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Investigating the Differences in the Simple Reaction Time and Muscle Stiffness Between Gym Users and Open-Skills
Luca Petrigna1, Alessandra Amato1, Claudio Di Brigida2
1Section of Anatomy, Histology and Movement Science, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia 97, 95123 Catania, Italy.
Brain Sciences
|June 26, 2026
Summary
Gym activities, often closed-skill, may impact processing speed. This study found no significant differences in reaction time or muscle stiffness between gym-goers and open-skills athletes, suggesting further research is needed.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Human Movement Analysis
- Physiology
Background:
- Increasing participation in gym activities, characterized by controlled movements (closed-skill).
- Potential for closed-skill activities to reduce processing speed capacity.
- Need to compare physiological responses between gym users and open-skills athletes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in simple reaction time and muscle stiffness.
- To compare gym users against open-skills sports practitioners.
- To assess the impact of activity type on neuromuscular function.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 58 participants: gym users and open-skills sport practitioners.
- Measured anthropometrics, simple reaction time (tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius lateralis), and muscle stiffness (drop jump test).
- Utilized multiple comparison tests with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant differences found between groups for simple reaction time (p = 0.999).
- No statistically significant differences observed in the drop jump test (p = 0.999).
- Superficial electromyography data also showed no significant group differences.
Conclusions:
- This exploratory study found no significant differences in reaction time or muscle stiffness between gym users and open-skills athletes.
- The study design does not support conclusions of equivalence between the groups.
- Further research is required to fully understand the topic.
