Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to observe the metabolic and physiological changes that result from a four-month aerobic dance fitness program. Nine individuals (two men and seven women) met the requirements to qualify for the data analysis of the study. Qualifying requirements were to participate in a minimum of 80% of the sessions. The program included meeting four days per week, 60 minutes per exercise session. The aerobic phase of the exercise period progressed from 15 to 30 minutes in duration by the end of the four month program. Areas of concentrated pre- and post-testing included weight, body fat composition, sum of six skinfold measurements, resting heart rate, peak heart rate, peak oxygen uptake, peak ventilation, peak METS, abdominal strength, hip and hamstring flexibility, and blood levels of total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol and {HDL-C), TC/HDL-C ratio, triglycerides and glucose. Pre-post test data comparisons were made with the Paired Student T-test at the p<.01 level of significance. Peak relative oxygen uptake improved significantly with a group mean increase from 30.30 to 38.98 ml/kg/min. Additional significant improvements were observed with a decrease in resting heart rates, percent body fat, sum of six skinfolds, TC/HDL-C ratio, and blood glucose. Body weight, triglycerides and TC levels decreased also but not significantly. Statistically significant group improvements were also observed with an increase in abdominal strength, hip and hamstring flexibility, peak ventilation, peak METS, and HDL-C levels. No changes were observed in peak heart rate. The results of this study have led the investigator to conclude that aerobic dance can provide improvement in aerobic capacity as well as resting heart rate, percent body fat, blood composition, and muscular strength and flexibility. These changes indicate that aerobic dance can provide cardiovascular physical fitness improvements when practiced at the sufficient frequency, duration, and intensity as prescribed by the American College of Sportsmedicine guidelines.