Physical fitness levels in students with and without training capacities – A comparative study in physical education classes

Abstract

Introduction: The practice of Physical Activities is a cultural habit and as such it must be acquired in childhood so that there is a greater probability of being continued throughout life. Physical Activities on a regular and duly regulated basis, even if they are at ages where this component is absolutely fundamental, not only for their motor development but for their socialization and creation of healthy lifestyles. Objective: The study aims to evaluate the levels of Physical Fitness of middle-school students, between students who practice Physical Education and those who, in addition to this, performed a training programme. Methods: Participated 32 students of both genders aged between 10 and 11 years old divided into two groups with the same number of students (16): the Training Group which, in addition to attending Physical Education classes, benefited from a training programme and the other group that only attended the physical education classes. The Fitnessgram battery tests was applied for flexibility, strength and aerobic capacity. Results: Through this study, it was presented that the use of a physical training programme, eight weeks before the final moment, allowed the training group to obtain significant differences, in the tests results, from the initial moment to the final moment in terms of physical fitness when compared with the group that only attended physical education classes. Conclusions: This study allows us to understand that the fact that the Training Group benefited from a Physical Skills Training, improved the performance levels of the students in this group at the final moment. Key words: Physical Fitness, Fitnessgram, Physical Education, Training capacities.