EFFECT OF AN EIGHT-WEEK WEIGHT TRAINING PROGRAMME ON THE CARDIOVASCULAR INDICES OF MALE COLLEGIATE BALL GAME ATHLETES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of an eight-week weight training programme on the cardiovascular indices (heart rate, VO2 max and blood pressure) of male ball game athletes of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and sought to determine possible sportrelated differences in the effect of the 8-week weight training programme among athletes of different sports. The research adopted the pre-test, post-test experimental design. Participants were 56 male ballgame athletes drawn from soccer (n=18), basketball (n=12), handball (n=14) and volleyball (n=12) teams using intact class sampling technique.
Baseline data of participants were recorded before the 8-week intervention. Participants' weight and height were measured with a digital BMI scale (Seca769), heart rate was  recorded with a stethoscope and an aneroid sphygmomanometer was used to measure resting blood pressure. Cardiovascular endurance (VO2max) was estimated with the Cooper 12-minutes run/walk test. A structured weight training programme (CF-WET) was used to train participants for 8 weeks, after which post-test data were collected. Data were described using means and standard deviations, pre-test and post-test data were compared using t-test and 2-way ANOVA was used to compare data of participants in the four ball games. The results showed a marked improvement in the VO2 max of participants post training (t=-4.39, p<0.05). Their resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were lowered significantly (t=-14.68, p<0.05, t=-22.54, p<0.05, t=-45.07, p<0.05) after the 8-week weight training programme. The results revealed substantial improvements in the cardiovascular indices of ball game athletes but no significant sportrelated difference in the training effect. The study concluded that an eight-week weight training programme yielded significant improvements in the selected cardiovascular indices. It therefore recommended that weight training programme is effective in improving the cardiovascular fitness of ball game athletes for optimal performance.