The effects of after-school training of different sports events on the physical fitness of adolescents and its comparative analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of various sports interventions on adolescents’ physical fitness. One hundred twenty adolescents were recruited from a college (60 males and 60 females) and were randomly divided into four equal groups. The experimental groups (Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3) each received 1.5 hours of medium-intensity sport interventions three times a week. The only difference among them was that Group 1 did tennis, Group 2 did basketball, and Group 3 did gymnastics. Group 4, on the other hand, served as a control group, receiving no intervention. Subjects in each of the four groups were tested before and after the intervention using the National Physical Fitness Standards for Students (2014 Revision) items. The test results were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. The independent variable was the sport natures, whereas the dependent variable was the difference between pre and post-intervention measurements. It was found that 1) the experimental groups outperformed the control group on all test indicators; 2) The basketball group improved significantly more than the tennis and gymnastics groups in terms of spirometry performance; 3) The gymnastics group improved significantly more than the tennis and basketball groups in terms of sitting forward bend; 4) The tennis group improved significantly more than the basketball and gymnastics groups in one-minute sit-up performance. To conclude, this study found that after-school training could promote adolescents’ physical fitness. In detail, tennis training can significantly improve one-minute sit-up performance. Basketball training can significantly improve vital capacity. Gymnastic training can significantly enhance the sitting forward bend performance.