Download - Biomechanics of Lifting

8/13/2019 Biomechanics of Lifting

1/17

BIOMECHANICS OF LIFTINGCINEMATOGRAPHICAL EXAMINATION OF

POWERLIFTING AIDS IN SQUATTING

R Escamilla and J SawhillBiomechanics LaboratoryWashington State University, USA

Six experienced weight-lifters were compared in powerliftingsquats with and without lifting aids. Lifting aids were commercial,competitive elastic lifting suits and knee wraps. Subjects were filmedwith a 16mm Locam camera at 50 fps while performing 3 trials of 3repetitions maximum under the two lifting conditions.

Squats were divided into four phases 2 for descent, 2 for ascent)by trunk to hip and thigh to leg rotations. Postural torques about thehip and the knee were estimated from digitized images. Inertial torqueswere discounted as modulating contributors to performance due to theirinvariance across the lifting conditions.

Phasic comparisons revealed no significant differences (p < .05)across subject conditions suggesting that temporal components ofpowersquatting were not affected by lifting aids. Dependent samplecomparisons of weights lifted and torques estimated revealed significantincreases (p < .05) for all lifters using lifting aids. Average improvementin weights lifted was 12.94% over maximum unassisted lifts.

Use of competitive powerlifting aids significantly assistedsubjects in lifting greater weights, but did not influence liftingtechnique. Caution is expressed in the use of such aids for untrainedathletes due to increased loads on the joints.

207


2/17


3/17

SubjectsThis study was limited to three males and three females, all ofwhom were competitive powerlifters (see Table 1). ll subjects hadpreviously used the powerlifting suit and knee wraps in training andcompetition.imitations

Data were collected according to the sequence of subjects'training: (a) first, without powerlifting aids; (b) second, withpowerlifting aids.

Safety concerns limited the number of repetitions each subjectperformed both with an without powerlifting aids. Ideally, a onerepetition maximum l RM) was desired for both unaided and aidedlifts, since the 1 RM is performed in competition. However, none ofthesubjects would agree to a 1 RM without powerlifting aids. All subjectsinstead agreed t a 3 RM, the lowest common number of repetitions thatall subjects would perform with and without powerlifting aids.Due to individual preferences, lifting suits and knee wrapsvaried among the subjects. For the lifting suits, subjects two, four andsix used the Elite ; subject one used the Brute Force ; subject five usedthe Inzer ; and subject three used the Z-10 . For the knee wraps,subjects one, three and four used the Superwrap 10, and subjects two,five and six used the Superwrap 2 . Furthermore, subject 2 preferredto use loose to moderate tightness (instead of the normal tightlywrapped knee wraps and tight fitting suit) in her knee wraps and suit,thus possibly affecting the amount of weight that she lifted.Procedures

CinematographyA Locam 16 mm high speed camera was used for filming alllifters from a left sagittal view. All lifters were filmed at 50 frames persecond. Filming started approximately one second before each lifter

began the squat descent to attain the desired frame rate. Filmingceased at the completion of the squat ascent. Camera position was 10meters from and perpendicular to the plane of motion. Identificationmarkers were placed over the joint centers of the hip and knee of alllifters.

209


4/17

Data CollectionTo control differences in technique due t fatigue, all lifters werefilmed during two sessions that were one week apart. Since manypowerlifters perform the squat only once per week, this provided anappropriate time period. During the first session, the lifters performedtheir 3 RM without the use of powerlifting aids. During the secondsession, the lifters performed their 3 RM with the use of powerliftingaids. During both sessions, lifting belts of maximum thickness andwidth (according t powerlifting roles) were used. For each session, alllifters were filmed performing three separate trials at their 3 RM.

ata ReductionCinematographic DataBar, hip and knee positions were digitized using an optical

pointer interfaced to an IBM PC microcomputer. The following surfaceareas were digitized v ry second frame offilm:

1 bar l e f t end ofthe center of the bar2) left hip - head of the greater trochanter3) left knee - center of axis of rotation of the knee.In addition, a reference point was digitized to synchronize the

coordinate system for all film frames. The data were scaled to realdistance values using a .36 meter reference measure filmed as part ofthe filming arrangement.To aid in the film analysis, the squat was divided into fourphases (see Figure 1). The descent of the lift consisted of phases 1 and2, while the ascent consisted of phases 3 and 4. They were as follows:

