A Physical Fitness Intervention Program Within a Physical Education Class on Selected Health-Related Fitness Among Secondary School Students

AbstractThe aim of the study was to investigate the effect of a physical fitness intervention program within a physical education class on selected health-related fitness components among Malaysian secondary school girls. A quasi experimental design was adopted for the study. Two Schools in a district were randomly selected. In each school, two classes were randomly assigned intact to the experimental group (n=48) and the other was the control group (n=38). Pretest data was collected on cardiovascular endurance, Flexibility and muscular strength. The experimental and the control groups underwent regular physical education classes twice a week for ten weeks. Apart from the regular physical education classes, the experimental group underwent the treatment of four exercises in a form of a circuit immediately after the warm-up session. After ten weeks, posttest data was collected. ANCOVA indicated that there was a main effect in cardiovascular endurance F(1, 83) = 44.69, p<0.05 and for flexibility F(1,83) = 46.80, p<0.05. As for muscular strength, the result was not significant F(1,83) = 3.54, p>0.05. The results indicate that a ten week physical fitness program within a physical education class was effective in enhancing cardiovascular endurance and flexibility among Malaysian secondary school girls