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With 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals under her knock — and potentially more to descend shortly — U.S. gymnast Simone Biles is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time .
So what ’s the scientific discipline behind her success ?
Simone Biles competes on the vault during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Qualification on day two of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
There ’s a sure " ten factor " thatGina Pongetti , a former gymnast and physical healer who is treating athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics , calls " Simone being Simone . " Beyond that , the solution lies in Biles ' consecrated training of her neuromuscular system — everything from the ribbon of tissue that cross the frontal lobe in the brainiac and control movement to the sensory receptors that furnish feedback to the brawniness themselves .
" To be an elite athlete is one level , " Pongetti tell Live Science . " To step up to Simone ’s level involves an absolute keen intellect of her body and the input signals that arrive to it . "
Biles abide out from other gymnast both in damage of how she senses her dead body in space and how she hones her brawniness memory , " as well as [ her ] have one of the most phenomenal bases of strong point and conditioning that I ’ve ever seen in an jock , " Pongetti added .
Biles has a keen sense of her body’s position in space that’s remarkable even among gymnasts.
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Proprioception to perfection
Biles started gymnastics at 6 years former . A youthful beginning is common among elite gymnasts ; maturate brainiac are skillful at taking in information , saidDr . David Neuman , a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery and clinical director NY Sportscare in Manhattan . And that early practice , he told Live Science , often allow a basis for later adeptness .
Particularly of import to gymnast is proprioception , the mother wit of where one ’s body is in space . The sense depends on sign from specialized electric cell within muscles , sinew and joints . In muscle , for example , packet of nervousness call muscle spindlestell the brain how stretchedor contracted a muscularity is . In the hide and articulatio , receptors know asPacinian corpusclesreact rapidly to sensations of pressure .
When Biles competes on the hurdle , these corpuscles are one of her key informants as to how squarely her palms hit the apparatus and if she ’s effectively transfer the force she take to launch into and wriggle through the air .
None of those decisions are conscious . The motion happen so quickly that the motor planning has to be preordered in forward motion , Pongetti explained . She compared it to a pyrotechnic show , in which safety fuse of different length are lit at the same time . The programmed sequence is triggered when the gymnast adopt their first whole step . In motor acquisition , linking together movement in this style is called " chunking , " saidGregory Youdan , an sovereign movement scientist and dancer in New York City .
" Because it ’s lump , it release up a little bit more cognitive payload for other things and allows for that automaticity , " Youdan told Live Science .
Then , throughout the sequence , the proprioception system tells the athlete if all is going well . The muscle and dashboard — the nerve - rich casing that comprehend the muscles and organs — reply accordingly with the required bowel movement to make tiny correction .
And that ’s where Biles ' famous work ethic comes in . To reach that level of automaticity , gymnasts have to practice perfectly , Pongetti aver . It ’s a stepwise outgrowth that begins in a gym ’s loose - froth infernal region , a swim - pool - like social system filled with foam cubes where gymnast can settle without injure themselves . From there , the athletes slowly build up to doing the routine on the gymnastics floor , without tramp .
" As each step progresses , your level of confidence should increase , thereby allowing you to take more risks of a less - forgive landing , " Pongetti said .
In a2004 study , scientists used a sequence of fingerbreadth front — rather than acrobatic act — to investigate how this case of memorized motor learning becomes automatic . The same mind field lit up when people were first learning the fingerbreadth movement and after they learned to do them automatically . However , brain activity declined slimly in many regions once the drift became automatic , hint that automaticity stem from an increase in singaling efficiency .
In 2016 , researchers offer a newfangled theory dubbed the Optimizing Performance Through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning ( OPTIMAL ) theory of motor control . This hint that hone an outside focussing of care — on the outcome of the movement , rather than the precise focus on a single trunk part — aid to smooth this learning mental process .
" Athletes focus relentlessly on outgrowth and proficiency , " saidDr . Lorenzo Norris , a psychiatrist and medical director of the George Washington University School of Medicine Resiliency & Well - being Center . drill does n’t only make perfect ; it also make poise : By drilling science over and over , elite athletes can stay cool and focused in nerve-racking competitions , Norris told Live Science .
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Muscles and mental health
Biles sway serious muscle on her 4 - foot , 8 - in ( 1.4 meter ) skeletal system , a physical structure type that gives her a lot of efficiency in her movements , Pongetti tell . Her quickness , bestowed byfast - vellication muscle fibersthat declaration quickly with a volley of force play , is just as important as her power .
gymnast also need isometrical strength , which is the ability to create force with muscular tissue without castrate its length . This involves stiffening a muscle without moving its associated joint . That rigour enable gymnast to rebound off the floor or vault table , getting the air they postulate to accomplish a whirl or flip .
And finally , there ’s the landing place : At that critical moment , Pongetti said , the muscles require to absorb the personnel bring forth by all those spin and flips with an eccentric muscle contraction , which is when the brawniness contract while lengthen . ( reckon of slowly lower a dumbbell in a bicep curl , during which the bicep sinew is working intemperately as it ’s extending . )
Biles is excellent at absorbing those forces without wobbling or hopping , Pongetti said , which enables her to stick her landings neatly .
Beyond practice the skills themselves and doing the durability and conditioning need to execute them , elect gymnast have to pore on flexibleness , sustenance , recovery time , mental health , rehab for injuries , and scheduling events and competitions so as not to overtax themselves , Pongetti said . A downhearted - degree gymnast may spend only 10 % of their time thinking about those non - skills factor , she estimated , while someone like Biles might devote at least a third of their time to them .
This focus on the foundation of performance becomes increasingly important in a foresightful career like Biles has , now contend at age 27 , Pongetti tote up .
Another cay to high functioning , Norris said , is knowing when to step back . Biles magnificently withdrew from most events in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021after developing the " twisties , " a psychological phenomenon in which gymnast lose their horse sense of where they are during flip and twisting . The twisties are not only disorientate — they ’re serious , peculiarly for gymnast attempting particularly audacious skills .
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" Look at the strength it have her to tread away when she knew that she needed to for her own self , and attend at the strong point that it took to come back again , " Youdan say .
That inner intensity level is tough to measure and even tougher to replicate .
" Simone is a very , very rarefied bird , " Neuman said . " For her from such a young age to be so awesome and so elite and then go through her mental health struggles and then to come back and be one of the oldest people on the team … That ’s endurance and resilience the right way there , for her to be capable to do that . That ’s why people bonk watching her . "
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