Results of a Required Fitness Program

In brief: Based on the belief that physical education majors should have above-average fitness levels, 128 students were instructed to design and execute their own fitness development project to improve strength, endurance, and flexibility. Most relied on jogging, stair running, swimming, and cycling; others performed weight training, calisthenics, racket sports, and aerobic dancing. Generally, both men and women showed statistically significant increases in all the fitness tests. The authors believe that success was encouraged by the students' daily contact with instructors, the fact that their fitness improvement affected their grades, and the knowledge they gained from the course.