A Comparison Of The Effects Of Weight Lifting And Organized Physical Exercise For The Development Of Strength And Physical Fitness In Freshmen College Men

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of standard physical exercise as compared with that of concentrated muscular development on overall strength and physical fitness. The investigator felt that such a study was needed to determine the most effective short-term means of general body development. The study does not pretend to provide a final answer to the question of a choice of the better of the two methods of physical development, weight lifting or standard exercises. Such a definitive statement could not reasonably be made for a number of reasons. These concerned the limitations in the scope of the present study. In general, the limitations have been listed as follows: 1. The number of students in the sample was limited to fourteen; 2. these fourteen students were not representative of the entire population of college freshmen men; 3. the students were all from one college and it was likely that they had distinctly characteristic backgrounds relative to physical fitness in terms of such immeasurables as nutrition and prior experiences; 4. the time period for the experiment was limited to eight weeks; and, 5. the time for regular group exercises was limited to two hours a week in scheduled physical education classes. Collection of Data Statistics used in comparing the outcomes for the two test groups was to be collected by recording the results of pre-testing, and of tests after the first four-week period, and of final tests and measurements. Among the information which was used for initial grouping and final evaluation included the individual raw scores, as well as the group averages, for weight, height, and age for each participant. Strength was to be recorded by using a dynamometer. Physical fitness was measured by administering the Intercollegiate Test for Chinning and Dipping