The effect of 8 Weeks squat exercise program on body composition in young males

Abstract

Not only aerobic exercises, but also resistance exercise programs with maximum effort for large muscle groups such as squat have also been reported to be effective on muscle and body fat mass. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effect of squat exercise program on body composition. The data of the study were collected from 18 young adult males. They participated in the squat exercise program 3 days a week in July 2019 for 4 weeks between 4 sets between 85% and 6 repetitions of maximal load at 48 hours intervals for 8 weeks. Independent t-test analysis was used in binary comparisons because of normal distribution of data. The results of this study were not statistically significant with the increase in body weight, body mass index, total muscle weight, total body fluid weight and lean body mass and the decrease in total fat weight variable as a result of the 2-month squat strength training program. Only a significant decrease in body fat percentage by 7.15% was observed as a result of squat training. In conclusion it was proposed that the resistance training program including squats can be used effectively in reducing the body fat ratio and increasing the muscle mass plus appropriate diet due to meeting the energy consumption greatly from fats during the recovery period between sets and after the training.