Effects of 8-Week Orienteering Training on Physical Fitness Parameters among Adolescents Aged 14-18 Years

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of 8-week orienteering training on physical fitness parameters in adolescents. To reveal this effect, this experimental study was designed as a pretest-posttest control group model. A total of 41 volunteers (20 females and 21 males) aged 14-18 years were divided into 2 groups: the orienteering training group (OTG) and control group (CG). Health-related and performance-related parameters of the physical fitness of the participants before and after the 8-week orienteering training were evaluated. After eight weeks of training, body weight (BW) increased by 1 kg on average in the OTG, but the body fat percentage (BFP) did not change. This increase could be due to the effect of the orienteering training. The CG, on the contrary, recorded an increase in BFP. Whereas both groups seemed similar in terms of elastic strength, and a significant improvement was found in the OTG in terms of anaerobic power, which considers BW. In terms of balance performance, the OTG showed a significant improvement, while the CG displayed a 97% rate of negative change. The positive increase rate in aerobic capacity was significantly higher in the OTG compared with the CG. Each participant in the OTG covered approximately 2000 meters engaging in parkour in each training session. Thus, the increase in aerobic capacity for the OTG can be explained by the number of 8-week training sessions. Rockport time decreased statistically in the OTG after training, but there was no difference in comparison with the CG. Moreover, similar results were observed in both the groups in body mass index, flexibility, agility, speed, and VO_2max values. Overall, orienteering training once a week for eight weeks resulted in positive developments in physical fitness parameters.