Effects of a YMCA Starter Fitness Program

In brief This paper reports the findings of the effect of an eight-week starter fitness program on the first 1,362 people enrolled in it. The subjects were tested for cardiorespiratory fitness, body fat and weight, [Formula: see text]O₂ max, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility, using the YMCA physical fitness test battery before the program started and after eight weeks of training. The classes met for one hour, three times a week. Both men and women reduced body weight, body fat, and resting heart rate, and increased [Formula: see text]O₂ max, flexibility, and muscular strength and endurance. Improved fitness was related to compliance and whether the subject or his company paid for the program.