CHANGES IN FITNESS AFTER A TWELVE WEEK STEP AEROBIC PROGRAM IN WOMEN 50 TO 65 YEARS

Abstract

951 This study compared changes in cardiorespiratory fitness of women (50 to 65 yrs) after a 12-wk step aerobics program. During the 12-wk program, subjects in the exercise group (E, N=7) trained for 30 min with a step platform at 65-80% of maximum heart rate (HR), three times a wk, while the control group(C, N=7) maintained their normal daily activities. E attended 94% of the scheduled exercise sessions. Before and after the 12-wk program, peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) was determined during a maximal treadmill test (GXT) and body composition was estimated using three site sum of skinfolds (SS) methodology. During maximal exercise, two-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated no significant differences (p>.05) within or between groups for VO2 or HR. A significant group x test interaction (p≤.05) was found for HRrest, treadmill time (T) and SS. t tests indicated significant improvement (p≤.05) for E from pretest to posttest(HRrest=76 to 66 b·min-1; T=12.7 to 16.1 min; SS=131.0 to 93.7 mm), while C did not change (HR=66 to 69 b·min-1; T=16.1 to 15.6 min; SS=93.0 to 85.7 mm). Comparison of data at minute 7 during the GXT showed significant (p≤.05) within group and group x test interactions for HR, but not for VO2. t tests indicated that HR decreased significantly for E (135 to 122 b·min-1), but not for C (127 to 125 b·min-1). In conclusion, this twelve week step aerobics program did not produce significant changes in VO2peak for women of this age group. However, the program was successful in producing changes at submaximal workloads, indicating that subjects could exercise longer with reduced physiological stress. A longer program duration or higher intensity exercise is recommended to produce significant changes in VO2 in this age group.