Master of Science (Exercise and Sport Studies)

Traditionally, kinematic, and kinetic analysis of weightlifting movement is done in a laboratory setting which is hard to implement in a field setting. This study uses a field-based method using in-shoe force sensors and videos to conduct biomechanical profiling of the snatch movement performed by Singapore National Olympic Weightlifters. The participants of the study consist of three male and three female weightlifters (age: 25.17 ± 1.72) that compete in the men’s 67kg (n=1) and 81kg (n=2) weight categories and the female weightlifters compete for the woman’s 49kg (n=1) and 55kg (n=2) weight categories. There were multiple parameters involving the barbell velocity, force, power, and barbell trajectory that were measured in this study. The ground reaction force was measured using in-shoe force sensors loadsol® (novel, Munich, Germany). The trajectory of the barbell was obtained by using the method of video analysis of the snatch attempts performed by the weightlifters. The video was captured using a video camera and analysed using sports analytic software Kinovea (version 0.9.5). Peak and mean measures of velocity, force, and power were calculated using codes written for MATLAB through a 4th order 12 Hz low-pass Butterworth filter. The participants of the study were asked to performed snatches that were at the weight of 80% to 90% of their one repetition maximum that they had achieved during competition, the best three of their snatch attempts were then used for the analysis. The field-based method was able to identify technical differences among the weightlifters from the variability in their trajectory and the deficit in terms of force production and velocity. The data obtained provided some consideration and possible ideas for future training modalities for weightlifters. It also illustrated a practical low-cost and short set-up-time non-lab setting method to measure the kinematics and kinetics of the snatch, providing a platform for future research in the sport of Olympic weightlifting.