IMPULSE-MOMENTUM RELATIONSHIPS IN GIANT SWING MOVEMENTS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to investigate the forces applied to an instrumented top bar of the uneven parallel bars in the performance of giant swing movements in gymnastics. It was hypothesized that information derived from the time histories of horizontal and vertical forces applied to the bar would provide insight into how gymnasts perform these swinging movements. The subjects (Class I and Elite level female gymnasts) and methods for this study were the same as those used by Witten, Brown, Witten, and Wells (1996). In addition to sampling (100 Hz) the time histories of the forces of the subjects (five in highly skilled (HS) and five in less skilled (LS) groups) in their performances of the overgrip giant swing, kinematic data were recorded with a SVHS video camera. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Table 1 is a summary of the horizontal and vertical impulses in the overgrip giant swing and their influences on the velocities of the subjects' centers of gravity. It was determined that only Subjects 4 and 5 (both in Group HS) were able to effect a desired influence on the horizontal and vertical velocity of their center of gravity from the start to the finish of the giant swing. Performance Parameters in the Overgrip Giant Swing (impulses reported in Ns) REFERENCE Witten, W. A., Brown, E. W., Witten, C. X., Wells, R. (1996). Kinematic and kinetic analysis of the overgrip giant swing on the uneven parallel bars. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 12,431-448.