Planes of Motion & Exercise Program Design

• Biomechanics refers to sport applications

Planes of the Human Body

• Anatomical planes include sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes of the human body
• The human body is erect, with arms down at the sides, and palms face forward
• Sagittal plane slices the body into left-right sections
• Frontal plane slices the body into front-back sections
• Transverse plane slices the body into upper-lower sections

Key Points for Exercise Program Design

• Specificity is a major consideration when designing an exercise program to enhance performance in a specific sport
• Sport movement must be analyzed qualitatively or quantitatively
• Analysis helps determine specific joint movements contributing to the whole-body movement
• Exercises using similar joint movements are emphasized in the resistance training program

Human Movement

• Various exercises and sports correlate with specific body movements
• Wrist sagittal flexion exercise wrist curl is exemplified in a basketball free throw
• Ulnar deviation is when an exercise with a specific wrist curl exemplified in a baseball bat swing
• Lower back sagittal flexion exercise sit-up, is exemplified in a javelin throw follow-through
• Shoulder Frontal Adduction exercise with a wide-grip lat pulldown is exemplified in swimming the breast stroke
• Neck Sagittal Flexion exercise as exemplified in a somersault
• Ankle frontal eversion as exemplified in speed skating

Biomechanics of Strength

• Arrangement of muscle fibers
• Muscle length
• Joint angle
• Muscle contraction velocity
• Joint angular velocity
• Strength-to-mass ratio
• Body size are all components of the bimechanics of strength

Human Strength and Power: Basic Definitions

• Strength is the capacity to exert a force at a given speed
• Force equals mass times acceleration
• Work equals force times distance, or torque times angular displacement
• Power equals force times velocity, or work divided by time
• The rate at which repetitions are performed determines power output
• Negative work refers to work on a muscle (eccentric)

Muscle Cross-Sectional Area (CSA)

• A muscle's force exertion relates to its cross-sectional area
• The greater the CSA, the more sarcomeres can be stacked parallel or on top of each other
• Force is determined by the quantity of crossbridges that can be formed
• Equal CSA equates to strength
• Equal CSA, but smaller volume, means more power, as seen in gymnasts

Muscle Fibers

• Variation exists in the arrangement and alignment of sarcomeres in relation to the long axis of the muscle
• Pennate muscle: Fiber aligns obliquely with the tendon, creating a feather-like structure
• Angle of pennation: Angle between muscle fibers; zero equals no pennation
• The deltoid muscle has a multipennate fiber arrangement
• The gluteus medius muscle has a radiate fiber arrangement
• The rectus abdominis muscle has a longitudinal fiber arrangement
• The biceps brachii muscle has a fusiform fiber arrangement and structure
• Muscles with greater pennation have more sarcomeres in parallel and fewer sarcomeres in series
• More pennation equates to greater force but lower shortening velocity
• Pennation can be disadvantageous for eccentric and isometric muscle actions

Explores anatomical planes (sagittal, frontal, transverse) and their role in biomechanics. Specificity in exercise program design is emphasized, linking joint movements to sport-specific actions. This is demonstrated via examples of upper and lower body movements.