Purpose: To clarify the relationship among performance, race pattern, and subjective effort in the 400 m-Hurdle race (400 m-H).

Methods: The races in high-school championship in Japan were recorded with video. Using the recordings, the time from the flash of the starter’s gun to the touchdown time immediately after each hurdle was obtained for each hurdler. Furthermore, a survey of the runner’s subjective effort during the race was conducted by using a mail-survey. The race was divided into four sections as follows: Section 1 (S1), which concerns the period from the start of the race to the second hurdle (H2); Section 2 (S2), from H2 to H5; Section 3 (S3), from H5 to H8; and Section 4 (S4), from H8 to the finish. The running velocity, the rate of deceleration, the rate of section time in race time, and the subjective effort made in each section were calculated, respectively.

Results: Subjective effort during the race was approximately 85% during S1, but individual differences varied widely. Effort declined somewhat in S2, before gradually increasing again from S3 to the finish line. At the high-school championship level, the higher the performance, the higher the speed as a whole, with a lower speed decrease from S2 to S3, a slower relative pace at S1 and with a faster pace during S3. Athletes who exhibited “speed maintenance” more that “speed reduction” during S1 and had a low subjective effort, at the relative pace, showed no significant difference only in S3.

Conclusion: In high school level 400 m hurdle races, it was found that a race pattern with a slow relative pace during S1 and the fast relative pace during S3 is important. In addition, the subjective effort degree in S1 being the “speed maintenance type” and the “speed reduction type” race pattern was related to a good overall time. However, there was not as strong a correlation as there was with the student’s relative race time during S3, which shows a high correlation to the fast (winning) overall race time.

【Purpose】 This study investigated that the relationship between muscle fiber recruitment and the magnitude of muscle damage by eccentric contractions (ECCs).【Methods】 Nine healthy men (age: 27.2±6.0 y, height: 174. 0±5.3 cm, body mass 70.1±2.1 kg, % body fat: 20.9±2.7%, lean body mass: 55.5±2.0 kg) were recruited in this study. Subjects performed that 5 sets of 6 ECCs of the elbow flexors using a dumbbell adjusted to 80% of each individual’s 1 RM. The dependent variables that maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) torque, range of motion (ROM), delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), transverse relaxation time (T2) and cross sectional area (CSA) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were measured immediately before, immediately after and 1, 3, and 5 days after each exercise. 【Results】 MVC torque decreased immediately after (p<0.05) and remained lower than baseline at 1 and 3 days (p<0.05) after exercise. ROM also decreased immediately after (p<0.05) and remained lower than baseline at 1 day after exercise (p<0.05). DOMS developed 1 and 3 days (p<0.05) after ECCs, and CSA increased only 5 days after ECCs (p<0.05). Increased T2 was observed immediately post-exercise and 1 day after exercise (p<0.05). An increased CSA was observed at 5 days after exercise (p<0.05). We found a significant correlation between the change in T2 and MVC at immediately after (r=0.77) . In addition, a significant correlation between the change in T2 at immediately after and change in CSA at 3 days after (r=-0.83) was found.【Conclusion】 We suggest that the muscle fiber recruitment with ECCs is related to the magnitude of muscular dysfunction and swelling.

