Abstract
Background: In gymnastics vaulting it is thought that gymnasts regulate their run-up on the basis of visually perceived environmental information, such as the position of the springboard, with the aim of an accurate foot placement on the springboard. The question, however, arises if these regulative processes found in gymnastics vaulting can be generalized to other tasks with similar demands but differing dynamics? Material/Methods: To answer this question, ten female gymnasts were asked to perform two target-directed gymnastics tasks that were similar in task demands but differed in task dynamics. When performing the two tasks, the position of the springboard was manipulated without the gymnast’s awareness. Results: Results revealed that manipulating the position of the springboard had neither an effect on the distance of the hurdle, nor on the placement of the feet on the spring-board during the reactive leap. The two parameters, however, clearly differed between experimental tasks. Additionally, regulation during run-up occurred on average one step earlier when performing the tucked leap on the balance beam. Conclusions: It can be concluded from the results that gymnasts exhibit a different movement behavior when performing tasks with similar demands but different dynamics, thereby integrating environmental information in the regulation of the run-up and the reactive leap from trial to trial.
Recommended Citation
Heinen T, Artmann I, Brinker A et al. Task dependency of movement regulation in female gymnastic vaulting. Balt J Health Phys Act. 2015; 7(4): 61-72. doi: 10.29359/BJHPA.07.4.06
DOI
10.29359/BJHPA.07.4.06
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