Balinese dance exercises improve the maximum aerobic capacity

The maximum aerobic capacity can be used to predict the maximum working capacity. The maximum working capacity plays an important role in achieving the best performance. Therefore, physical fitness program for maintaining maximum working capacity is a must. A study on the application of Balinese dance exercise was carried out. Sixty young male Balinese, aged from 17 to 19 years were used as subjects. They were divided into two groups: Experimental group (EG) and control group (CG) based on their VO2max. The EG participated in a program of Balinese dance exercise 3 x 50 min per week for 8 weeks. Pretest-posttest control group design was applied. The maximum aerobic capacity was measured, based on the Modified Harvard Step-up Test and nomogram of Astrand. The results are as follows: there is a very significant improvement of VO2max from 2.7 +/- 0.5 l/min or 51.1 +/- 9.1 ml/kg/min into 3.1 +/- 0.5 l/min or 58.9 +/- 9.8 ml/kg/min. Other parameters such as resting heart rate, blood pressure and percent body fat were decreased significantly. The study concludes that Balinese dance exercise could be used as a program for physical fitness maintenance.