EQOL Journal (2017) 9(2):
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Improving motor fitness in primary school children through a school based intervention
Milica Blagojević1✉ • Borislav Obradović1 • Zoran Radović2 • Ivan Đukić3 • Goran Dimitrić1 • Milorad Jakšić1
© The Author(s) 2017. This article is published with open access.
Abstract
The aim of this study is to establish the effects of specially programmed circuit training on physical fitness in primary school children. A total of 58 (28 girls) primary school children aged
-4x10m test and flexibility - Sit and reach test. During the regular classes of physical education, the experimental group conducted a circular training lasting
✉bogdanovskimilica@gmail.com
1University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, Novi Sad, Serbia
2Primary school “Đorđe Krstić”, Belgrade, Serbia
3Primary school “Filip
Serbia
Furthermore, the group that participated in the circuit training program made significantly greater gains compared to the control group (p<0.05) in
Keywords school • training • motor abilities • effects
Introduction
The development of physical fitness and its maintenance at the optimal or desired level represents one of the basic tasks of teaching physical education. During childhood, physical fitness is a strong predictor of health (Smith et al., 2014). In children, physical inactivity is associated with increasing prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors
Muscular strength and endurance, as well as flexibility, are physical fitness components that are largely responsible for a person's good postural status. The results of the study (AVENA) indicate that there is an inverse relationship between so- called muscular fitness and risk factors that lead to cardiovascular diseases (average triglyceride, cho-
25
EQOL Journal (2017) 9(2):
lesterol, glucose values) in adolescent girls (Ortega et al., 2008). The fact is that physical fitness represents a certain kind of marker of good cardiovascular health and therefore should be included in the process of continuous monitoring and testing, or in the
The development of fitness in children is influenced by individual differences during maturation, especially during adolescence. For example, in a sample of children of the same age, children that mature earlier (accelerators), regardless of sex, are generally higher and heavier, have greater absolute power and greater maximum oxygen consumption than those who are late in maturing (Malina & Katzmarzyk, 2006). Regardless of the
changes and improvements in the systems of monitoring students during physical education in other countries and the recently adopted model of monitoring physical development and development of physical fitness of students in schools, there is still a noticeable increase in obesity with reduced physical activity. Due to this fact, it is of great significance to explore the possibilities of establishing new programs in order to develop the physical fitness of students during the physical education classes in primary schools. Therefore, the aim of this research is to determine the influence of specially programmed circuit training on fitness in primary school children.
Method
A total of 58 (28 girls) primary school children aged
(28)group. Children’s characteristics are presented in the Table 1. Before the start of the research parents reported, through the questionnaire, the health history and current activity status of their child and only healthy children from 11 to 13 years old were chosen. All the children had two classes per week and were not involved in additional strenuous training during this study. Participants were excluded if they had any chronic disease or condition that would limit their efficiency during exercise. They were also excluded if they missed two consecutive classes during the research period. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of sport and physical education in Novi Sad.
Table 1. Basic anthropometric characteristics of the study participants; values are Mean (±SD)
|
Experimental group |
Control group |
|
(N=30) |
(N=28) |
|
|
|
Variable |
Mean±SD |
Mean±SD |
Age (years) |
12.2±1.2 |
12.4±1.1 |
Body height (cm) |
154.75±5.78 |
153.99±6.18 |
Body weight (kg) |
48.16±11.50 |
50.06±12.78 |
BMI (kg/m2) |
16.49±2.86 |
16.97±3.74 |
Children’s anthropometric characteristics and components of fitness were measured early in the morning and 24h from the last
26
same participants, and the fitness tests were performed in the same order with identical equipment, positioning, and technique. All participants took part in one introductory session during which each fitness test (time of performance, correct form and technique) were reviewed and practiced. During this session assistants demonstrated
EQOL Journal (2017) 9(2):
proper testing procedures and participants practiced each test. After the training program, the subjects were instructed to perform the tests in the same order as they did before the training program.
