Kinesiology, Vol. 45. No. 1., 2013.
Original scientific paper
Acute effects of attentional focus on shot put performance in elite athletes
Hubert Makaruk
; Department of Athletics, The Josef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Physical Education in Biala Podlaska, Poland
Jared M. Porter
; Department of Kinesiology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA
Beata Makaruk
; Department of Recreation, The Josef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Physical Education in Biala Podlaska, Poland
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of adopting an external, internal, and neutral focus of attention while executing an underhand and overhead shot put. Using a counterbalanced within-participant design, thirty highly skilled athletes (height 183±6 cm, body mass 78±7 kg, age 22.2±2.4 years) performed five underhand and five overhead shot puts. The results indicated that the shot put distances were greater (p<.05) when the participants were in the external condition compared to the internal and neutral conditions in both tests. Additionally, it was observed that the neutral condition provided better throwing results compared to the internal condition. These results support the constrained action hypothesis, and provide additional evidence that skilled athletes should adopt an external focus of attention when executing motor skills.
Keywords
attention; shot put; motor performance; coaching; verbal instructions
Hrčak ID:
104548
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2013.
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