MOVEMENT VARIABILITY: A COMPARISON BETWEEN NOVICE, EXPERIENCED AND ELITE PERFORMERS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate movement and its associated outcome variability for three levels of Olympic weightlifters performing the clean. Elite (n=2) experienced (n=5) and novice (n=5) weightlifters performed 12 lifts of the clean at 80% 1RM with 120s rest between each lift. Variability of relative phase, relative hip and knee angles and ground reaction force was calculated for each subject for the 12 trials. No significant differences were reported between groups for coordination, kinematic or outcome variability however, some differences (Fx) were reported for kinetic variability. For the majority of measures no significant differences were reported between groups for performance or outcome variability. In conclusion the traditional viewpoint of invariant movement patterns for elite performers was dismissed.