1) phase 1 - start of descent to 135 degree relative kneeangle.2) phase 2 - 135 degree relative knee angle to minimumthigh position.3) phase 3 - minimum thigh position to 135 degree relativeknee angle.4) phase 4 - 135 degree relative knee angle to completion ofascent.Relative knee angle was the angle formed between the posterior

thigh and leg at the knee joint. The minimum thigh position was the

210


5/17


6/17

weight lifted. A graphical representation is given in Figure 4.Mean DistancesMean perpendicular distances from the joints to the force-line of

the weight, the moment of the force, were found to be similar duringboth conditions see Figure 5 . The distances form the hip joint to theforce-line of the weight were almost identical during all phases, whilethe distances from the knee joint to the force-line of the weight variedslightly during phases 2 and 3 see Table 7 .

Mean TimeMean total time needed to complete a repetition was almost halfa second less when powerlifting aids were used see Table 8 . This is in

spite ofthe fact that both conditions represented the subjects 3 RM, andmore weight was lifted when powerlifting aids were used. Times werevery similar during the middle phases 2 and 3), while varying more atthe extremes 1 and 4).

Statistical AnalysisA one-tailed t-test with dependent samples was used todetermine the significance of the difference in weight lifted between

conditions. t was concluded that there was a significant difference inweight lifted for each subject.A 2-way Anova with planned comparisons was applied to theabsolute and relative torque variables. The statistical analyses werelimited to comparing each phase of each condition to one another. twas found that there were significant differences in both absolute andrelative torques throughout all phases.A Pearson Product Moment Correlation test was used for bothconditions to test torque correlations at the hip and knee joints. Aninverse correlation was found both with (r = -.31 and without (r = -.45powerlifting aids.

The .05 level of significance was used for all tests.iscussion

By the use of powerlifting aids, all six subjects increased theamount of weight they could lift. Five ofthe six subjects increased theirweight lifted approximately 10-18 percent, while the remaining subjectincreased by less than 6 percent. This smaller increase could have beendue to individual preferences: a) this subject preferred knee wraps that

212


7/17

were not wrapped very tightly; and (b) this subject preferred a ''loosefitting suit. The other five subjects preferred tight fitting suits andtightly wrapped knee wraps.While mean absolute torques were greater with powerliftingaids than without them, primarily due to the increase in weight, asimilar pattern was shown in both conditions. Torques increased at theknee during phases 1 and 2 and decreased during phases 3 and 4.Torques increased at the hip throughout phases 1 2, and 3 anddecreased during the last phase. This implied that the subjectstechnique during their ascent differed from their technique during theirdescent, otherwise phases 2 and 3 would be the same, as would phases1 and 4. This seems reasonable given gravitational influence in liftingverses lowering a load. Furthermore, the decrease in knee torques andthe increase in hip torques from phases 2 to 3 suggest that the hips wereslightly back, thus increasing forward trunk lean. Therefore, theperpendicular distance from the hip to the force line of the weightincreased, while the distance from the knee to the force line of theweight decreased.

Relative torques represent a percent score relative to theamount of weight lifted. f lifting technique remained constant duringboth conditions (i.e., perpendicular distances relative to the weight andhiplknee joint were constant), then these scores should also remainconstant. Despite the fact that significant differences in relative torqueswere found, these scores and the moment of force scores were similarbetween both conditions.

Perpendicular distances relative to the weight and joints wereused to determine how technique differed between the 2 conditions.These distances were nearly identical in all 4 phases at the hip joint and2 of the 4 phases at the knee joint. The variances in the remaining 2phases at the knee (2 and 3) were thought to be inaccuracies due to: (a)the difficulty in locating the knee joint when knee wraps were utilized,and b) the covering of the knee by the large disks of weight on the bar.Furthermore, differences in standard deviation scores were greatestduring these 2 phases at the knee. Therefore, technique was assumedto be similar between the 2 conditions, implying that the increase inweight lifted during the second condition was primarily due to thepowerlifting aids.Mean percents oftime during the two conditions indicated thatwithout powerlifting aids, a little over 50 percent of the time involvedphases 2 and 3, and almost 50 percent involved phases 1 and 4. With