The aim of this study was to evaluate effect of gymnastics for mother and child on improving breeding of mother. The subjects were 15 children and their mothers in the gymnastics club. Children’s average age were 2.5±0.5 age, mother’s average age were 36.3±3.2 age. The participants were recruited that they saw a bulletin board or they gathered by the invitation from friends. And, mother and child participated together to the lesson. The gymnastics club had 2 classes, by gymnastics teacher was made the gymnastics program for mother and child. And each classes were 60 min activities. The contents of program were gymnastics of each touching for mother and child and gymnastics of using daily necessities. In the case of gymnastics instruction, the leader did called credit that promoted a nature action for mother. In addition, observation scene was 5 minutes of the program of 60 min (pretest). The instrument used to collect the behavioral date was questionnaire method, action observation method and qualitative description study method. The results of questionnaire method scored were higher than the before the intervention of gymnastics for mother and child. The result of the action observation method was shown that the increase in the time to participate in the gymnastics class. And, the result of the qualitative description study method was shown that five categories were collected from an interview of mothers. This study suggests that the intervention of gymnastics for mother and child promote the change for nursing of mother to infant. Therefore, it is the opportunity to participate in gymnastics club to increase the time of touch to a child as one of the factors that it promotes a nursing of the mother.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether either generalized self-efficacy or task-specific self-efficacy is an antecedent factor on a structural equation modeling, as well as to verify what influence the number of years being engaged in sports activity before entering college (TEY: Total Experience Years, HSY: High School Years) has on the two types of self-efficacy and self-love. Eight hundred and seventy-eight college students (683 male, 195 female, mean age 18.9 years old) answered a questionnaire consisting of questions regarding the number of years engaged in sporting activity excluding Physical Education class and the number of years engaged in sporting activity in high school. Measurement scales used in the study were the Generalized Self-Efficacy scale (GSE), Exercise Self-Efficacy (Exercise-SE) scale, and Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Before verifying the accuracy of the hypothetical model, an exploratory factor analysis on NPI extracted five factors consisting of Competence factor, Attention desire factor, Self-reliance factor, Body praise factor, and Leader factor. Consequently, TEY, HSY, Exercise-SE, GSE and five factors of NPI were identified as variables of the hypothetical model. Structure equation modeling verified hypothetical model 1 (GSE→Exercise-SE) and hypothetical model 2 (Exercise-SE→GSE). The result revealed that hypothetical model 1 showed a higher goodness of fit index (CMIN=3.105(p=.875), GFI=.999, AGFI=.995, CFI=1.000, RMSEA=.000) than hypothetical model 2. Hypothetical model 1 demonstrated a direct effect from the TEY and HSY to the GSE. It showed that the number of years engaged in sporting activity affects self-efficacy outside of a sports environment. It also showed that a valid pass exists from GSE to five factors of NPI, implying that GSE could be a promoting factor of NPI.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between low back pain (LBP) and physical characteristics in female collegiate judo players. Physical characteristics of 29 judo players, such as age, height, weight, body mass index, sporting experience, range of motion, joint flexibility, and muscle tightness, were collected. The presence of LBP was evaluated using the Osaka City University questionnaire (OCU Test). All judo players were divided into 2 groups: the LBP group (n=14) and the non-LBP group (n=15). The results showed that the height was significantly lower in the LBP group than in the non-LBP group (p<0.05). In addition, the range of motion of right and left hip joints during flexion (p<0.05, p<0.01, respectively)and that of left ankle during dorsiflexion (p<0.05) was significantly higher in the LBP group than in the non-LBP group. In conclusion, the relative height as well as increased range of motion of the hip joint during flexion and of the ankle during dorsiflexion may have an effect on LBP in female collegiate judo players.

Currently, research in active rest methods are mainly focused on its physical effects, and the psychological effectiveness has not been well studied. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of active rest on the day following a training camp on the positive emotions of Volleyball players. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups(underwater movement group: n=7, bicycle ergometer group: n=9) on the day following their 5-day summer training camp. Both groups exercised at approximately 50% of the maximum oxygen uptake for 30 minutes and filled in a questionnaire on positive emotions before and after their exercise. The results showed that positive emotions were significantly increased in both groups after active rest.

According to previous studies and practices, learning in groups is very important in physical education (PE) classes for students. Many researchers and teachers have been trying to analyze how children connect each other in groups by subjective data such as observations or interviews in PE classes. However, it is difficult to understand how children communicate with each other by subjective data. Recently, the device named the Business Microscope (BMS: Hitachi) is used to investigate people’s communication as quantitative data. The purpose of this study is to verify children’s communication in PE classes by quantitative data. We investigated one PE class (creative dance) with 7th grade students from a public junior high schools in Japan. In order to measure the students’ communications and physical activities as visible data, all students participated in the PE class wore the BMS and pedometers. The PE teacher was interviewed after the class to examine the differences between teacher’s observations and students’ actual communications. Upon using the BMS, it is clear that group-communication comprises three phases. Some groups with first phase showed that students’ communication occurred between limited individuals. In some other groups with second phase, almost all members were connected with each other, and the number of steps increased within the groups. In the third phase, verbal communications of the students were reduced. Students in the third phase group tended to use non-verbal communications such as hand-sign, hand clapping, and voice-rhythm up with voices in this phase. According to the interviews with the teacher, students in third phase were very active and concentrated more on their tasks. These results suggest that there are at least three different phases in PE groups. Students’ communication increases from the first to third phase, but the verbal communication changes to non-verbal ways in the third phase. In addition, students’ level of assertiveness or positiveness rises in the higher phases. It is unknown whether the third phase will occur after the first and the second phases in this survey. In the future it will be necessary to verify the conuity of thess phases.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the difference between trampoline and rebound jumps during the down phase. Electromyography of the lower extremity muscles, assessment of motion using a highspeed camera, and plantar pressure measurement were simultaneously performed during jumping. Both jump phases were divided into the first half (“down phase”) and second half (“upward phase”). In the trampoline jump, both the knee and hip joints were observed to extend and the foot segment was observed at a positive angle during the down phase. In the rebound jump, both the knee and hip joints were flexed and the foot segment was at a negative angle during the same phase. Plantar pressure of the heel was significantly higher in the trampoline jump than in the rebound jump. The trampoline and rebound jumps required two different actions in the down phase because the former jump pushed the trampoline bed down by the heels, and the latter one absorbed the source of impact.