Tag Archive for: Biomechanics

Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 4: center of mass

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

In part one, of our series analyzing the biomechanics of Mykolas Alekna’s world record in the discus we looked at the rhyhm and release. Part two broke down the delivery subphases. Part three looked at the orbit and phase durations throughout the full throw. In the final part below we the center of mass velocities and changes during the throw.

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Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 3: Phase durations and orbit

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

In part one, of our series analyzing the biomechanics of Mykolas Alekna’s world record in the discus we looked at the rhyhm and release. Part two broke down the delivery subphases. In part three below we now look at the orbit and phase durations throughout the full throw.

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Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 2: Delivery subphases

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

In part one of our series analyzing the biomechanics of Mykolas Alekna’s world record in the discus we looked at the rhyhm and release. In part two we look a bit more in detail leading up the release; specifically looking at the discus velocities during the delivery subphases.

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Kristof Kipp

Analyzing Alekna’s Record Part 1: Rhythm and release

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Author’s Note: This article was co-written with the support of Don Babbitt, Martin Bingisser, and PJ Vazel. Additional thanks to Mohamad Saatara for giving us the coach’s perspecitve, Caleb Seal for giving us access to the Ramona competition, and the members of the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab (Chris Geiser, Emma Patterson, and Wanda Sihanath).

» Related Content: Learn more about discus biomechanices from Professor Kipp in Video Lesson 40: Cast studies in discus biomechanics.

On Sunday, April 14, 2024, Mykolas Alekna competed in the open men’s discus competition at the World Athletics Invitational held in Ramona, Oklahoma, USA. The series included a new world record and was the first series ever with all six throws over 70 meters.

Over the next week we will release a series of articles dissecting Alekna’s throws in Ramona. Each throw was recorded with eight high speed cameras and analyzed by the Marquette University Biomechanics Lab. This article series will look at the data behind the results, and also how coaches can learn from and interpret that. In part 1 we look at phase-specific velocities and release parameters. Part 2 will dive into discus velocities during the delivery. Part 3 will look at the orbit and duration of each phase of the throw. And the final Part 4 focuses on the center of mass.

» Related Content: Learn more about discus biomechanices from Professor Kipp in Video Lesson 40: Cast studies in discus biomechanics.

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Vern Gambetta

Running mechanics: part 2

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The starting point for running mechanics is a basic technical model. That technical model is what man must do sprint at top speed. Therefore, in teaching to improve running mechanics we must start with sound sprint mechanics and extend those concepts out to longer distances. Even in distance running, ultimately the person who runs the fastest is the person who can maintain the greatest percentage of their maximum speed the longest. Running skill is a motor task! Like any motor task it is teachable and trainable. As with any motor task a systematic approach toward improving running mechanics will yield optimum results.

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Vern Gambetta

Running mechanics: part 1

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Running is a fundamental locomotor skill. It is a very natural activity. Unfortunately, because of our sedentary lifestyle and activity deprived society this natural skill rapidly erodes in accordance with the law of reversibility. As with any skill if is not used it is quickly lost. Generally, young children run naturally with fundamentally sound running mechanics. We need to ensure that this natural activity is reinforced through activity and play during childhood, so that in adolescence and latter all that is necessary is to reawaken those childhood movement patterns. If the skill has been lost through disuse it is tough to reacquire.

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Dean Benton and Martin Bingisser

A structured process to improve training quality

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In the age of big data, quantities have taken over the attention of many coaches. Quality, on the other hand, often takes a back seat as it is not as easily put in a spreadsheet. Yet when we look at high performance, quality is the factor that defines coaching and performance. High training quality is the basis of world-class coaching; it is what separates excellent from average coaching. Quality of performance in the arena is also directly proportional to quality of the preparation. You cannot hope for high quality performance with low quality preparation.

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Martin Bingisser

GAINcast Episode 269: Force and sprinting (with Dan Cleather and Jon Goodwin)

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Why are some athletes faster than others? And how do we make athletes faster? In their new book Dan Cleather and Jon Goodwin argue that the answer begins and ends with a consideration of force production. Both of them join this week’s podcast to discuss key drivers in sprint performance, what factors are modifiable, and how we often get distracted from what really matters.

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Martin Bingisser

GAINcast Episode 262: The sprint lab (with Emily McClelland)

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The SMU Locomotor Performance Lab is at the cutting edge of researching practical questions on sprinting and jumping. On this week’s GAINcast Emily McClelland joins us to discuss her latest research on vertical jumping and sex differences in short sprints.

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Dean Benton and Martin Bingisser

A systems approach to calf complex injuries

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At beginning of this year we penned our thoughts on the hamstring injury phenomena and illustrated how a reductionist approach to reducing hamstring injuries just doesn’t work. A complex problem can’t be solved by something as simple as getting stronger; it demands a more holistic interpretation. Below we turn our attention to a similar injury trend: injuries to the calf complex.

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