213


8/17


9/17

T hl 1~ s c c i r t l a n t sUblpcts

: ;:;r: ~ Ht em_. _ _ _

170 F'H,11 (1130)

i - ; ~ ;

- : l ' i ? 1 )

Wt N( I bs ) Ht emlO-4 . !'516-894( 1\6-201) 152-18.3

;1i1? 3:1 28.00 748(11';8) 17\ .00iJ 7 .90 142.138(:32.19) 10.58

T301" ?~ ' . J l . ; ; . r i ' ( l ~ p i ( ) r L1tr P I1 - - -_J 'L ( in" , ! .

: . : ; t l ~ . p r ; t wnPA p." 0._._ _. _.-

t 2 l ~ 2 { 270 1402(3t!'5) 200(45) 16., ,7? t 5.35( .34!'5) 11';24


10/17

Tab le 3M an At>:mlyt .. T o 9 ~ - i l i i l l - IiOPA

Ph ,,, 1 Ph 2 3 Ph 4Knep

Max 245 .87SD AO.O';Min 5. ~ 5 so 9 . 6 7

A v ~ 10h.A ;so : l ~ A2

HipM/IX 21'1.113so 117. ' ; 0Min 49 .45so 51 .22Ave 168.35so 49.41

,IOt. . WOPA: wi thou t-T ,ble 4~ n l \ J t .. Tocgu

p o we r - l i f t in g I d .

CNml WPA

Ph 1 Pha.,,, 2 Ph ,,,,,, 3 Ph .. 4t . : : 1 l ~ f

M:: l'(

sMinsoAveso

lp~ I a x

MinsAves

270.11313Q.1752.6Q. l6.::'lA160.3788 .70

420 .73130.133247 .8699.51339 .36109.5J

274 .11144 .7229 .5341 .07\ 2 5 .0 457.4Q

4Q2.84188.60207 .13106 .22375 .90144 .34

1Q5.92e;fi.3610. Q618 .4 \8t'l . , ..

~ 5 . 5 4

361.61264.0426 .4834 .88214 .66160 .92

2 o . J .67111';.13IQ 5.,41 .18

1 ~ 3 . 5 9

65.1';5

384.81

1515.37131.56102 .38208 .50127.11

37 .61176.49169.25114.63260 .00153.A8

540 .79

209 .8 \314 .60144 .47425 , 2171.03

345 .20155 .68

6 4 . ~ 1 71 .1020 1 .14105.41

51';9.50

262.0';33 4 4 . 6 6161 .00448 .04191.71

226.0:.'172.046 .3 810.3194.3028 .34

456 .43

3?A.2472.947\.11';261.0 Q191.66

Not ... W P ~ - with pow.., I I ftlnD alas .216


11/17

THlle 5~ r l v e TQcgup. 'S


12/17

Table 7Mf I -3o p,.rp 'odlr.lJl..,c Dl;:,t.,nce em ) from Welgbt to Jo l n t o

Pba",e 1 P b a ~ e 2 Pha" .. 3 Pha' .. 4WOPA

Kn" .. 7 . 3 7 9 .00 8 . 4 4 6 .55SD 1 .6 9 4 .96 3 . 7 7 3 .4 6Hlp 12 .74 23 ,37 25 .72 14.49SD 7 .74 4 .27 5 . 9 4 9 ,16

WPAKnee 13.65 15 .59 12 .53 5.91SO 4 .13 8.f l l 6 .94 1 .98Hlp 12 .56 24. 0 9 26 .04 14 ,43SD 05.27 3 . 0 3 3 . 0 4 h .69

Not..,. wnPA ~ wi thou t power l l f t . l ng aid'!! .WPA = wi th p a ~ .. llftlng a l ~

T'lble 6~ l m f (SI OInd P.. r c e n t s

Fha!'.. 1 Pha",e 2 Ph a " 3 Fha",e 4.. II

Tim .. ,66 .70 .05 .87Sf .1 0 .28 .36 . 40

~ . . r t ; ~ T l r ?O,IlH 23. 213.";3 2.... 5 ...C;TI : ; . ;7 fLS' ; 0 .0 4 I / . . , ;

