Sport and Exercise Sciences Facilities
State-of-the-Art Laboratories
Due to recent investment, our laboratories are among the best in the north of England providing the latest fitness equipment and technology to assist you with your studies.
With the gap between winning and losing growing ever smaller, physical effort alone is no longer sufficient as top level sport becomes more competitive. Our state-of-the-art facilities will propel your learning in the application of sport and exercise sciences, technology and ultimately their impact on the elite athlete.
Biomechanics
We can measure motion, muscle activity and forces on the body during high intensity sports and day-to-day actions. You will get to analyse athletes' movements in three dimensions using the Vicon® 3D analysis system to better understand technique. Students also learn to use 2D Dartfish® software to capture live action images and give instantaneous analysis and feedback to coaches and athletes in sports such as football, netball or skiing. Dartfish® is used by major sporting bodies such as the English Institute of Sport and the BBC. We can evaluate changes in an individual's gait as a result of injury or disability using our Biodex® gait trainer.
Exercise Physiology
Whether in the lab, out in the field, or in the pool, we have the equipment to investigate the demands of most sports and activities. Laser timing gates, a new Endless Pool®, portable gas and biochemical analysers enable students to measure human performance in and out of the lab. Our new Hosand® heart rate monitoring system allows students to display the heart rates of a full squad in real time on a laptop to make sure no-one is slacking!
Sports Medicine and Anatomy
Anatomy is taught by experienced staff in a new specialist clinical lab using skeletons, anatomical models, 3D software, online material and human subjects. As part of learning about sports injury rehabilitation techniques, you will use sports massage and ultrasound equipment. You will also examine balance and stability using our Biodex® stability and balance trainer and assess strength imbalances using our sophisticated Biodex® dynamometer.
Fitness and Conditioning Suite
In our lab you'll find dedicated fitness and conditioning equipment that would be the envy of most modern gyms. From a wide range of cardiovascular equipment to machine and Olympic weights, you will receive hands-on teaching in a fully equipped and professional environment.
Sport and Exercise Psychology Laboratory
We have a pc suite equipped with SPSS software (statistical analysis package) and a variety of software to analyse psychological responses. Our Datalab station allows EEG (electroencephalography) to measure electrical activity of the brain at the scalp. This specialised equipment also allows the measurement of physiological responses to stress such as heart rate by ecg electrocardiography) and skin resistance.
Cross-faculty facilities
As part of the Science Complex, we have access to a variety of advanced analytical equipment which allows us to research topics as diverse as immune function in elite footballers to dehydration in cyclists.
