W8 - Applications in Sport

Question 1

What are some limits to human performance?

Answer 1

• Strength / effort
• Timing
• Coordination

Question 2

What is the definition of a skill?

Who defined it?

Answer 2

“The ability to bring about some end result with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of energy” e.g.: the athletes that can run the fastest without expending a lot of energy

• Schmidt

Question 3

What are the strategies adopted to learn a skill?

Answer 3

• Minimise effort
  
  • Minimise jerk - do we have smooth curves when we differentiate in respect to time
  • Maximise performance measures
  • Maximise likelihood of success - do we chose techniques that work most of the time and gives a successful performance

Question 4

What are the benefits of simulating a triple jump?

Answer 4

• Able to change the variables how long, how much and when we turn on the muscles, which cannot be done in humans
  
  • Vary activation profiles
  • When technique is optimised, the athlete is able to jump further(double arm shift)

Question 5

What is a limiting factor in sport?
How is this shown through simulations?

Answer 5

strength
Sometimes strength can be a limiting factor and in sport minimising effort is not always the underlying strategy
- Must be strong enough to increase their distance
- Increased velocity increases distance
- Increasing both strength and velocity increases distance by 30%

Question 6

What is the margin of error/release window for a gymnast?

Answer 6

(t1 - t0)/2
The larger the release window, the easier it is to time when to let go
- Releasing too early = a lot of angular momentum, but not enough vertical velocity (covers great distance, not high enough to complete the summersault
- Releasing too late = not enough angular momentum, and a lot of vertical velocity = a lot of height, but not enough distance from the bar

Question 7

Is a traditional or scooped technique better for a gymnast to use to increase their chance of success?

Answer 7

scooped increase release window
- The scooped technique ends in a straight path, allows the gymnast to move straight off the bar, easier to time the release(less critical with this technique)
- Find a technique that allows us to cope with our inability to time things

Question 8

What are some limitations athletes must operate?

Name some task constraints on gymnasts

Answer 8

• within strength limits
• within anatomical/flexibility limits
• within a noisy environment
• angular momentum?
• linear momentum
• flight time

Question 9

How do we find the idyllic technique for an athlete?

Answer 9

Technique that copes with the level of noise in our motor system is most successful

Question 10

What is the procedure for optimisation of performance?

How does the simulation show a gymnast works at their optimal level?

Answer 10

• vary activation parameters
• maximise jump height

subject to constraints
* none
* angular momentum
* anatomical (ensure the joints don’t break)
* robustness

After all constraints are added, elite athletes performance is optimal as shown by the model having the same jump height when simulated