Exercise Mechanics

Mechanics is the most ignored, neglected, misapplied, and misunderstood aspect
of exercise performance, education, and research!

Ironically, an exercise IS nothing more than mechanics!
Everything else simply represents the conditions under which
the exercise is performed!
In exercise, mechanics transcends and encompasses all goals and trends!

From aerobics to strength, function to aesthetics, Pilates to powerlifting, stretching to sport specific, all exercise is based upon forces and joints!

For everything else that is happening, i.e. neural, metabolic, recruitment... objectively all exercise truly boils down to forces on joints! And when you're talking about forces and joints, you're talking about mechanics!

Exercise mechanics could be thought of as “the application of the principles of joint mechanics, muscle mechanics, resistance mechanics, and their combined effects that influence factors such as strength profiles, resistance profiles, chain mechanics and joint forces, as well as how each is altered by the influence of intention (either strategically or randomly).

 

From a practical sense one might view Exercise Mechanics as:

  1. 1.      Mechanical Components:
  • The Principles of Joint, Resistance, Muscle Mechanics
  1. Mechanics Outcomes- the above comprise and influence:
  • Strength Profiles vs. Resistance Profiles
  • Joint Forces
  • Chain mechanics
  1. 3.      Exercise Outcomes: the total stimuli created
  • Orchestration- is the organization of contraction to generate a motor recruitment solution… which from an exercise perspective can be viewed as the specific contractile challenges created, as influenced by the mechanical decisions and the strategic manipulation/delivery of Intention.