Effects of a 10-month endurance-training program on performance of speeded perceptual-motor tasks

This study investigated the effects of a 10-mo. endurance-training program (running) on speeded psychometric skills. On a weekly basis the experimental group of 36 subjects participated in one supervised and three unsupervised training sessions. The control group of 22 subjects engaged in no structural training activities during this period. Subjects' performance on a simple reaction-time task, a choice reaction-time task, and a letter-recognition task was assessed before and after the training intervention. Analysis indicated that a 20% improvement in aerobic fitness in the trained group was not accompanied by a significant improvement in psychometric performance. This result is discussed in terms of the relationship between aerobic fitness and cognitive performance. It is concluded that improved physical fitness is not necessarily accompanied by improved perceptual-motor skills.