Effect of coaching the sit-to-stand motion and attentional focus.

[Purpose] The present study investigated whether (1) "standing up while bowing" is effective for promoting the sit-to-stand (STS) motion and (2) whether this coaching promotes internal focus. [Participants and Methods] The participants included 17 healthy adults who performed the 30-s chair stand test with two sets of verbal instructions. The verbal instructions were as follows: "Please stand up as many times as possible for 30 s" (control condition) and "Please stand up while bowing as many times as possible for 30 s" (bowing condition).

The difference in attentional focus during exercise affects attention resources.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the difference in attentional focus, including the external focus (EF) or internal focus (IF) during exercise on attention resources from the viewpoint of the brain activity. [Participants and Methods] The study included 20 healthy adult participants randomly assigned to two groups: the EF and IF groups. The participants in each group received different verbal instructions before performing a tennis ball task, in which they threw a tennis ball on the floor at a target with their non-dominant hands as accurately as possible while sitting on a chair.