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- Title
Race Walkers Quicken Their Pace by Tuning In, Not Stepping Out.
- Authors
Clingman, Joy M.; Hilliard, D. Vanessa
- Abstract
This study examined the effects of attentional focus on race walking performance. Sixteen experienced race walkers, eight males and eight females, were randomly assigned to walk four separate half-mile segments on a quarter-mile track under specific sets of instructions. Two sets of instructions were externally oriented and two were internally oriented. The internally oriented instructions included a set asking the subjects to focus on cadence (the number of steps taken in a designated period of time) and a set asking them to focus on stride length (the distance covered in a single step). The externally oriented instructions asked subjects to use a dissociative strategy. Although no overall difference was found between internal and external focus, results indicated that the focus on cadence was superior to both the external focus, p<.05, and a focus on stride length, p<.05. No significant differences between the stride length focus and the external focus were found. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of using an internal focus that is beneficial.
- Subjects
WALKING (Sports); SPORT walking training; ATHLETES; HUMAN locomotion; DISSOCIATION (Psychology); WALKING
- Publication
Sport Psychologist, 1990, Vol 4, Issue 1, p25
- ISSN
0888-4781
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1123/tsp.4.1.25