A biomechanical framework of the training principles to inform exercise selection within strength and conditioning for sprinting

<p> </p> <p>An essential component of physical preparation for sprinting is the selection of</p> <p>effective training exercises, with practitioners balancing the key training principles</p> <p>of overload and specificity to inform their decisions. However, exercise selection is</p> <p>often undertaken with little biomechanical underpinning. The aim of this research</p> <p>was therefore to apply biomechanical analyses and dynamical systems theory to</p> <p>advance understanding of the training principles of overload and specificity within</p> <p>exercise selection.</p> <p>To achieve the overall research aim, the biomechanics of a competitive motor task</p> <p>(the block start in athletic sprinting) were investigated in detail (Phase 1. Technique</p> <p>Analysis: Biomechanics) and evaluated against a range of training exercises (Phase</p> <p>2. Training Principles: Biomechanics Interface) within a sample of national and</p> <p>international male sprinters. A holistic account of the block start revealed novel</p> <p>insight to the key joint kinetic determinants of block start performance, and the</p> <p>emergence of proximal and in-phase extension joint coordination patterns that were</p> <p>linked to task execution. When evaluating training exercises, specificity in joint</p> <p>coordination was demonstrated across both traditionally viewed ‘general’ and</p> <p>‘specific’ exercises. In addition, all exercises were shown to elicit musculoskeletal</p> <p>overload, although this was shown to be dependent on the biomechanical</p> <p>determinant of performance and individual athlete.</p> <p>The current research encouraged a reconceptualisation of the principle of specificity</p> <p>within exercise selection, by demonstrating that exercise selection should not solely</p> <p>be based on the replication of a competitive motor task. Instead, exercise selection</p> <p>must consider how the musculoskeletal determinants of performance are</p> <p>overloaded, in addition to the replication of task specific coordination patterns. The</p> <p>work of this thesis successfully developed a framework to facilitate evidence-based</p> <p>decisions within exercise selection, by embedding biomechanical analyses and the</p> <p>model of constraints (Newell, 1986), within the principles of training.</p>