KINEMATIC AND KINETIC IMPROVEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH ACTION OBSERVATION FACILITATED LEARNING OF THE POWER CLEAN IN AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALLERS ALEX SAKADJIAN, 1,2 DEREK PANCHUK, 1,3 AND ALAN J. PEARCE 4 1 College of Sport and Exercise Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia; 2 Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne, Australia; 3 Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Active Living, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia; and 4 Cognitive and Exercise Neuroscience Unit, Center for Mental Health and Wellbeing, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia ABSTRACT Sakadjian, A, Panchuk, D, and Pearce, AJ. Kinematic and kinetic improvements associated with action observation facilitated learning of the power clean in Australian footballers. J Strength Cond Res 28(6): 1613–1625, 2014—This study investigated the effectiveness of action observation (AO) on facilitating learning of the power clean technique (kinematics) compared with traditional strength coaching methods and whether improvements in performance (kinetics) were associ- ated with an improvement in lifting technique. Fifteen subjects (age, 20.9 6 2.3 years) with no experience in performing the power clean exercise attended 12 training and testing sessions over a 4-week period. Subjects were assigned to 2 matched groups, based on preintervention power clean performance and performed 3 sets of 5 repetitions of the power clean exer- cise at each training session. Subjects in the traditional coach- ing group (TC; n = 7) received the standard coaching feedback (verbal cues and physical practice), whereas sub- jects in the AO group (n = 8) received similar verbal coaching cues and physical practice but also observed a video of a skilled model before performing each set. Kinematic data were collected from video recordings of subjects who were fitted with joint center markings during testing, whereas kinetic data were collected from a weightlifting analyzer attached to the barbell. Subjects were tested before intervention, at the end of weeks 2 and 3, and at after intervention at the end of week 4. Faster improvements (3%) were observed in power clean technique with AO-facilitated learning in the first week and performance improvements (mean peak power of the sub- ject’s 15 repetitions) over time were significant (p , 0.001). In addition, performance improvement was significantly associ- ated (R 2 = 0.215) with technique improvements. In conclusion, AO combined with verbal coaching and physical practice of the power clean exercise resulted in significantly faster tech- nique improvements and improvement in performance com- pared with traditional coaching methods. KEY WORDS observational learning, resistance training, modeling, technique, performance INTRODUCTION C ommonly referred to as demonstration, observa- tional learning, or modeling (16), action observa- tion (AO) can be defined as the interaction between a model and an observer. The actions of a model are viewed, causing adaptations of the observer’s behaviors to match the outcomes and processes of the events demonstrated by the model (16,17,21,37). Horn and Williams (17) propose that for effective skill acquisition to be achieved, the transfer of information from instructor to learner is critical. In skill acquisition, the most common mode of information transfer is demonstration, from which the general movement patterns of the skill are observed by the learner (21,38). Action observation has been used as an effective method of communicating this information from instructor to learner, especially to novice learners (21). Most AO-related studies have focused on fine, simple, or sport-specific skills and investigations have provided support to using AO for improving motor skills in both elite (5) and novice (2) level athletes. Buccino et al. (7) who investigated musically naive subjects observing an expert model playing guitar chords, demonstrated that through the use of AO, novel motor patterns can be developed. Similarly, Porro et al. (27) demonstrated that force production was increased after an AO intervention despite no physical training of the muscle tested. The investigation by Porro et al. (27) was one of the few studies found in the literature that investigated and reported changes to kinetic variables as a result of an AO intervention. The study was well controlled, and the improved muscle force results can be strongly attributed to the AO intervention; however, the muscle and motor skill Address correspondence to Alex Sakadjian, alex.sakadjian@live.vu.edu.au. 28(6)/1613–1625 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Ó 2014 National Strength and Conditioning Association VOLUME 28 | NUMBER 6 | JUNE 2014 | 1613 Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.