After-school Fitness Performance Is Not Altered Following Physical Education Lessons In Adolescent Athletes

Abstract

Physical education (PE) provides a unique opportunity for school-age youth to establish healthy habits, although some young athletes are exempt from PE and others do not participate due to a concern regarding the lingering effects of fatigue on after-school fitness performance. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of different PE lessons on after-school fitness performance in young athletes. METHODS: On nonconsecutive days, 20 high school athletes (14-18 yrs) participated in 3 different 43 min PE lessons which consisted of walk/jog aerobic exercise (AE), multi-set resistance training with progressive loads (RT), or basketball skill training (BS). Fitness performance was assessed after-school following each lesson and after a control day without PE. Subjects had 2.8 ± 1.1 hr to recover from PE before fitness testing. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in sit and reach flexibility (34.1 ± 6.5, 34.7 ± 1.3, 33.5 ± 7.2, 33.6 ± 7.3 cm), vertical jump (46.3 ± 14.7, 46.2 ± 13.6, 46.4 ± 13.4, 45.6 ± 14.2 cm), long jump (175.0 ± 36.4, 174.2 ± 36.3, 172.7 ± 35.8, 171.9 ± 34.7 cm), seated medicine ball toss (348.9 ± 121.8, 342.0 ± 120.6, 353.9 ± 123.6, 348.4 ± 129.1 cm), pro-agility shuttle run (5.8 ± 0.5, 5.7 ±0.53, 5.8 ± 0.52, 5.8 ± 0.5 sec), 20 m sprint (3.7 ± 0.4, 3.7 ± 0.4, 3.7 ± 0.3, 3.7 ± 0.3 sec), and 200 m sprint (36.3 ± 4.7, 35.1 ± 4.0, 35.9 ± 5.9, 35.4 ± 5.4 sec) between groups following AE, RT, BS or the control day, respectively. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that a moderate intensity exercise lesson or skill-based PE class will not have an adverse effect on after-school fitness performance in adolescent athletes.