WP;Time .54 .73 ,93 ,62SD .10 .05 . 26 .26P rcen t 19 .12 26 .09 32 .92 21 .67SD 2.31 3 .50 8 .41 6 ,65

Tota l Tim .. (\oI0PA) Tota l Time (WPA)3 .29 2 . 8 2

Not . . . WOPII - wi th o u t power I I f t l n g a ld9 .\oIPA = wi th pnw .. r ] I f t l n g a l d ~

218


13/17


14/17

bUU

o WOP[J WP

[Powerliftinq Squatl

2

Wei9hts Liftedl

~ [/,,11 1 r J11 V 111 V l i l 1/11 11 r A 13 4 ~ Subjects

23

22

2 3Lifting Phases

5

1

P 4oUnds

5N 4 t Knee WOPe o Knee WPWt

3001 Hip WOPn C l Hip WPm 2ete 1rS


15/17

~ Force l lne of welght.Perpendlcular dls tance from hlp Jolnt to force l lne of welght.H Perpendlcular dls tance from knee Jolnt to force l lne of welght.K

22


16/17

ReferencesAndrews, J.G., Hay, J.G., and Vaughn, C.L. 1983). Knee shearforces during a squat exercise using a barbell and weightmachine. In H. Mausi K Kobayaski Eds.) BiomechanicsVIII-B pp. 923-927). Champaign: Human Kinetics

Publishers.Ariel, B.G. 1974). Biomechanical analysis ofthe knee joint duringdeep knee bends with heavy load. In R Nelson CMorehouse Eds.). Biomechanics IV pp. 44-52).Baltimore: University Park Press.Be,ijani, F.J., Gross, C.M., Pugh, J.W. 1984) Model for staticlifting: Relationship of loads on the spine and the knee.Journal ofBiomechanics. 17(4).281-286.

Dunn, B., Klein, K, Kroll, B., McLaughlin, T.M., O Shea, P. .Wathen, D 1984). The squat and its application to athleticperformance. National Strength nd ConditioningJournal. 6 3). 10-22, 68.

Grahammer, J. 1981). Free weight equipment for the developmentof athletic strength and power. National Strength andConditioning Association Journal. 8 6). 24-26.Hay, J.G., Andrews, J.G., Vaughn, C.L., Ueya, KL. 1983). Load,speed and training effects in strength training exercises. n H.Masui K Kobayashi Eds.). Biomechanics VlII-B pp. 939950). Champaign: Human Kinetics Publishers.

International Powerlifting Federation. 1974). Rules. IronMan. 34 5).44-45.Lander, J.E. 1984) Effects of center of mass manipulation on theperformance of the squat exercise. Unpublished doctoral

dissertation, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.McLaughlin, T.M. 1974). A kinematic analysis of the parallelsquatas performed in competition by national and world classpowerlifters. Unpublished master s thesis, University ofOregon, Eugene, Oregon.McLaughlin, T.M., Lardner, T.J., Dillman, C.J. 1977). Akinematic model of performance in the parallel squat bychampion powerlifters. Medicine and Science in Sports9 2), 128-133.McLaughlin, T.M., Dillman, C.J., Lardner, T.J. 1978).

222


17/17

Kinetics ofthe parallel squat. Research Quarterly, 49 2),175-189.Orengla, Joe (1974). Top ten. Powennan 2 1920.O'Shea, . (1985). The parallel squat. National Strength andConditioning Association Journal, 7 (FeblMar). 4-6, 78.Plagenhoef, S.C. (1971). Patterns ofhurnan motion-Acinematographical analysis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice Hallresidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sport. (1976). Exerciseand knee joint. Physical Fitness Research Digest, 6(2), 1-21Stone, M.H., Garhammer, J. (1981). Some thoughts on strengthand power. National Strength and ConditioningAssociation Journal, 3(1). 24-25.47.Wathen, D., Shutes, M (1982). A comparison of the effects ofselected isotonic and isokinetic exercises, modalities, andprograms on the acquisition of strength and power incollegiate football players. National Strength ndConditioning Association Journal, 4(1), 40-42.Yessis, M (1982). Additional thoughts on strength and power.National Strength nd Conditioning AssociationJournal, 4(5), 33.

223