Efeitos do direcionamento de atenção na aprendizagem do agachamento livre

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of attentional focus on the learning of the free squat exercise. The sample consisted of 24 male adolescents who were regular soccer players, divided into two groups: external focus (n = 12) and control (n = 12). The exercise analyzed was the free squat, and the study was organized into pre-test and acquisition phases on the first day, followed by retention and transfer phases (half squat) after seven days. Before the first and third acquisition sets, participants in the external focus group received instructions to observe a video and perform ten repetitions focusing on lowering and raising the bar during the movement. The results indicated improvements in the external focus group, including a significant reduction in knee angular velocity from pre-test to retention and transfer phases, with a similar pattern observed for hip angular velocity. The external focus group also showed a progressive increase in trunk forward inclination during the acquisition phase; however, no differences were observed between groups from pre-test to retention. Additionally, changes in coordination patterns were found: an increase in knee–hip coordination during the distal phase in retention, although no significant differences were observed in transfer, and a tendency toward reduced knee–ankle coordination during the proximal phase in both retention and transfer. Overall, the findings suggest that an external attentional focus promotes improvements in the learning of the free squat exercise compared to a group without attentional guidance.