Effect of Long-Duration Aerobic Exercises and Exercise-Scheduling on Physiological and Anthropometric Health Markers: A Case Study of a Keep-Fit Club Members in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Due to perceived lack of time, people have resorted to participation in physical exercise once per week. The purpose of the study was to determine whether long duration aerobic exercise will have any effect on physiological and anthropometric health markers of a keep fit club members in Accra. A total of 64 respondents, 32 in each training group, were used for the analyses. A longitudinal data of 6 weeks intervals were collected on three different occasions to track the changes in the variables overtime and across groups. The MANOVA, correlational analysis and paired sample t-test were used for the inferential analyses. The results showed a relatively strong positive association between percent body fat and BMI; a moderate positive association was found between diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Exercise training was confirmed to be effective at improving participants‘ physiological and anthropometric variables irrespective of the type of exercise schedule. Continuous exercise improved most of the physiological variables more effectively than single exercise, although sex and age significantly moderate such effects. Males mostly responded to continuous exercise more than females, while females responded better to single training than males. Younger participants could improve their physiological variables with either multiple or single training exercises, but older participants benefited more from continuous training. The study recommends that the prescription of a training exercise for participants needs consideration of the client‘s sex and age for a more effective outcome on anthropometric measure improvements. Multiple training sessions are recommended for older participants, while OTT is ideal for female participants.