Sorting through the motor performance abilities maze

Abstract
In this module I offer a method for sorting through the motor performance abilities maze
so coaches can more easily analyze the relevant motor abilities for track and field skills.
A motor skill is learned and a motor ability is a genetic characteristic. The Bs motor
performance abilities model
1
is used to classify the foundational motor performance
abilities of endurance, strength, speed, coordination and fleibility into either
energetically determined, or information oriented abilities. It is then sho!n ho! these
foundational abilities contribute to the nine derived abilities of aerobic endurance,
anaerobic endurance, muscular endurance, maimal strength, speed strength, action
velocity, speed of response, coordination under time pressure, and coordination under
precision. "inally, using hurdling as an eample, I sho! you ho! to conduct a needs
analysis of relevant motor performance proficiencies.
Introduction
An athlete#s success in any of the track and field events depends on ho! !ell five
foundational motor performance abilities are applied to eecuting movement units
encompassed in the specific event skills
$
. "oundational motor performance abilities
include endurance, strength, speed, coordination and fleibility. A coach uses these
foundational motor performance abilities to develop the relevant derivatives of
anaerobic endurance, muscular endurance, po!er, speed of response, acceleration,
etc. It is important for beginning and intermediate coaches to understand ho! the
foundational and derived motor performance abilities fit together because this provides
the clues that guide decisions about training program design. A discussion in this area
often slips into a confusing %umble of terminology. To help the coach sort through the
motor performance ability terminology maze the follo!ing topics are addressed&
The characteristics of an ability versus a skill.
The five foundational motor performance abilities underlying the proficiency
re'uirements for performing track and field skills.
The derived motor performance abilities relevant to performing the movement
units of track and field skills.
(o! to identify the critical foundational motor performance abilities and their
derivatives for an event.
Motor skill versus motor ability
The terms )motor skill* and )motor ability* are often muddled in sport. A motor skill
involves learning ho! to manipulate body parts to achieve a specific goal
+
. ,earning
ho! to perform rotational turns to impart the correct resultant velocity to a discus is an
eample of a motor skill. ,earning ho! to position and time the arms, legs, head and
1
torso in order to clear a hurdle 'uickly is another eample. In each case, the coaching
task is to eamine the movement units of the skill, then determine the specific motor
abilities re'uired, and finally decide on the most effective !ay to enhance these motor
abilities. -nhancing the athlete#s motor abilities to meet the demands of the event
better than competitors is a ma%or coaching goal.
.nlike a skill that is learned, an ability is an innate characteristic
+
. The term #motor
ability# refers to abilities associated !ith performing motor skills. /otor abilities are the
building blocks of a motor skill and some athletes have better 'uality building blocks
than others providing them !ith a higher potential for performing the skill at an elite
level. If t!o athlete#s have the same amount of practice, the same 'uality of instruction,
and the same motivation to perform the skill, the one !ith the highest level of relevant
motor abilities !ill perform the skill at a higher level and !ill therefore accomplish a
more successful outcome in terms of competitive performance.
General versus specific motor abilities
There is no such thing as a general all0round #global# motor ability. 1e are all born !ith
a range of many independent motor abilities. Athletes !ho appear to be #all0round# have
inherited a high capacity to develop the motor abilities that form the foundation of many
sports skills. The decathlete and heptathlete take advantage of their relatively high
inherited capacity for enduranlce, speed, strength, coordination and fleibility.
Identifying the foundational motor abilities
There are hundreds of motor abilities. The ma%or coaching task becomes one of
identifying those that are critical for producing a superior performance. In track and
field, five foundational motor abilities dominate. These include endurance, strength,
speed, coordination and fleibility. Tudor Bompa, a 2omanian biomechanist teaching
in 3anada, used the term #biomotor ability# to describe these foundational abilities
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. It is
not clear !hy Bompa substituted #biomotor# for #motor#. In biotechnology )biomotor*
refers to molecular proteins such as the myosin heads !ithin the muscle#s sarcomere.
