The effects of specific athletic training on path selection while running.

Apertures that are smaller than 1.3 times the shoulder width (SW) require that individuals make an adjustment to their normal walking behavior [6]. When given a choice, individuals will choose to avoid apertures smaller than this ratio, rather than rotate their shoulders and walk through [7]. Research has yet to determine whether this choice in path selection can be influenced by the speed at which one approaches the aperture or by experience/training. Therefore, the current study investigated whether approach speed and/or specific athletic training influences the choice in path selection. Specifically-trained athletes (n=6) and non-trained (n=6) young adults ran toward a visible goal placed at the end of the path and avoided an aperture (created by two poles) placed along the midline of the path. The separation between the poles ranged between 0.6 and 1.8 times each participant's SW, in increments of 0.2. Participants were permitted to either run through or around the aperture to get to the end goal. Results demonstrated that regardless of training experience, participants ran around apertures smaller than 1.4× the SW and ran through apertures larger than this ratio. Increased approach speed (i.e., running) therefore appears to elicit similar aperture crossing behaviors as walking [2,3,6,7]. Additionally, when faced with the choice to run around or to run through apertures, individuals who are specifically-training to run through small spaces chose similar paths as individuals who are not trained to do so. Therefore, specific training does not appear to influence voluntary path selection.