- Ground reaction force – Force exerted back onto the body from the ground. I.e. while you run you exert a force through your feet onto the ground. There is an equal and opposite force acts on you from the ground and this is called ground reaction force.
- Qualitative analysis – Applying principles of proper technique and combining them with observation in order to make an educated evaluation. For example if arms fall forward on a overhead squat assessment you would know the proper technique is for arms to stay in line with the torso, and by making this observation you would know that the client has a movement deficiency that is likely a result of a muscular imbalance which will need to be corrected for proper movement to take place.
- Quantitative analysis – Taking physical measurements and making mathematical computations to reach a conclusion. An example would be to take skinfold measurements and arrive at a bodyfat %, and then concluding from that whether the client should lose fat or not.
Pg. 42
- Superior – Positioned above a point of reference
- Inferior – Positioned below a point of reference
- Proximal – Positioned nearest the center of the body, or point of reference. – Knee more proximal to the hip th an ankle.
- Distal – Positioned farthest from the center of the body, or point of reference Ankle more distal to the hip than knee.
- Anterior (or Ventral) – On the front of the body On or forward, front of the body, quads are anterior on the thigh.
- Posterior (or Dorsal) – On the back of the body. Hamstring complex is posterior.
- Medial – Positioned near the middle of the body. Close to midline of the body. Adductors are medial side of thigh, side closest to midline of the body. Sternum more medial than shoulder.
- Lateral – Positioned on the outside of the body. Ears are on the lateral side of the head.
- Contralateral – Positioned on the opposite side of the body. Right foot is contralateral to the left hand.
- Ipsilateral – Positioned on the same side of the body. Right food is ipsilateral to right foot.
Planes of Motion, Axes, and Joint Motions
- Movement is said to occur more commonly on a specific plane if it is actually along the plane or parallel to it.
- Anatomic Position – Position with the body erect, arms at side, palms forward. Anatomic position is important in anatomy because it is the position reference for anatomic nomenclature. Anterior, posterior, medial, lateral apply to the body when it is in the anatomic position.
Sagittal Plane Motions pg. 44
- Sagittal Plane – Bisects the body into left and right halves. Movements in sagittal plane include flexion and extension.
- Flexion – Bending movement in which the relative angle between two adjacent segments decreases. It helps to think of this with two reference points. Take a knee flexion – your two reference points would be hamstrings and your calves. As your knee goes into flexion your calves move closer to your calves, or the relative angle decreases. It goes into extension when those angles are increasing or the two are moving further apart.
- Extension – A straightening movement in which the relative angle between two adjacent segments increases.
Frontal Plane Motions pg. 47
- Frontal Plane – Bisects the body into front and back halves.
- Abduction – Movement in frontal plane away from the midline of the body. Similar to extension, increase in the angle between two adjoining segments in the frontal plane. Side lat raises.
- Adduction – Movement in frontal plane back toward midline of the body.
Transverse Plane Motions pg. 49
- Transverse Plane – Imaginary bisector divides body into top and bottom halves. Upper and lower halve.
- Internal Rotation – Rotation of a joint toward the middle of the body.
- External rotation – Rotation of a joint away from the midline of the body.
- Pronation – Triplanar movement that is associated with force reduction, rotating the forearm inward.
- Supination – triplanar motion that is associated with force production – forearm rotating outward. You can tell the book has a difficult time explaining the nuances of pronation and supination so it’s very unlikely that you’ll be tested on it.
Application of Biomechanics pg. 51
- Muscles are called flexors when they produce flexion in a limb or a joint whereas extensors are muscles that produce extension. Pretty simple.
- Prone – Position of the body where the face is down.
- Supine – Position of the body where the person is lying on their back and their face is up – the opposite of prone.
- Triple flexion – an exercise that involves flexion at the hip, knee, and ankle. Eccentric portion of squat for example.
- Triple extension – exercise that involves extension at the hip, knee, and ankle. Concentric portion of squat.
- There’s a trainer tip that says using scientific terminology may help build credibility with a client – don’t overdo it. You’ll come across as an annoying know-it-all. The point isn’t to look smart in front of your client. The point is to help them perform movements correctly.
- Static posture – the starting point from which an individual moves. I.e. standing with feet slightly more than shoulder width apart would be the static posture before they perform a squat.