There are many different biomotor proteins in the human body. The term )biomotor* is
also used to describe engines po!ered by environmentally friendly fuels. The human
body certainly uses environmentally friendly fuels. 5o, !e could argue there is some
logic to using the term )biomotor* in reference to strength, speed, endurance,
coordination and fleibility. (o!ever, !e !ill use the term # motor performance abilities*
rather than #biomotor abilities# because it is more accurate motor control terminology.
A useful model
The motor performance abilities of endurance, strength, speed, coordination and
fleibility are called #foundational# because they underlie the abilities needed to perform
the movement patterns for many sports, including track and field. (o!ever,
foundational motor performance abilities are not particularly useful in their pure form.
"or eample, an athlete#s maimal strength capacity is not the issue in successfully
performing any track and field skill. 2ather, it is the application of strength, in the
correct amount, and in the appropriate form that is important. "or this reason, the
derivatives of foundational motor performance abilities are the more relevant
competencies.
6ne approach to understanding the derivatives of the foundational motor performance
abilities is offered by Bs
1
7"igure 18. (e clustered the five foundational motor
2
performance abilities into t!o groups depending on !hether they are primarily energy
system or nervous system based. 1e could argue endlessly about all the negative
nuances of using this categorization. (o!ever, it is a useful starting point for the insight
needed to analyze the motor proficiencies re'uired for specific events.
"igure 1. "oundational and derived motor performance abilities.
-ndurance, strength and speed have a large energy system component and are
developed primarily through physical conditioning. 5peed and coordination involve
substantial nervous system input relying on effective information processing. "leibility
is an innate anatomical characteristic rather than a motor ability. Bs locates fleibility
!ithin the passive system of energy transfer because it permits more effective
application of the other four foundational motor performance abilities.
Defining the foundational physical performance abilities
,et us 'uickly revie! some important aspects of the five foundational motor
performance abilities.
Strength is the capacity to produce large amounts of force, regardless of speed of
movement. Athletes have varying levels of an innate capacity for strength depending
on the cross0sectional area of the muscle, the type of fiber making up the muscle, the
direction and length of fibers, and neurological control. The inherited proportion of an
athlete#s strength ranges bet!een +9: to ;<: depending on the contraction type,
speed of contraction, and specific muscle group
<
. -nvironmental factors, training and
other lifestyle behaviors also play a role. Tasks that develop strength are often
designed to stimulate improvement on the athlete#s general strength capacity. =ushups
and situps are eamples of body !eight eercises. -ercises using !eight are also
used to develop an athlete#s strength capacity
$
.
Endurance refers to the ability to perform !ork of a given intensity over a period of
time. Three different energy systems provide endurance capacity depending on
!hether the goal is to perform very high intensity !ork 7i.e. by using the alactic and
glycolytic energy systems8, or lo!er intensity of !ork over a long period of time 7i.e. by
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using the aerobic energy system8. The capacity of all three energy systems have a
strong genetic component
>
.
Speed is the capacity to move the body and its parts very 'uickly
?
. =roducing high
speed re'uires precise neurological input to time the application and production of
forces produced by muscles, skeleton and muscle0tendon #springs#. The internal
structure of bones, organs and muscle insertions, in addition to the eternal structure of
the athlete#s arms, legs and torso, all play a role in ho! fast the athlete can move. /ost
athletes can reach their maimal running speed in +9 to 49 meters and maintain it for
approimately + seconds
$
. Therefore, training tasks for developing maimal speed
re'uire an acceleration period of +9049m and then maintaining that speed for periods of
$ 0 + seconds
2
.
Coordination permits the athlete to synchronize t!o or more body parts
@
. Aou can
think of coordination as the outcome of ho! !ell the athleteBs brain solves the problem
of effectively directing the muscles, %oints and limbs to perform the movement units of a
skill optimally and effectively. The body alters its general position in space by shaping
and reshaping itself !ithin milliseconds. The starting and stopping of body parts can
occur almost concurrently, and they can occur asynchronously. 5port skills usually
involve several muscles !orking in a perfectly timed se'uence. -ven the simple act of
running demands that the leg muscles contract in different intensities, at different times,
and in a specific se'uence.
