DEFINE the principle
● Third EXPLAIN how it relates to/how it can be
applied to this picture.
● TIP: Assessment asks you
- What the principle is
- How it is applied in action
- Why it is important to apply
- What the resultant effect will be on your
performance of the skill

https://create.kahoot.it/details/projectile-motion/330f4a70-edc3-43da-9f3e-ad945b3368f0
Balance & Stability

These are defined as the ability to

hold or maintain a position in
space.
 Centre of Gravity (COG)

- COG is a point at which all

parts of an object are
equally balanced.
- It can occur both inside and
outside of the body
 Activity

● Stand 2 feet away from the wall.

● Bend over and put your head
against the wall.
● Put a chair beneath you and pull it
towards your chest
● Try to stand up.

● WHY do you think this is

an unstable movement?
 Base Of Support (BOS)

- BOS is the area within an

object’s point of contact with
the ground. The larger the are
BOS covers the more stable
an object will be.

Narrow BOS Wide BOS

 Vertical Line of Gravity (VLG)

- The VLG is an
imaginary vertical
line from the centre of
gravity to the ground
or surface the object
or person is on.
- Key: ALWAYS goes
through centre of
gravity
COG, BOS and VLG

Centre of Centre of Gravity

Gravity

Base of Support
Base of Support
Vertical Line of Gravity
Vertical Line of Gravity
Worksheet Activity

Identify the

● Centre of Gravity
● Vertical Line of Gravity
● Base of Support
 Practice Paragraph
● Explain what is happening in this picture in relation to
the players body, its movements and performance
result.
● First OUTLINE the principle
● Second DEFINE the principle
● Third EXPLAIN how it relates to/how it can be
applied to this picture.
● TIP: Assessment asks you
- What the principle is
- How it is applied in action
- Why it is important to apply
- What the resultant effect will be on your
performance of the skill
 Newton’s Laws
● Newton's laws of motion are three
physical laws that, together, lay the
foundation for basic mechanics. They
describe the relationship between a body
and the forces acting upon it, and its
motion in response to those forces
● There are 3 laws and each are vital to our
understanding of biomechanics in sport
 Newton’s First Law of Motion - The Law of Inertia

● It states “A body will remain in its state of rest or constant motion unless acted upon by an
external force.”
● For example:
- A golf ball stays at rest on the tee until the club (external force) acts upon it (hits it).
- In bowling, the bowling ball rolls until it hits the pins (an external force)
 First Law Activity- Inertia Tower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8iHvdDOrDk
Question??

How do we see aspects of the 1st law

being applied in this picture?

(2 different ways)
Paragraph example
● In basketball, when a player shoots a ball, the ball will remain in the air until it hits the
backboard, at this point it will stop moving and begin another movement in a different
direction.
● When a player passes the ball to another player, the ball will remain moving through
the air until it is stopped by another player when they catch it.
 Newton’s Second Law of Motion - F = m x a
Force = mass x acceleration

● When a force acts on an object, the object

accelerates in the direction of the force.
● As well as moving in the same direction
that the force was applied, it also moves in
proportion to the force it was moved with
(hard hit, greater movement. Light hit,
smaller movement)
● Example: In volleyball, a dig will force the
ball to move upwards and a spike will force
the ball to go downwards.
F=mxa

The larger the object (the larger the

mass) the more force or acceleration
required to move it.
Question??
● Consider a tennis ball, hockey ball and a shot put. If each is hit with the same amount
of force, which one would accelerate the fastest? WHY?
Paragraph example
● If I am passing to someone across the court I need to put more FORCE into my pass to
produce greater acceleration. However if I am passing to a player close to me I only
need apply minimal FORCE behind the ball.
MASS
ACCELERATION

FORCE
Newton’s Third Law of Motion - Law of Action & Reaction

● For every action there is an equal and opposite

reaction
● When an object exerts a force on a second object,
the second object exerts a force equal in size in
the opposite direction
Examples
- A cricket bat hitting a ball. - Jumping up to shoot a basketball
Unpack Example
Paragraph Example
● Newton’s Laws are three laws of motion that relate an objects motion to the forces
acting on it.
● Example: When a basketball player is dribbling the ball, Newton’s 3rd law occurs
(action/reaction). As they apply a force to the ball onto the ground, the ground sends a
force back on the ball, bouncing the ball back to the player's hand.
● Example: When a player is going for a jump shot Newton’s 3rd law occurs as the
court gives a ground reaction for the player. When they apply force onto the ground,
the ground propels a force back into their legs and assists them with the jump.
RECAP

What are Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion?

