Effects of 6 Weeks High Intensity Interval Training on Body Composition and Cardiovascular Endurance in Overweightmale Students

Chua, Zhi Xuan (2019) Effects of 6 Weeks High Intensity Interval Training on Body Composition and Cardiovascular Endurance in Overweightmale Students. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

High intensity interval training (HIIT) has grabbed more attention as a time-efficient training choice to enhance metabolic and cardiovascular health. This study was done to investigate the effects of 6 weeks HIIT on body composition and cardiovascular endurance in overweight college students. A total of 20 overweight male college students (age = 20.7 ± 1.26, weight = 79.95 kg ± 5.64, height = 174.6 cm± 3.36, BMI = 26.63 ± 1.27) participated in this study. All subjects were assigned into experimental group (n=10) and control group (n=10) using systematic counterbalancing method and experimental group undergone 6 weeks of HIIT training program. The training was conducted three times a week. Subjects were tested on body composition and cardiovascular endurance to observe the changes in body fat percentage and VO2max (ml/min/kg). Results showed that there were no significant difference in body fat percentage and relative VO2max between experimental group and control group (p>0.05) after 6 weeks of training intervention. However, it showed significant improved on body fat percentage (p<0.01) and relative VO2max (p = 0.001) from pre to post training in the experimental group itself. Therefore, 6 weeks of HIIT training can be beneficial for college overweight students, butfuture studies are needed to prove more significant effects on health and fitness in overweight individuals.