Efeitos da quantidade de prática autocontrolada e o nível de atividade física na aprendizagem de uma habilidade motora em idosos

Abstract

The aim of this study was to verify the effects of the amount of self-controlled practice and the level of physical activity on the learning of a motor skill in the elderly. The study included 17 elderly people of both genders (15 women and 2 men), with a mean age of 66.52 ± 5.66 years and regular practice of hydro gymnastics and functional Pilates classes twice a week, with an average duration 50 minutes. The analyzed motor task involved the acquisition of a cup stacking sequence as quickly as possible, like the study by Granados and Wulf (2007). To analyze the level of physical activity was used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - cut version (IPAQ, 2001). The study consisted of four phases, the first being the pre-test, in which the participants performed two trials without providing feedback. Next, the acquisition phase was carried out, in which the participants had self-control over the number of practice trials to be carried out. All participants received feedback in the form of knowledge of results after each practice trial, consisting of the time of completion of the 'upward stacking' and 'downward stacking' phases. After 24 hours, retention and transfer tests were performed, consisting of five trials established by the researcher and without providing feedback, respectively. The results of the analysis of variance with repeated measures in the last factor revealed differences between the trial blocks (p < 0.001), with the mean time of practice on the task significantly decreased from the pre-test to the retention (p < 0.005) and transfer tests (p < 0.005). However, the results of the simple regression analysis did not indicate the level of physical activity of the elderly as a predictor of performance in both tests. We conclude that the use of practice conditions with greater autonomy positively affects motor learning in the elderly.