This study was undertaken to explore the nature of impaired postural stability following physical exercise. Nine healthy subjects (aged 24 +/- 3 years) were subjected to 30 min of treadmill walking or running on two separate occasions. Walking and running speeds (1.9 to 2.2 m/s) were chosen to induce equal energy expenditure. During treadmill exercise, kinematic analysis of head movement was performed. Prior to and immediately following exercise, postural sway was evaluated as mean velocity of centre of pressure (VCOP), measured on a force plate during 30 s quiet stance with eyes open or eyes closed. The results indicate that exercise increased two-dimensional postural sway by 9 - 19 % in eyes open, but not in the eyes closed condition. The deteriorating effect of exercise was both evident in the sagittal and in the frontal plane, although the effect on the former was slightly more transient. Post-exercise sway values were significantly higher after running than after walking. Kinematic analysis of head movement confirmed larger vertical displacement and acceleration pattern in running compared to walking. It is concluded that exercise of moderate intensity deteriorates visual contribution to postural stability. The effect is evident as an initial destabilisation in the sagittal direction and a less transient loss of latero-lateral stability. Running tends to disturb postural stability more than walking, possibly due to more excessive head movement and disturbance of vestibular and visual information centres.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate competitive anxiety during balance beam performance in gymnasts. Competitive anxiety was assessed continuously by heart rate monitoring and by retrospective self-report of nervousness in eight female national level gymnasts during their balance beam routine during one competition and two training sessions. A significant negative correlation was found between the score of the retrospective self-report of nervousness and performance during the routine. There were no significant differences in performance score by the judges between the three test sessions. There were also no differences in the retrospective self-report of nervousness. However, heart rate was significantly higher during the competition session than during the training sessions. The potential value of the retrospective report of nervousness for the study of critical events during gymnastic performance is illustrated. The results are discussed in the light of catastrophe theory.

The advent of podcasting offers opportunities for students to learn while performing another activity. While podcasting is advocated by many as helping to learn anywhere and anytime, research indicates that it is not so easy for people to do two things at the same time. Two experiments were set up to examine the effect of performing a secondary task while learning with an iPod. In the experimental groups, the participants had to combine a learning task (listening to an educational podcast) with a secondary task (walking or jogging). The control group only had to perform a learning task. Afterwards, all the participants had to complete a learning test. In the first study, there were no significant differences between the learning performances of students of the different conditions. In the second study, the students who were sitting down outperformed the students who were moving while studying.

The advent of podcasting offers opportunities for students to learn while performing another activity. While podcasting is advocated by many as helping to learn anywhere and anytime, research indicates that it is not so easy for people to do two things at the same time. Two experiments were set up to examine the effect of performing a secondary task while learning with an iPod. In the experimental groups, the participants had to combine a learning task (listening to an educational podcast) with a secondary task (walking or jogging). The control group only had to perform a learning task. Afterwards, all the participants had to complete a learning test. In the first study, there were no significant differences between the learning performances of students of the different conditions. In the second study, the students who were sitting down outperformed the students who were moving while studying.

Preparatory heart rate deceleration occurs in tasks with an external focus of attention and is often assumed to facilitate balance performance. However, its effects upon sport-related complex balance movements have not been studied. Heart rate patterns during the preparation period of an acrobatic element (flic-flac) on the balance beam were studied in 14 female gymnasts (M age 13.2 years). A significant heart rate deceleration was found in attempts with a fall in the consecutive acrobatic element, but not in attempts without a fall. These data suggest that preparatory heart rate deceleration may be detrimental to the performance of complex movements on the balance beam.