,ike most sport skills, track and field skills consist of a string of movement units that
must be precisely timed. The successful outcome involves setting the entire se'uence
of the movement units into action 7sequence initiation8, and establishing the time
structure of the entire se'uence 7sequence rhythm8. The brain also must form a
representation of the se'uence order for the movement units
;
. These three processes
occur in different parts of the brain.
(o! the neuromuscular system !orks to optimally meet the task of coordinating the
movement units of the skill has long puzzled motor control researchers. "or eample,
!hen thro!ing the discus a thro!er must learn the timing and rhythm se'uence for
shifting body !eight over the legs in perfect se'uence !ith the rotary, fleion and
etension movements of the trunk, shoulder, elbo!, etc. In a young athlete !ho is %ust
introduced to an event, the relative timing of each of these parts of the body involves
many errors and is #%erky# 7i.e. it lacks the correct rhythm8. Timing and rhythm eventually
becomes fairly consistent, although even at the elite level there remains variability each
time the movement units are performed.
5ome athlete#s are able to learn to initiate a se'uence, develop the rhythm and form a
mental representation of the se'uence order very 'uickly. 5ome re'uire a very long
learning phase. 5ome athletes can reproduce comple motion very precisely !hen
there is no time restriction. (o!ever, !hen producing the skill at the re'uired speed,
they can not do it. The age of the athlete has an influence on coordination. Curing
human development, coordination improves along !ith the maturation of the nervous
system
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. (o!ever, there is also a strong genetic influence in all these neural
processes.
le!ibility is the ability to display high amplitudes of movement. It incorporates both
static and dynamic components that permit optimal application of the motor
performance abilities
11
.
4
"he static component involves moving slo!ly into a stretch position so as to
avoid activating the stretch refle. The muscle has the largest capacity for
lengthening under static conditions. 5tretching stimulates an increase in the
number of sarcomeres and this, in turn, structurally lengthens the muscle fiber over
time. The tendon, on the other hand, is limited in its lengthening capabilities. 5tatic
fleibility is typically developed !ith traditional stretching routines that re'uire
holding the body for etended periods of time in positions that challenge fleibility
limits. 1armer tissues stretch more than colder ones. /ake sure the athlete !arms
up throughly before stretching statically.
"he dynamic component involves moving a muscle 'uickly into a stretched
position using high amplitudes of motion. Cynamic fleibility !orks !ithin the
confines of the Dolgi tendon organs and muscle spindles. /uscle spindles lie
parallel to the muscle fibers and monitor the tension and length of the !hole
muscle. Dolgi tendon organs are located in the tendon and protect the tendon by
inhibiting muscle contraction !hen stresses on the tendon become unsafe.
Together, the muscle spindles and Dolgi tendon organs form the stretch0refle
mechanism. 1hen the muscle spindle is stretched, impulses are sent to the spinal
cord that results in refle muscle contraction. If the stretch is maintained longer
than > seconds, the Dolgi tendon organ fires, causing relaation. Activities that
train dynamic fleibility normally re'uire moving one side of a %oint through large
ranges of motion !hile the other side of the %oint remains stable. -amples are leg
s!ings or arm circles
2
. The goal is to train a delay or minimize activation of the
stretch refle thus permitting higher amplitudes of motion.
Together these foundational motor performance abilities establish a level of !ork
capacity that allo!s the athlete to !ithstand the training loads
$
.
Derived motor performance abilities
The five foundational motor performance abilities, in and of themselves, are not
sufficiently specific in their application for successfully performing any single skill.
2ather, they influence the manufacturing of ne!, improved specific proficiencies such
as starting and acceleration. An increase in sports achievement comes from the
training that develops #derived# motor abilities. The Bs model identifies nine influential
derived abilities 7"igure 18. They include aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance,
muscular endurance, general strength, speed strength 7po!er8, skill specific speed,
speed of response, coordination under time pressure and coordination !ith precision.
Aerobic endurance is relatively straight for!ard. It is the ability to produce high levels
of energy using the aerobic energy system. Activities that improve aerobic ability
re'uire the body to consume oygen by eercising it at the lo!er intensities. The
maimal oygen uptake 7E6
$
ma8 parameter reflects the ability of the cardiovascular,
respiratory and musculoskeletal systems to capture, transport and use oygen and has
a strong genetic influence.
