The Relationship Between Psychology, Physiology, And Biomechanics In 100 Meter Sprint Athletes

Excellent evidence based identification of interactions between key areas of sports sciencebased on work from the previous essays.

Good evidence based identification of interactions between key areas of sports science based on work from the previous essays.

Reasonable evidence based identification of interactions between key areas of sports science based on work from the previous essays.

Interdependency of Psychology, Physiology, and Biomechanics in 100 Meter Sprint Athletes

Sport is not only a profession but also a medium of salvation or recreation. This diverse area attempts to unite different disciplines of daily life and thereby helping towards proper health and well-being (Kokko 2014). The following report is build with a prime focus over the 100 meters sprint athlete. The essay attempts to elucidate the inherent relationship between the physiological, psychological and biomechanical activities of the body and how it helps to improve the overall performance of a 100 meter sprint athlete. The elucidation of the inherent relationship will be generated via dual comparison between each of the three factors.

Psychology is a branch of science that deals with the interplay of mind and the expressed behaviour (Bernstein 2014). On the other hand, biomechanics is a branch of science that deals with the systems and the structure of the biological processes operating inside the body irrespective of the size of the organism. It explains how an organism reacts or responds to a stimulus of the external environments (Bernstein 2014). Thus the theory underlying the psychology and biomechanics are inter-related in the profession of sports as sprint involve the flexible yet co-ordinated movement of the body in response to the commands sent by the brain.

According to Ille et al. (2013), it is the duty of the brain to make quick and accurate calculations in order to command the muscles to react instantly via displaying fast movements while maintaining the balance of the body. Ille et al. (2013) further opined that external focus of attention about the movement of the body helps in proper movement execution and this in turn promotes better performance. Their study revealed that the reaction time and the running time of a sprint athlete (both novice and expert) is less in external focus in comparison to that of the internal focus. Their results showed that external focus of attention on speed helps in movement execution and thereby helping a sprint athlete of co-ordinate the movement of the body on the basis of remaining distance and time travelled. Ille et al. (2013) further stated that internal focus is also essential as it helps in to learn the reflex motor tasks and attentional focus aids in movement preparation. Thus psychology and biomechanics are closely linked.

According to Cheron (2015), whatever sport movements that is taken into consideration, the actual performance and the associated state of mind are linked intrinsically and a comprehensive analysis of this associated link is indispensable for further optimization of the 100, sprint performance.

The Role of Psychology and Biomechanics in Sprint Performance

The workability of the different parts of the body like cells, tissues, organs and the muscles make the entire physiology of the body. From a perception of a sprint athlete it can be said that it is the cell where ATP is generated via metabolism and this ATP acts as a precursor of energy which provides the athlete the strength to perform rigorous physical activity (Bernstein 2014). In relation to energy generation, it is the duty of the mind to take proper decisions when the brain cells replenish the body with energy. Mind in the presence of adequate energy feels refreshed and thus provide positive energy to work more enthusiastically (Bernstein 2014).

Reports published by Cook and Beaven (2013) stated that a combination of psychological and physiological indices provides an improved indication towards the subsequent performance of the sprint athlete. According to their findings, the interplay of physiological factors and psychological factors has an important role in individual perception towards enhancing the training recovery. For a sprint athlete, training recovery is essential for improvement of performance and subsequent adaptation to stress. Proper training recovery via synchronised interplay of physiological and psychological factors helps in the avoidance of fatigue and other symptoms of overtraining. Pointon and Duffield (2012) stated the use of the cold-water immersion (CWI) as an ideal method for the training recovery (collision sport exercise). Cold-water immersion promotes improved the muscle contractile properties and the perceptions of soreness, which is common after collision, based exercise. This soothing feelings in turn acts as a positive mood regulator and thereby helping a sprint athlete to recover faster following a rigorous training regime (Pointon and Duffield 2012).

Hardcastle et al. (2014) opined that sedentary training like body, message helps the athlete to recover from the physiological and psychological stress. Recovery from the psychological stress helps the athlete to remain more psychologically active and thereby helping them to make accurate calculations of time of distance while performing 100m sprint.