Exercise Naming Conventions pg. 53
- A source of likely test questions here. Study table 3.2 and 3.3 An example question might be: give an example of a frontal plane exercise and then give you four different movements with only one being a frontal plane. Understand the different planes of motion – if you can visualize the planes it will be very obvious on the test which are the correct movements that correspond with those planes. Don’t let names get you mixed up. A front lunge is a sagittal plane movement, not a front plane movement, because with the sagittal plane you can only move forward or backward. Similarly a side lunge is a frontal plane movement. If these confuse you go back to page 42 and read under the Planes and Axes of Motion.
Muscle Action Spectrum pg. 57
- Concentric activation – A muscle is producing force as it contracts. Think contraction.
- Isometric activation – A muscle is producing an active force while it maintains the same length. Think holding a plank. Your muscles are producing force yet there is no shortening(concentric) or lengthening(eccentric) of the muscle.
- Eccentric activation – A muscle is producing force while lengthening. An eccentric exercise would be slowly lowering yourself down from a chin-up. Your muscles are lengthening yet they are still producing force. Muscles can produce more force eccentrically than concentrically or isometrically.
Muscle Function pg. 58
- Isolated function – The muscle’s primary function. For example the bicep muscle is performing its isolated function in a dumbbell curl, but is also activated during a deadlift, which is not the biceps isolated function.
- Eccentric function – Think isolated function for eccentric rather than concentric movement.
- Integrated function – Coordination of muscles to produce, reduce, and stabilize forces in multiple planes for efficient and safe movement.
Force, Torque, and Levers pg. 59
- Force – A push or pull that can create, stop, or change movement. Force = mass X acceleration.
- Levers – Bones and muscles act as levers. Study figure 3.18 and 3.20 to know the difference between a first class, second class, and third class lever.
Application of Tempo pg. 62
- Tempo – The amount of time that a muscle is actively producing tension during an exercise.
- Rep Tempo – The speed with which each rep is performed.
- YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS. You’ll definitely have 1-2 questions about tempo. Regardless of how it’s written(4-2-1, 4/2/1, 421, etc) the first number represents how fast a movement is performed during the eccentric component. The middle number represents the midpoint or pause. Then the last number represents the concentric phase. Take a bench press. 4-2-1 would be four seconds going down, two seconds with the bar touching the chest, and one second to push the bar off the chest and achieve full extension with the elbows.
Location of Muscles: Origin And Insertion pg. 63
- Origin – The relatively stationary attachment site where skeletal muscle attaches.
- Insertion – The relatively mobile attachment site.
- It’s good to go over tables 3.10 – 3.15 on pages 67-69. Don’t worry about memorizing everything. Look over them. Understand them(they’re self-explanatory).
Muscle Imbalance pg. 70
- Muscle imbalances – Alteration of muscle length surrounding a joint.
- Muscle imbalances can be caused by – postural stress, emotional duress, repetitive movement, cumulative trauma, poor training technique, lack of core strength, lack of neuromuscular efficiency
- Common overactive and underactive muscles in the foot and ankle – Study figure 3.24 on pg. 71. Commonly the musculature that makes up the calves are overactive which causes ankle mobility problems that will show up in the squat. People compensate by having a wider stance and turning their toes out.
- Overactive and underactive muscles of the knee. Study figure 3.25 on page 72.
- Overactive and underactive muscles of the lumbar pelvic hip complex. Study figure 3.26. No need to memorize everything there. Sitting causes most of these issues so just picture which muscle groups are shortened through sitting thus causing them to become overactive and which are elongated. Anterior muscle groups are shortened – the hip flexors, adductors, abdominals while posterior muscle groups are lengthened(and thus under active) to include the glutes, hamstrings, and erector spinae.
- Overactive and underactive muscles of the shoulders – caused mostly because people do more bench-press and pull-ups and neglect the smaller musculature of the shoulders. It’s easy to remember that lats and pecs are overactive when you picture bench press and pull-ups. Middle and lower traps, rhomboids, and rotator cuffs are commonly under active.
- Overactive and underactive muscles of the head and neck – Picture someone slouched over an iPad then picture which muscle groups are shortened and elongated. Common overactive muscles: upper traps, sternocleidomastoid, levator scapulae. Common underactive muscles: deep cervical flexors.
- Shoulder impingement – When the space between the bone on the top of the shoulder and the tendons of the rotator cuff rub against each other during arm elevation. Especially prevalent in those with repetitive overhead tasks like construction workers, painters, tennis players, swimmers, etc. Strengthening the rotator cuffs is important for everyone but especially for those that perform repetitive overhead tasks and/or experience shoulder impingement.
- Neuromuscular efficiency is ability of nervous system and musculature system to communicate properly producing optimal movement. Proper postural alignment allows optimal neuromuscular efficiency, helps produce effective and safe movement.