How Biology Is Involved in Sports
Gymnastics Vault and floor focus on energy conservation and motion in different dimensions. Before a vault or a tumbling pass, I start by running (about 60 feet for vault and 15 for floor) trying to attain maximum speed and acceleration right before I begin the first part of the skill. On vault, I try to be as efficient as possible in my hurdle to the springboard and transfer to the table, which I then push with my arms and shoulders to get one more energy boost before flying off the table. In a front and spring, I continue moving forward the whole way, traveling on the x-axis and flipping on the y-axis. In a Tsukahara, I twist onto the table so that I push off facing the runway, and then bend my knees to increase my rotational velocity and flip backwards one and half times around my y-axis before landing, while traveling on the x-axis the entire time. On floor, my run ends in one of two entry skills that I try to finish at an angle that will give me optimal height and rotation for the next skill. A front layout is similar to a front and spring vault, involving forward motion in the x- and y- dimensions. A back half, while looking very different from a Tsukahara, also involves 3D motion, as I flip around my y-axis, perform a half twist on my z-axis, and continue moving across the floor on the x-axis, all at the same time.
Most skills on bars are possible because of the physics of circular motion. In a giant, I start and end in a handstand on the high bar, swinging in a circle with the bar as my axis of rotation. However, because I am moving mostly in the y-axis, gravity pulls me downward during the whole skill. In order to counter its effects on my upswing, directly underneath the bar I “tap”, letting my feet fall behind me and then aggressively kicking up, giving me the momentum I need to make it around the bar. In my dismount, I perform the same motion as a giant but release the bar on the upswing. The momentum from the swing allows me to gain height and
Most skills on bars are possible because of the physics of circular motion. In a giant, I start and end in a handstand on the high bar, swinging in a circle with the bar as my axis of rotation. However, because I am moving mostly in the y-axis, gravity pulls me downward during the whole skill. In order to counter its effects on my upswing, directly underneath the bar I “tap”, letting my feet fall behind me and then aggressively kicking up, giving me the momentum I need to make it around the bar. In my dismount, I perform the same motion as a giant but release the bar on the upswing. The momentum from the swing allows me to gain height and