Glady Sukma Perdana, Ilham, Ary Suud Cahyo Alben, Bekir Erhan Orhan, Vlad Adrian Geantă
Background: Physical fitness is a key component of overall health, particularly for students in physical education programs. Outdoor-based physical training has been explored to enhance specific fitness components, including VO2 max, muscle endurance, and leg explosive power. However, evidence of its effectiveness still needs to be improved, particularly in areas such as leg power. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of an 8-week outdoor-based physical training program on VO2 max, arm muscle endurance, abdominal endurance, and leg muscle power in first-year male students. Materials and Methods: A pre-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design was employed. Thirty-three first-year students from the Physical Education, Health, and Recreation program at Bung Hatta University were selected using purposive sampling. Physical fitness was assessed before and after the intervention. The following tests were used: VO2 max via the bleep test, arm endurance with the 1-minute push-up test, abdominal endurance with the 1-minute sit-up test, and leg power with the standing broad jump test. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests with Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 25. Results: Significant improvements were observed in VO2 max (t = -9.077, p < 0.001), arm endurance (t = - 8.433, p < .001), and abdominal endurance (t = -6.571, p < 0.001). However, no significant change was found in leg muscle power (t = 0.924, p = 0.362). Conclusion: Outdoor-based physical training effectively improves VO2 max and muscle resistance. This does not account for faster or stronger leg explosive power, which may better be obtained from using a longer duration or greater intensity. They differentiate the program from conventional indoor training methods as the facility is adaptive and engages in outdoor settings. Furthermore, changes to the existing training program are recommended to improve physical fitness. © 2025 Federacion Espanola de Docentes de Educacion Fisica. All rights reserved.
Universitas Negeri Manado, Indonesia; Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia; Universitas Bung Hatta, Indonesia; Istanbul Aydın University, Turkey; Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Romania
