A study of the fitness effects of varsity wrestling and required wrestling training programs.

• Main Author: Taylor, Albert William
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2011
• Subjects: Wrestling; Physical fitness; Physical education and training
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/37906

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of certain training programs upon the physical fitness of students enrolled in university required wrestling classes and varsity wrestlers. Tests were administered to twelve students in the required program at the University of British Columbia and to the ten man University of British Columbia varsity wrestling team. Physical fitness test items of muscular strength, muscular endurance, motor ability, cardiovascular endurance, fat component and cardiovascular condition considered to have important implications for wrestlers and wrestling were selected for use in this study. The two groups were tested at the beginning of their training programs (t1) and again at the end of these programs (t2). The required training program consisted of two one-hour periods per week for an eight week period. The varsity wrestlers were also retested after eight weeks although their training program continued beyond this period. These men trained ten hours per week, that is, for two hours a time, five times per week. The test results of the University of British Columbia varsity wrestlers were also compared with those of the varsity wrestlers of the University of Western Ontario taken one year earlier at the same stage of training. The required program training regimen was evidently either not long enough or frequent enough to bring about significant physical fitness changes other than in several muscular endurance items. Results indicated that the varsity wrestling program brought about significant positive changes in muscular endurance, cardiovascular condition and fat component but not in muscular strength. The University of British Columbia wrestlers were inferior to the University of Western Ontario varsity wrestlers on all test items except the Progressive Pulse Rate Recovery Test and the right and left grip strengths. It was concluded that under the conditions of the study significant changes in components of physical fitness can be brought about as a result of the varsity wrestling training program but there were few significant changes in fitness produced by the required program in wrestling. === Education, Faculty of === Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of === Graduate