Participants were asked not to perform any vigorous physical activity the day before or the day of any study procedure. Basic anthropometric characteristics (Body weight and Body height) were measured, in accordance with the IBP program, on the day of the testing. Before each testing, the participants performed a standard
Physical fitness of children was estimated by the following tests:
Push Ups: The participant assumes a prone position on the floor with hands placed under or slightly wider than the shoulders, fingers stretched out, legs straight and slightly apart, and toes tucked under. The subject pushes up off the floor with the arms until the elbows are straight while keeping the legs and back straight. The back should be kept in a straight line from head to toes throughout the test. Then, the participant lowers the body using the arms until the elbows bend at a 90º and the upper arms are parallel to the floor. This movement is repeated as
Table 2. PE class and circuit training
many times as possible, finishing when the subject stops, when the subject does not perform the push up completely or when subject does not keep the right position. This test assesses
Standing broad jump (SBJ): The subject jumps with both feet from the reversed side of Reuter’s bounce board onto a carpet with scale. The jumping distance (in cm) is recorded from
The 4x10m shuttle run test was performed according to a previous description (Ortega, et al, 2008). Two parallel lines were drawn on the floor 10m apart. The participants ran as fast as possible from the starting line to the other line and returned to the starting line, crossing each line with both feet every time. Every time the participant crosses any of the lines, he/she should pick up (the first time) or exchange (second and third time) a sponge that has earlier been placed behind the lines. The person who measured the time was situated at the starting line and stopped the stopwatch when the participants crossed the line with one foot. The time taken to complete the test was recorded to the nearest tenth of a second. Participants wore sport shoes and performed the test twice with
Flexibility (sit and reach). This test is part of the FITNESSGRAM battery (Welk, & Meredith, 2008). The subjects attempted to reach forward as far as possible from a seated position with both legs straight and without bending the knees. Two alternative repetitions were carried out and the best attempt was recorded.
P.E. class |
Experimental program |
||
- |
Warm up |
- |
Warm up |
- |
PE unit |
- |
PE unit |
- |
Drills |
- |
Circuit training |
- |
Cool down |
- |
Cool down |
|
|
|
|
27
EQOL Journal (2017) 9(2):
The experimental group had circuit training (15-
20 minutes) twice per week on
Descriptive characteristics were calculated for all variables. Independent sample
Smirnov test. A
Results
The
Table 3. Mean±SD results of different parameters: strength, jumping, and running performance before the experimental period (initial) and after the
|
Experimental group |
|
Control group |
|
||
|
(N=30) |
|
(N=28) |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Initial |
Final |
|
Initial |
Final |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Variable |
Mean±SD |
Mean±SD |
EF |
Mean±SD |
Mean±SD |
EF |
25.06±4.26 |
30.16±5.05* |
1.09 |
26.10±5.31 |
27.56±5.45 |
0.27 |
|
33.05± 15.67 |
43.53±14.12* |
0.70 |
32.23±16.47 |
33.27±15.37 |
0.06 |
|
11.80±3.40 |
16.13±3.07* |
1.34 |
10.33±4.17 |
12.80±4.32* |
0.58 |
|
Standing broad jump (cm) |
126.65± 14.68 |
137.56± 13.56* |
0.77 |
124.66± 16.44 |
128.70± 17.56 |
0.24 |
4x10m (s) |
13.23±1.09 |
12.87±1.05 |
13.35±1.12 |
13.19±1.07 |
||
Sit and reach (cm) |
26.34±3.13 |
31.16±2.67* |
1.66 |
27.47±4.16 |
29.38±4.21 |
0.46 |
Legend: * Significantly different from initial, p<0.05; EF - effect size
The results for the
The experimental group, which was involved in circular training, made significantly greater gains in the final measurement compared to the initial measurement in SBJ (ES=0.77),
(ES=0.70),
28
EQOL Journal (2017) 9(2):
Discussion
The present study researched the effects of circuit training during PE classes on fitness components in primary school children. The primary finding of this study was that participation in a circuit training program produced greater improvement in physical fitness than traditional physical education lessons in primary school children after 15 weeks of training. To measure explosive power, we used Standing broad jump. Significant improvement was observed for circuit training group in jumping test. These results demonstrate that specific circuit training, as part of the overall physical education process, can be considered as useful tool for the improvement of jumping ability. One earlier study showed the positive impact of interval running training on power (vertical jump performances) (Adeniran & Toriola, 1988). On the contrary, Krističević, Sporiš, Trajković, Penčić, & Ignjatović (2016) have used
In our study there was a significant improvement in
A novel finding from the present investigation was that
participated in the same traditional PE lessons during the study period, such differences in fitness performance are likely due to the specific training adaptations that resulted from circuit training. One study found that the circuit training in British primary school children had a positive impact on BMI compared to the control group (Duncan,
&Nevill, 2009). Moreover, it was reported that 6 weeks of
Future studies should focus on programs based on stations with games because children find it hard to support the traditional fitness training (Wall & Côt, 2007). Therefore, the limitation of the present study was that the applied program was not made up of more playful tasks. At these ages in PE classes it is important to develop contents mainly through fun activities. Future interventions should focus on physical fitness programs based on stations with games.
