Lever Systems in Sporting Actions

This lesson applies lever system knowledge to a range of sporting actions, as required by the Edexcel GCSE PE specification (1PE0). You need to be able to identify the class of lever, the fulcrum, load and effort for specific movements in sport, and explain why the type of lever is suited to that action. This is a common extended-answer topic on Component 1.

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How to Analyse a Lever in Sport

When analysing a sporting action as a lever system, follow these four steps:

1. Identify the joint — this is the fulcrum.
2. Identify the muscle producing the force — this is the effort.
3. Identify the resistance being moved — this is the load (body part, ball, opponent, gravity).
4. Determine the arrangement of F, L and E to classify the lever.

flowchart TD
    A["Identify the sporting action"] --> B["Which joint is the fulcrum?"]
    B --> C["Which muscle provides the effort?"]
    C --> D["What is the load/resistance?"]
    D --> E["Determine F-L-E arrangement"]
    E --> F["Classify: 1st, 2nd or 3rd class"]
    F --> G["Explain WHY this lever class<br>suits the action"]

    style A fill:#4a90d9,color:#fff
    style G fill:#27ae60,color:#fff

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Sporting Examples by Lever Class

First Class Lever Examples

First class levers in the body are rare. The primary sporting example involves the neck.

Sporting Action	Fulcrum	Effort	Load	Why This Lever Class?
Heading a football	Atlanto-occipital joint (neck)	Neck extensor muscles (e.g. trapezius)	Weight of the head + force of the ball	The fulcrum is between the effort and load; this lever balances the head and can redirect force into the ball
Diving entry (head position)	Atlanto-occipital joint	Neck muscles	Weight of the head	The neck muscles control the angle of the head during entry, with the joint acting as the central pivot

Second Class Lever Examples

Second class levers in the body are uncommon. The primary example involves the ankle.

Sporting Action	Fulcrum	Effort	Load	Why This Lever Class?
Sprinter pushing off from the blocks	Ball of the foot	Gastrocnemius (calf muscle) via Achilles tendon	Body weight through the ankle	This is a power lever — the calf muscle generates enough force to propel the entire body weight forward explosively
High jumper at take-off (ankle)	Ball of the foot	Gastrocnemius	Body weight	Powerful plantarflexion drives the body upward
Basketball player jumping for a rebound	Ball of the foot	Gastrocnemius	Body weight + gravity	The calf muscle pushes off the ground with great force
Gymnast performing a calf raise on beam	Ball of the foot	Gastrocnemius	Body weight	Rising onto tiptoes requires the power advantage of a second class lever

Exam Tip: When Edexcel asks about second class levers in sport, the answer almost always involves the ankle and the gastrocnemius. Remember: ball of the foot = fulcrum, body weight = load, calf muscle = effort.

Third Class Lever Examples

Third class levers are the most common in sport.