1. __________________________________________

2. __________________________________________

3. __________________________________________
 Practice Paragraph
● Explain what is happening in this picture in
relation to the players body, its movements
and performance result.
● First OUTLINE the principle (Newton’s
Laws)
● Second DEFINE the principle (Newton’s
Laws)
● Third EXPLAIN how it relates to/how it can
be applied to this picture.
● TIP: Assessment asks you
- What the principle is
- How it is applied in action
- Why it is important to apply
- What the resultant effect will be on your
performance of the skill
Force Summation (Sum of Forces)
● This is the sum of all forces generated by each body part.
● Includes actions such as punching, kicking a ball and striking a ball.
● This is important in all movements where you are trying to give as much momentum to an
object or body as possible.
● There are there KEY guidelines for giving any object as much momentum as possible
 First Guideline: Sequencing of Body Segments

● When trying to give an

object as much
momentum as possible,
we should use as many
body segments as
possible. However they
should be used in the
correct order to maximise
the forces that can be
generated.
Notice: Larger muscles used first (LOWER BODY) followed by smaller muscles to execute
movement.
 Sequencing of a Baseball Pitch

1. Force is generated using larger

muscles of thighs and hips
2. Force transferred to core
muscles
3. Combined forces of lower
body transferred to arms and
hand to complete throw
Second Guideline: Stretching Out

● Stretching out generates elastic potential energy therefore meaning if you stretch your
body out to complete a movement you will generate optimal force behind each
movement.
Stretching Out in Baseball
 Third Guideline: Full Range of Motion
● Moving the body through the
greatest range of motion possible
during execution will result in
greater momentum being
generated.
 Practice Paragraph

● Explain what is happening in this picture in relation to

the players body, its movements and performance result.
● First OUTLINE the principle (Force Summation)
● Second DEFINE the principle (Force Summation)
● Third EXPLAIN how it relates to/how it can be applied
to this picture.
● TIP: Assessment asks you
- What the principle is
- How it is applied in action
- Why it is important to apply
- What the resultant effect will be on your
performance of the skill
 Levers
● Levers are created when the force (muscle) shortens to
pull a load (bone) across a fulcrum (joint)

● There are 3 different classes of levers

● Each different class has 3 components, each
determines what class of lever it is and what it is
designed to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M98hS8M9hI
 Components in a Lever
● There are 3 components in a lever
- Effort
- Fulcrum
- Load

● The load is the object requiring moving, the

effort is the muscular force we use to move the
object, the fulcrum is the joint around which the
movement occurs and the bones of the skeleton
are the levers.
● The fulcrum is the component that DOES NOT
move.
 Class 1 Lever
● Fulcrum is ALWAYS in between the
force/effort and the load.
 Class 2 Lever

● The load is ALWAYS in between the

fulcrum and effort
 Class 3 Lever

● The effort is ALWAYS

in between the
fulcrum and load
Class 1, 2 & 3
 How these relate to sport?
● Long levers move through a greater range
● Short levers allow fast and strong of motion increasing speed at their far ends.
movements to occur. Beneficial for Beneficial when required to apply force
generating force at the beginning of onto objects with are struck or thrown.
movements. (Bicep curl - bent arm (Golf club - need the force at the end of the
means shorter lever.) movement. Throwing a ball - stretch the
arm to create a longer lever)
Short and Long Levers

Shortening the lever (by bending the joint) allows the lever arm to generate force and to be
rotated with more speed. Once this has been achieved, the lever arm can be lengthened (by
straightening the joint) to maximise speed at the end of the lever.

Example:

● Kicking a ball. You bend your knee to generate fast and strong force and follow
through by straightening your leg to maximise speed.
● Back hand hit in tennis. Same as above however it is your elbow you are bending.
 How these relate to sport?

● Hitting a baseball with a bat. What

grip position will produce a more
powerful hit? Close Grip

- Close grip
OR
- Long grip
Long Grip
Example paragraph

● When a player is taking a shot from the free throw line they will bend their elbow to
generate quick power and then extend their arm to follow through and create a longer
lever resulting in more force being put behind the shot.
 Practice Paragraph

● Explain what is happening in this picture in relation

to the players body, its movements and performance
result.
● First OUTLINE the principle (Levers)
● Second DEFINE the principle (Levers)
● Third EXPLAIN how it relates to/how it can be
applied to this picture.
● TIP: Assessment asks you
- What the principle is
- How it is applied in action
- Why it is important to apply
- What the resultant effect will be on your
performance of the skill