Anaerobic endurance, on the other hand, combines the t!o foundational motor
performance abilities of endurance and strength. It is the ability to perform many
repetitions of the same skill against a given resistance 7usually gravity8 for a prolonged
period of time under t!o physiological conditions. 6ne condition involves shorter
periods of time !here neurological degradation can occur once the athlete reaches
maimal velocity. The other condition induces high acid state !ithin the body. ,ong
5
sprinters, for eample, train to clear and psychologically tolerate higher acidic
conditions of the blood and cells. Anaerobic energy system development can be done
using any activity sufficient to force the body to !ork of higher intensity so acid
conditions are produced. 1hen the times times or distances are shorter and
neurological degradation occurs. Training consists of intense sprinting over distances
of around @9 meters
2
.
Muscular endurance is also derived from both endurance and strength and, like
anaerobic endurance, is the ability to perform many repetitions against a given
resistance. (o!ever, in this case the endurance component is only based into the AT=0
=3 system. All the field events re'uire muscular endurance if the athlete is to perform
all the preliminary rounds and the final rounds. The short sprints also demand muscular
endurance. In these cases the AT=0=3 energy is stressed, and the athlete relies on the
recovery of this system bet!een rounds.
Ma!imal strength is solely based !ithin the strength foundational motor ability. There
is a neurological component initially. (o!ever, long term development of maimal
strength is energetically and structurally determined !ith a strong genetic influence.
Speed strength is derived from both speed and strength and based in both the energy
system 7AT=0=38 and the nervous system. It is the ability to produce force 'uickly.
There are three main applications of speed strength in track and field.
a. To produce a change in direction very quickly using elastic energy and stretch
reflexes. This is often referred to as reactive strength. 1hen running, for eample,
every time the foot lands on the ground the body is moving do!n!ards. The leg must
have sufficient reactive speed strength to brake the do!n!ard movement and
accelerate the body up!ard and for!ard as 'uickly as possible. 2eactive strength
related tasks involve eercises that train the muscle to contract isometrically to stabilize
the muscle, then forcing the muscle to stretch eccentrically under the force of an
impact, and then training the muscle to s!itch from eccentric contraction to a
concentric contraction to perform the necessary !ork. Fumping activities are eamples
of eercises that train reactive strength.
b. To produce high speeds of movement while overcoming some resistance. This is
referred to as po#er. All the thro!ing, %umping, and short sprints demand high po!er.
.phill sprinting and high speed !eight eercises are eamples of training eercises
that address po!er.
c. To produce the ability to effectively move the body from rest and reach maimal
speeds !ithin a specific timeframe. This is the athlete#s acceleration strength. /ost
athletes, are capable of reaching maimal speed in +9 to 49 meters !hen using a
stationary start. "or this reason, training tasks for developing acceleration consist of
short, intense sprints

from a standing start
$
.
Skill specific velocity $action velocity% is a skill specific speed. It is the preferred
speed !ith !hich a skill is most effectively accomplished. 2unning bet!een the
hurdles, for eample, demands a specific action velocity in order to produce the correct
striding rhythm and prepare for the takeoff phase for the net hurdle !ithout any
deceleration. Fump approaches all re'uire #optimal rhythm speed# rather than maimal
speed. The same is true for all the thro!ing events.
5kill specific speed has a po!er component to it and this is the reason !hy action
velocity re'uires a certain level of strength. 5kill specific speed uses the AT=0=3
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energy system and the nervous system. (o!ever, action velocity has a very large
nervous system component demanding significant nervous system training.
Speed of response, on the other hand is a relatively self0contained motor ability lying
largely !ithin the nervous system. It is determined by both speed and coordination. It
also has an energy system component in that it demands eplosive use of stored AT=
energy. 2esponding to a starting pistol is the most important application of speed of
response.
Coordination under time pressure includes agility and mobility movements. These
movements lie !ithin the nervous system, and contain a significant speed component.
