Evaluation of selected physical activities on maintenance of target heart rate in Hispanic middle school students
Abstract
This was an evaluation of the Polar “Borderland Heartbeats for Healthy Living” grant. Purpose. To determine which physical activities maintained middle school students’ Time In Target Heart Rate Zone the longest and which physical activities facilitated student improvement on selected FITNESSGRAM assessments (weight, BMI, PACER, Push-ups, and Curl-ups). Methods. Participants were 63 students (34 female, 29 male: age M =13.2 years, SD 0.70; height M = 157.96cm, SD 0.96; weight M = 58.90kg, SD 35.32; and BMI M = 22.79, SD 4.77) enrolled in four intact 7th grade physical education classes. Intact classes were randomly assigned to a condition (Aerobic-Resistance (AR), Current Curriculum (CC), Resistance Training (RT), and Aerobic Activities (AA) for 10 weeks. Results. Percent of Time In Target Heart Rate Zone was significant (F = 3.62, p = 0.0069). Tukey’s Studentized Range Tests revealed significance difference (F = 4.46, p = 0.0069) between AA and CC conditions only. AA averaged 58% percent, while AR averaged 52%, CC averaged 42%, and RT averaged 49% respectively. FITNESSGRAM analysis revealed significant Group by Time Interactions for Weight ( p = 0.0014), BMI (p = 0.0002), PACER (p = 0.0245), and Push-up (p = 0.0097) assessments. AR condition showed significant increases in weight (p = 0.0345, + 4.71 lbs), BMI (p = 0.0121, + 0.80), curl-ups ( p = 0.0026, + 14.35 repetitions), and push-ups (p = 0.0051, + 4.42 repetitions). Conclusion. There was a significant difference in Percent of Time in Target Heart Zone between AA and CC conditions only. FITNESSGRAM Pre-data suggested that the physical assessment parameters may have been well designed but not adequately implemented. Further research examining the relationship between fitness activity conditions and fitness thresholds in middle school setting is needed.
Subject Area
Kinesiology|Health education
Recommended Citation
Estrada, Chris, "Evaluation of selected physical activities on maintenance of target heart rate in Hispanic middle school students" (2009). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1465249.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1465249