Motor development and muscular fitness in female basketball players

Motor Development

Coaching Girls Basketball Experiment

The purpose of this experiment was to conduct a muscular fitness test to access the upper and lower body strength of female girls who are on the basketball team. Muscle strength can be thought of as the amount of force that an individual can exert in a single muscle contraction which can be accessed through circuit training. Muscle endurance is also a consideration and refers to the quantity of weight repetitions that can be performed at any given weight. The team's initial level of strength was recorded during various strength training exercises, a strength training routine was performed over a period of ninety days, and finally the team's level of strength was recorded again at the end of the activity.

Assessment of Muscular Strength

The assessment of muscular strength will be measured along four important variables related to strength training. The first will be maximum number of push-ups performed in a series. Although the team will be training with weights, push-ups are a good indicator of upper body strength. The second assessment will be the number so sit-ups that can be performed within sixty seconds. This will provide a measurement of core strength of the girls. Another assessment will be maximum squat load that can be performed on a leg press machine. The final assessment will total reach that can be obtained by jumping which will provide a measure of the girls total lower body strength.

Characteristics of Participants

The participants are girls who are of the ages of twelve to thirteen. Most of the girls are in excellent health and perform regular exercise.

Duration

After the initial assessment, there will be an exercise routine that the girls will follow over the course of ninety days. The routine will be performed four days a week.

Location

The study will take place at the gym at the school.

Assessment

1. Push-ups

2. Sit-ups

3. Leg Press

4. Vertical Jump

Statistical Testing

The data collected during the course of the experiment will be analyzed with various statistical tests. This data can be analyzed in thirty day intervals to determine the effects of the strength training routine. It is hypothesized that the girls will improve their strength by a significant amount over this period.