Strength measurements in prepubescent males and females consequent to a seven week weight training program /

The purposes of this study were to determine if prepubescent

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Williams, David R.
Format: Thesis Book
Language:English
Published: [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified] ; 1994.
Subjects:
Online Access:http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=741945061&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Description
Summary:The purposes of this study were to determine if prepubescent
males and females benefit from a weight training program, if
gender differences exist in muscular strength as a result of
a prepubescent weight training program, at what point in a
weight training program do strength increases occur, and if a
weight training program improves strength more than a general
physical education program. Twelve prepubescent males and
twelve prepubescent females participated in a seven week
weight training program and were compared to an age and
gender matched control group who participated in a physical
education program for the same time period. The weight
training group participated in strength training exercises
three to four sessions each week. Each group was tested on
their six repetition maximum (6RM) for upper body strength
(bicep curls) and lower body strength (leg extensions) at
the beginning of the program and after three, five and seven
weeks of participation. After seven weeks, the male subjects
in the weight training group were significantly stronger than
the male control subjects (p<.05) and also significantly
stronger than all of the female subjects in both upper body
and lower body strength (p<. 0 1). After five weeks, the
weight training group was significantly stronger on lower
body strength (p<.Ol) than the control group and
significantly stronger than their pre-test and three week
participation performances. The weight training group was
also significantly stronger (p<.05) than the control group on
both lower and upper body strength after seven weeks of
training. The control group did not significantly increase
their strength levels during the seven week program. The
female experimental group was not significantly different
from the female control group throughout the weight training
program. However, the female experimental group did show a
significant upper and lower body strength increase (p<. 0 1)
as a result of the weight training program. This was
determined by analyzing apriori orthoganol contrasts that
were applied to the data. The strength gains followed linear
trends for both upper and lower body strength measurements.
The results of this study demonstrate that prepubescent males
and females can make significant strength increases as a
result of a weight training program and prepubescent males
appear to be stronger than prepubescent females when the
criterion measure is the amount of weight lifted relative to
lean body mass. Also, significant strength gains can be made
in prepubescent children in as little as five weeks. Weight
training also appears to be superior to a general physical
education program at improving strength in prepubescent
children.
Item Description:Vita.
"Major Subject: Kinesiology".
Physical Description:xi, 78 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm.
Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references.