The morphology of the physiological muscles, which remain connected with the bones promotes movement and helps to a sprint athlete to gain momentum (Xu 2013). This signifies bones and muscles are interdependent and one cannot function without the other. Biomechanics deals with movements of joints, which are formed in between the bones while physiology focuses only over the body make up (Lynall, Mihalik and Guskiewicz 2015). This signifies that there is an inherent relationship between the two concepts and both of them holds important among the sprint athletes.

The Importance of Physiology in Sprint Performance

The major stress point of a sprint athlete is the groin area. According to Rocco et al. (2017), groin is one of the most complex anatomo-functional regions of the human body. A proper understanding of the physiological morphology of the groin and the hip is crucial in order to comprehend the strength of a sprint athlete. Rocco et al. (2017) further opined that the hip muscles acts in unison with the groin area in order to maintain a dynamic and static balance of the body when the body is in motion. As per the Pauwel’s model, muscle force balance enables to understand the variations of the body weight vector (biomechanics) and distance of the rotational centre of the hip (physiology). The modulation of the body weight helps the sprint athlete to work on their agility and body strength (Rocco et al. 2017). During gait, numerous groups of muscle activates followed by intrinsic modifications of the joints thereby making the body to have ideal propulsion. This propulsion helps to maintain the co-ordination of joints while running (Rocco et al. 2017).

Biomechanics helps in the maintenance of the balance of the feet via acting in co-ordination with the body's centre of gravity (Nashner 2014). Proper interplay of the sensory and the motor neurons which are the part of the physiological system of the body helps in maintaining the proper body balance while running under high speed (Nashner 2014). Apart from the sensory motor neurons, visual neurons also play an important role in maintaining the body balance. Proper hand-eye and hand-leg co-ordination help an athlete to adjust his or her speed when he or she is approach towards the finish line (Nashner 2014).  So it will be the duty of the trainer to work more on the hand eye co-ordination and eye-leg co-ordination and this will help in the establishment of proper synchronization between the physiological and biomechanical mechanism and thus helping a sprint athlete to attain proficiency.

Thus from the above discussion, it can be stated that both the three concepts like psychology, physiology and biomechanics are inter-linked in the 100 meter sprint. A proper synchronization of all these three factors helps a sprint athlete to attain success in this sport category. It is recommended that a personal trainer for a sprint athlete to give immense importance on all these three different yet inter-linked domain of the athlete in order to promote better performance which will be high on psychological strength and will, physiological fitness and biomechanical co-ordination of joints

References

Bernstein, N.A., 2014. Dexterity and its development. Psychology Press.

Cheron, G., 2015. From biomechanics to sport psychology: the current oscillatory approach. Frontiers in psychology, 6, p.1642.

Cook, C.J. and Beaven, C.M., 2013. Individual perception of recovery is related to subsequent sprint performance. Br J Sports Med, pp.bjsports-2012.

Hardcastle, S.J., Ray, H., Beale, L. and Hagger, M.S., 2014. Why sprint interval training is inappropriate for a largely sedentary population. Frontiers in psychology, 5, p.1505.

Ille, A., Selin, I., Do, M.C. and Thon, B., 2013. Attentional focus effects on sprint start performance as a function of skill level. Journal of sports sciences, 31(15), pp.1705-1712.

Kokko, S., 2014. Sports clubs as settings for health promotion: Fundamentals and an overview to research. Scandinavian journal of public health, 42(15_suppl), pp.60-65.

Lynall, R.C., Mihalik, J.P. and Guskiewicz, K.M., 2015. Comparing Head Impact Biomechanics ?between Professional, College, and High School Linemen: A Preliminary Investigation.

Nashner, L.M., 2014. Practical biomechanics and physiology of balance. Balance Function Assessment and Management, 431.

Pointon, M. and Duffield, R., 2012. Cold water immersion recovery after simulated collision sport exercise. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 44(2), pp.206-216.

Rocco, P., Sebastiano, V., Guglielmo, T., Mauro, C. and Vincenzo, D., 2017. Physiology and Biomechanics. In Groin Pain Syndrome (pp. 19-23). Springer, Cham.

Xu, L.I.U., 2013. Brief Introduction to the Application of Exercise Physiology in Football ?Training. The Guide of Science & Education, 7, p.095