Olympics

PASCO at the U.S. Olympic Complex

During the summer of 2007, the U.S. Olympic Complex has extended an invitation to PASCO scientific an invitation to install an exhibit in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame rotunda, at the visitor center. The exhibit opened on July 23rd and consisted of 4 hands-on technology stations where visitors gained new understanding and appreciation of the strength, conditioning, and skill required to perform at the level of our Olympic athletes. Those activities are described below.

Activity 1: Measure Your Heart Rate

Resting heart rate usually rises with age, and it's generally lower in physically fit people. Resting heart rate is used to determine one's training target heart rate. Athletes sometimes measure their resting heart rate as one way to find out if they're overtrained. The heart rate adapts to changes in the body's need for oxygen, such as during exercise or sleep.

Did you know ... An athlete's resting heart rate is less than 70 bpm

Activity 2: Measure Your Strength

The ability to do a standard push-up is a good measure of one's general fitness. The push-up simultaneously strengthens the chest, deltoids, lower back, and triceps and works muscles through three types of muscle-building resistance (concentric, eccentric and isometric). Strength training is critical for all Olympic athletes and upper body strength is particularly important for gymnastics, wrestling and weight lifting.

Did you know ... Some Olympic weight lifters can bench press 3 times their body weight!

Activity 3: Measure Your Hang-Time

Hang-time depends on the force generated by a player's legs when he or she leaves the ground (how hard they push off the ground). The average NBA player can make a 3-foot high jump when going up for a shot or dunk, with a hang time of less than 1 second (.87 seconds to be exact).

Did you know ... Michael Jordan's estimated hang time is about 1 second!

Activity 4: Measure the Speed of Your Kick

A slow-moving soccer ball experiences a higher amount of drag (airflow is laminar) and its movement is more predictable. A fast-moving soccer ball experiences a lower amount of drag (airflow is turbulent) and therefore is double trouble for a goalkeeper hoping to make a save: The movement of the ball and the speed (or rate of slowing) is less predictable.

Did you know…David Beckham accelerated the ball to 80 miles per hour in his legendary goal against Greece that put England into the 2002 World Cup tournament!

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