Response of males and females to high-force eccentric exercise

It has previously been shown that females incur less muscle damage than males after strenuous exercise, but limited data are available for humans. To determine possible differences between the sexes in humans, the response to high-force eccentric exercise was examined in a large sample of women (n = 83) and men (n = 82). The participants performed a bout of eccentric exercise of the elbow flexors consisting of 70 maximal repetitions. Isometric strength, resting elbow angle and muscle soreness were measured before, immediately after (except soreness) and then daily for 7 days after exercise. There was a significant loss in strength among both groups (69% for women and 63% for men) (P?0.01) immediately after exercise; at 168 h post-exercise, women still had a 27% strength loss and men had a 24% strength loss. No significant difference in strength loss or recovery rate was found between men and women. Soreness reached peak values 32-48 h post-exercise (P?0.01), with no significant difference between men and women. Range of motion decreased significantly until 3 days after exercise (14.6° or 0.255 rad loss for women; 12.2° or 0.213 rad loss for men) (P?0.01); at 168 h post-exercise, the women and men still showed a loss of 4.8° (0.084 rad) and 4.0° (0.07 rad), respectively. There was a significant interaction of sex x time (P?0.01); a post-hoc test indicated that the women experienced a greater loss in range of motion at 72 h than men and this difference was maintained to 168 h post-exercise (P?0.01). Thus, our results do not support the contention that women have a lower response to eccentric exercise than men.     

Students’ transition from elementary to high school and changes of the relationship between motivation and academic performance

336 students, 186 girls and 150 boys were met at the end of the school year, both at grade six and at Secondary one, in order to examine the impact of the transition from elementary to secondary school on various motivational variables. Analyses showed changes in self-efficacy beliefs and learning goals, whatever students’ level of achievement and gender. However, self-efficacy beliefs appeared as the most powerful predictor of academic performance at both school levels. In addition, the pattern of relations between academic performance and the variables examined was relatively similar at both times of measurement. The discussion focuses on changes in self-efficacy beliefs and learning goals and on their relations to academic performance.