Analysis of movement and the three movement phases
Biomechanics is the analysis of human movements in sport. It explains how and why the body moves. There are a number of methods used to analyse movement. One used often by coaches and sports scientists is the analysis of movement phases. There are three movement phases:
- preparation 鈥 the movements an athlete makes while preparing to perform the skill
- execution 鈥 the movements made while performing the main part of the skill
- recovery 鈥 the movements that allow an athlete to regain balance and/or position after performing the skill (sometimes in order to go into action with another performance)
As sports movements are complex, each phase is often divided into sub-phases. For example:
Types of analysis
During each of the movement phases, analysis may focus on:
- body position
- head position
- arm/hand position and movements
- leg/foot position and movements
- timing
- power
- effect on the results
Watch a slow motion demonstration by Pat Cash to see the phases of movement in a tennis serve.