BIOMECHANICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE SWIM DIVING
Forces
Force can be recognised as the pushing and pulling actions applied from the mass and acceleration of an object (in our case the body) (Hall, 2007). According to Wuest & Bucher (2009), in relation to the body, the more muscle a body has the greater force it can produce. However, the more mass that an object has the more inertia it has to overcome (McLester & St. Pierre, 2008). Hence a swimmer who has more muscles or body mass may be able to create more force leading into the dive but they would have more inertia to have to overcome. Therefore, a lighter person may be able to accelerate their body faster into the water.
This can be linked to Newton’s Second Law: ‘The acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to the mass of the object: F= ma’ (Blazevich, 2012, pp. 45). This should be considered when comparing the two different dives as the time of acceleration can differ between athletes. When comparing the two dives you would have to consider using the same person. This can have some limitations as different individuals have their own preferences on which dive start they may like or practice more.
Newton’s Third Law: ‘For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction’ (Blazevich, 2012, pp. 45) should be considered when comparing the grab start and track start. The force distribution can vary between the dives and this could be associated with the reaction force that occurs within the two variations. The reaction force is important as it allow us to move in a forwards like motion. Reaction force allows a swimmer to be able to apply a significant amount of opposite forces (to the block) to accelerate them forward (taking off from the block) within both the dive techniques.
Force can be recognised as the pushing and pulling actions applied from the mass and acceleration of an object (in our case the body) (Hall, 2007). According to Wuest & Bucher (2009), in relation to the body, the more muscle a body has the greater force it can produce. However, the more mass that an object has the more inertia it has to overcome (McLester & St. Pierre, 2008). Hence a swimmer who has more muscles or body mass may be able to create more force leading into the dive but they would have more inertia to have to overcome. Therefore, a lighter person may be able to accelerate their body faster into the water.
This can be linked to Newton’s Second Law: ‘The acceleration of an object is proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to the mass of the object: F= ma’ (Blazevich, 2012, pp. 45). This should be considered when comparing the two different dives as the time of acceleration can differ between athletes. When comparing the two dives you would have to consider using the same person. This can have some limitations as different individuals have their own preferences on which dive start they may like or practice more.
Newton’s Third Law: ‘For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction’ (Blazevich, 2012, pp. 45) should be considered when comparing the grab start and track start. The force distribution can vary between the dives and this could be associated with the reaction force that occurs within the two variations. The reaction force is important as it allow us to move in a forwards like motion. Reaction force allows a swimmer to be able to apply a significant amount of opposite forces (to the block) to accelerate them forward (taking off from the block) within both the dive techniques.