To conclude, circuit training appears to be an effective way of improving fitness in primary school children. The results of this study indicate that this method was more effective for performance than traditional school program. From a practical viewpoint, these findings demonstrate that circuit training should be implemented in regular curricula to enhance the physical characteristics of children. Teachers and coaches could use this information in the process of planning the program in schools and teams.
29
EQOL Journal (2017) 9(2):
References
Adeniran, S. A., & Toriola, A. L. (1988). Effects of continuous and internal running programmes on aerobic and anaerobic capacities in schoolgirls aged 13 to 17 years. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 28(3),
Bala, G., Krneta, Ž., & Katić, R. (2010). Effects of kindergarten period on school readiness and motor abilities. Collegium Antropologicum, 34(1),
Bronikowski, M. Bronikowska, M., Pluta, B., Maciaszek, J., Tomczak, M., & Glapa, A. (2016). Positive Impact on Physical Activity and Health Behaviour Changes of
a
“Juniors for Seniors”. BioMed Research International, 2016. doi.org/10.1155/2016/5489348
Duncan, M. J.,
Hopkins, W., Marshall, S., Batterham, A., & Hanin, J. (2009). Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41,
Kriemler, S., Zahner, L., Schindler, C., Meyer, U., Hartmann, T., Hebestreit, H., … Puder, J. J. (2010). Effect of school based physical activity programme (KISS) on fitness and adiposity in primary schoolchildren: cluster randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal, 23, 340:c785.
Krističević, T., Sporiš, G., Trajković, N., Penčić, N., & Ignjatović, M. (2016).
Malina, R. M., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2006). Physical activity and fitness in an international growth standard
for preadolescent and adolescent children. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 27(4_suppl. 5),
McKenzie, T. L., Sallis, J. F., Kolody, B., & Faucette, F. (1997). Long term effects of a physical education curriculum and staff development program: SPARK. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 68, 280- 291.
Ortega, F. B., Ruiz, J. R., Castillo, M. J., & Sjöström, M.
(2008). Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: a powerful marker of health. International Journal of Obesity, 32(1),
Ruiz, J. R.,
Ruiz, J. R., Ortega, F. B., Gutierrez, A., Meusel, D., Sjöström, M., & Castillo, M. J. (2006).
Smith, J. J., Eather, N., Morgan, P. J., Plotnikoff, R. C., Faigenbaum, A. D., & Lubans, D. R. (2014). The health benefits of muscular fitness for children and adolescents: a systematic review and
Vestraete, S. J. M., Cardon, G. M., De Clercq, D. L. R., & De Bourdeaudhuij, I. M. M. (2007). A comprehensive physical activity promotion programme at elementary school: the effects on physical activity, physical fitness and psychosocial correlates of physical activity. Public Health Nutrition, 10(5),
Wall, M., & Côt, J. (2007). Developmental activities that lead to dropout and investment in sport. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 12(1),
Welk, G. J. & Meredith, M. D. (2008). Fitnessgram/Activitygram Reference Guide. Dallas, TX: The Cooper Institute.
Williams, P. A., & Cash, T. (2001). Effects of a circuit weight training program on the body images of college students. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30,
30