Agility is the ability to move 'uickly and easily. All agility movements, such as
going over hurdles, are performed !ith a time pressure component. They must
be done very 'uickly. Agility development tasks include starting, stopping, and
changing direction.
/obility is the ability to move freely and easily. An athlete !ith a high degree of
mobility displays the ranges of %oint movements necessary to accomplish the
technical tasks of the skill. /obility permits the unrestricted movement of %oints
so skills can be performed !ithin the correct timeframe. An athlete can display
high dynamic fleibility yet not be very mobile if that dynamic fleibility is not
successfully applied to performing the technical demands of the skill. Activities
designed to increase mobility generally re'uire the athlete to perform high
amplitudes of motions accurately. (urdle !alkovers are a good eample
$
.
Coordination under precision is based !ithin the nervous system and includes
balance and perfect technical eecution of the movement units. 3oordination under
precision occurs !hen the limbs must be moved precisely to maimize the successful
outcome of the skill such as in clearing a hurdle, taking off for %umping and releasing
the discus !ith the perfect resultant velocity.
Balance is the ability to remain stable !hile performing a skill. Balance
developing tasks re'uire the athlete to remain upright and stable in single
support. 1obble board eercises are eamples of balance building activities.
Technical eecution is the ability to perform a skill, repetitively !ith ease, using
the correct timing and rhythm, and !ith technical accuracy. Improved technical
eecution results from rehearsal under a variety of conditions.
In learning coordination, the first step is for the athlete to master movement units in a
stable environment, !ithout time restrictions, focusing on improving precision first. After
the skill is some!hat automated, the athlete can move to learning to do it fast !hile
maintaining correct form and adapting to different situations and environments.
Application& Conducting a motor performance ability needs analysis
6ne of the ma%or tasks of training program design is to develop the athleteBs motor
performance ability profile to match the skill re'uirements of the event. The ob%ective of
a needs analysis is to determine the relevant abilities re'uired for success in
performing the skill. "or eample, let#s eamine 199m hurdling. The key foundational
motor abilities include very high speed and dynamic fleibility. All elite hurdlers are
very fast and very fleible.
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The skills of hurdling also demand the follo!ing four derived motor performance
abilities&
Speed strength' action velocity and speed of response& The athlete needs
speed of response to react to the gun, acceleration po!er to drive from the
starting line to the first hurdle, and reactive strength to reverse do!n!ard body
movement upon landing after clearing each hurdle.
Coordination under time pressure to clear the hurdle 'uickly. (urdlers must
have good agility and mobility, a good sense of hurdling rhythm and be able to
'uickly initiate movement units, order them in the correct se'uence !ith the
perfect timing.
Coordination under precision to clear the hurdle !ith technical perfection
and balance.
Anaerobic endurance 7AT=0=3 energy system8 in order to clear 19 hurdles
over a distance of 199m
.sing this eample !e find that even if speed is increased, hurdling performance !ill
eventually stagnate unless these derived motor performance abilities are addressed
through training. "ast athletes do not al!ays possess sufficient coordination under time
pressure, or coordination !ith precision, to become great hurdlers.
Analyzing the motor performance abilities relevant for hurdling makes it clear that a
high level of nervous system processing is necessary. .nlike pure sprinting, that is
limited by the athlete#s speed potential, hurdling is more likely limited by the athlete#s
neurological potential. 5peed and fleibility are the underlying foundational motor
performance abilities. (o!ever, there are 19 barriers to negotiate bet!een the starting
and finish lines that demand eceptionally honed coordination abilities in order to clear
them !ith high speed and correct rhythm. .nlike pure sprinting, there are many
constantly changing movement units to se'uence. -ach movement unit has an optimal
timing pattern in the 199 m hurdle race.
T!o factors determine the training time you !ill devote to developing the identified
foundational performance motor abilities and their derivatives&
() The ratio of contribution of each motor performance ability to optimal performance
of the skill.
*) 1here the athlete is strong or !eak in terms of the identified essential motor
performance abilities. A !eak ability important for optimal skill performance !ill
re'uire focused development.
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