Before answering this question, close your eyes and try to visualize the sounds of a bodybuilder working out. Can you identify who is lifting heavy weights as opposed to light weights? If you are an athlete or coach, listen to someone run, jump or exeute some other sports skill. Try to determine if it has rhythm and smoothness, or is it “broken”. If you can do this, you have the ability to do what the Russian’s have done to analyze different sports events.
Listening to sports sounds is a very simple method that you can use to evaluate how someone is doing an exercise. You can even improve your vision, i.e., the ability to see exactly what you hear. According to the Russians, the ability to correlate the sound of an athlete’s movements with the effectiveness of skill execution is very possible.
For example, to determine if an athlete has resiliency (elasticity) of his leg muscles (which is very important in the running and jumping events), have the individual step up onto a chair and then drop off and land. The sound of the landing indicates his ability to cushion the landing forces which depends on the amount of elasticity. If it is a soft and quiet landing, then the individual has more elasticity. If you hear a hard and loud sound, the athlete has less explosiveness or resiliency. This simple test can also be modified to where the athlete jumps down and then up onto another platform. You listen for the differences in the sound, not only of the landing on the floor, but the landing on the platform.
Throwing of medicine balls is also used to determine rotational throwing skills. The more quiet the catching and throwing, the higher the level of skill. Note that in such instances, the coach is capable of making corrections in the athlete’s technique to enhance better throwing and catching.
Even running can be analyzed by sound. For example, in general, the beginning of the run is louder than the middle and ending. In the middle and ending of the run, the athlete usually runs more efficiently and thus, the sounds become quieter.
The use of sound is not unique to the Russians. Some early work was done in the United States by Dr. Cooper who taped the sound of a basketball player executing a jump shot, a runner running and so on. He found that high level athletes exhibit a complete musical rhythm. An inefficient technique on the other hand is choppy and does not conform to a typical musical pattern.
Although this method has not been used with iron sport athletes, it can be done. Instead of listening to the noise of the weights, you could listen to the breathing rhythm and the sounds emitted while breathing. They could indicate the effectiveness of the technique and intensity of the exercise. If the rhythm is disrupted or the sounds become broken then it would indicate that the athlete is not performing in a regular pattern and is probably forcing some movements.
To test yourself, listen to how you exercise next time, or have someone listen for you. You may be astonished at what the sounds can tell you.