Take Action 2022: Improving Performance

Whizzy equipment and clever training techniques have helped boost human strength and speed to breathtaking levels; includes graphs

In order to perform at their best, athletes need to be fit, healthy, and ready to train and compete. Two of the main reasons why athletes run into roadblocks with training and competition is illness and injury, and research suggests that being unable to complete enough planned training sessions harms performance. Injuries and illnesses also make it harder for athletes to develop towards their potential, and are a leading cause of dropout in developing athletes.

Organisations everywhere are currently using data to improve every facet of their operations – and sports are no different. So how are different teams addressing the data challenge? How are they collecting it, analysing it – and, most importantly, applying it to drive better performance?

The Alexander Technique has helped all kinds of sportsmen and women, both at amateur levels and in training for high-pressure competitions. Since the way you use your body can dramatically affect the efficiency of your performance, the more aware you are of your actions, the greater the control you will have over your body.

The most common method for improving performance in many sports is to improve an athlete's technique. This is highlighted here as one motivation for studying biomechanics, and it is probably what you thought of when asked how a biomechanist goes about trying to improve an athlete's performance.