What is the first step in muscular analysis of a motor skill?

• A. Break the skill into phases
• B. Determine the joint action
• C. Determine the motive force
• D. Determine the resistance force

Answer: (A)

Dividing the skill into phases provides the structure you need to analyze a movement in time. By breaking a complex action into distinct stages, you can see exactly when each joint moves and which muscles must work at each moment. That phase-based map makes it possible to identify the sequence of muscle actions and how forces are produced and controlled, rather than treating the movement as a single, continuous action. Once the phases are set, you can then examine joint actions within each phase, determine the muscles producing the motive force, and assess the resistance forces acting during those phases. For example, in a jump, you’d look at what happens in preparation, take-off, and flight separately, noting which joints extend, which muscles contract to drive that extension, and how gravity and body weight act as resistance in the take-off phase.