Applied Sport Mechanics

Help students and coaches understand how the fundamental laws of human movement affect athletes’ performances.

Unlock the secrets of athletic performance with Applied Sport Mechanics, Fifth Edition With HKPropel Access. This comprehensive guide is designed to help students, coaches, and physical educators understand the fundamental laws of human movement and their impact on sport performance. Authored by Brendan Burkett, PhD, a renowned expert in biomechanics and sport coaching, this edition offers a unique blend of theory and practical application. Throughout the full-color text, photos and illustrations offer visual demonstrations of the content to engage readers and clarify complex topics.

Key features include these:

• Application to Sport sidebars that connect concepts directly to sport performance and analysis
• Pedagogical aids, including a glossary and chapter objectives, to facilitate learning and comprehension
• Related online resources delivered through HKPropel, featuring a study guide, chapter review questions, practical activities, and author recommendations of videos and blogs for further learning

Dive into the foundational principles of kinetics, kinematics, and sport technique, and explore their real-world applications through a variety of engaging scenarios. Then learn how to observe and analyze an athlete’s technique and apply mechanical principles to correct errors and improve performance. With 13 well-structured chapters, this textbook is perfectly suited for a semester-long course, making it an ideal resource for both students and instructors.

Endorsed by SHAPE America, the updated fifth edition includes expanded information on new technologies and their use in biomechanical assessment and training. Instead of focusing on a few popular sports, Burkett explores mechanics across a range of sport skills--including sprinting, jumping, swimming, lifting, throwing, and kicking--and highlights applications across a diverse variety of sports, such as rugby, cycling, golf, swimming, and javelin throwing.

Whether you’re a student in biomechanics or a professional looking to enhance your understanding of sport performance, Applied Sport Mechanics, Fifth Edition, is your go-to resource for mastering the mechanics of sport.

Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.

Brendan Burkett, PhD, is a professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in engineering and attained his doctorate in biomechanics. Burkett’s teaching specializations are biomechanics, sport coaching, and performance enhancement. His research revolves around technology developments in human health and performance, and he has written more than 180 peer-reviewed articles and 240 conference publications for journals in sport science, biomechanics, and coaching.

As an international elite athlete, Burkett represented Australia for 13 years as a swimmer. He was a Paralympic champion, world champion, and world-record holder, and he was the winner of multiple medals in the Commonwealth Games and Australian national championships. He served as the Australian team captain for the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and as the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Following his sporting career Burkett has been the sport scientist for the Australian Paralympic team for the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 World Championships and the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Paralympic Games. He has attended the past nine consecutive Paralympic Games, from 1988 to 2020, and was the head coach of the Australian Paralympic Swim Team from 2018 through 2022.

Burkett has received several awards, including the Australia Day Sporting Award and the Order of Australia Medal (OAM), as well as induction into the Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Fame, Swimming Queensland Hall of Fame, and the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.