An Experimental Study On The Effects Of Twelve Weeks Of Pilates Training On The Physical Form Of Sedentary Female College Students

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,the time spent by college students in sedentary activities has increased,while their overall physical activity levels have decreased.This trend has had significant impacts on their physical and mental health,resulting in issues such as obesity,poor posture,sleep disturbances,and mood disorders.Studies have highlighted the potential of Pilates in enhancing muscle quality and increasing basic metabolic rate,leading to improved physical fitness.However,it remains unclear whether Pilates matwork can positively affect the physical form and composition of sedentary female college students.To address this gap,this thesis conducted a randomized controlled experiment to evaluate the impact of Pilates matwork intervention on the physical form and composition of sedentary female college students.This study involved selecting 24 sedentary female college students from a cohort of 49 recruited from within the university who met the inclusion criteria for the research.All participants were in their sophomore year.Using randomization techniques,the 24 participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group(Pilates matwork,n=12)that underwent a 12-week training program of Pilates matwork,and a control group(popular aerobics exercises,n=12)that undertook popular aerobics exercises over the same period.Both groups were subjected to twelve training sessions per month,with each session lasting one hour and having a moderate to low exercise intensity targeted at a heart rate of 120-130 beats per minute.Anthropometric measurements,which included height,weight,chest circumference,arm circumference,thigh circumference,hip circumference,waist circumference,body mass index,and body composition,were carried out on both groups.The data collected were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 software,with the Shapiro-Wilk test used to test for normal data distribution.Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was performed on data with non-normal distribution.The repeated measurement ANOVA of 2(experimental group and control group)×2(pre-test and post-test)processes the data of body shape indicators.If the data does not conform to the spherical test,the calibration results in the monistic ANOVA "Greenhouse Geisser" shall be taken as the standard.If there is no interaction,the main effect will be analyzed.If there is interaction between exercise intervention × time,the simple effect is analyzed.The following results are obtained through the experiment:(1)The results of the survey on the status quo of sedentary female college students show that the proportion of sedentary female students is 49%,and their satisfaction with their body shape is respectively: very satisfied 12.5%,45.8%,not satisfied 20.8%,dissatisfied 20.8%,of which the proportion of their waist and abdomen are not satisfied is the highest.(2)Repeated measurement variance analysis was performed on the body shape test data of the two groups before and after the experiment,and it was found that the measured body weight,waist circumference,calf circumference and BMI of the experimental group were significantly decreased(p<0.01),while the thigh circumference was significantly decreased(p<0.05).There were no significant differences in height,chest circumference,hip circumference and arm circumference(p>0.05).(3)There were significant differences in body composition indexes between the two groups of sedentary female college students.The percentage of body fat decreased significantly and the percentage of muscle increased significantly between the two groups,while the content of total water,inorganic salt and protein had no significant differences.The percentage of muscle content in the experimental group and the control group had significant differences before and after the experiment,but the percentage of body fat and muscle content in the experimental group had more obvious changes than that in the control group.(4)The body shape and body composition indexes of the two groups before and after the experiment showed significant changes in weight,thigh circumference,calf circumference,BMI,waist circumference,arm circumference,body fat percentage and muscle content percentage.The experimental group had greater changes than the control group before and after the above eight indexes.But the hip circumference index of the control group changed more than that of the experimental group.Eventually,the following conclusion are drawn:(1)The results of the survey on the status quo of sedentary female college students show that sedentary female college students generally think that sitting for a long time has an impact on their body shape,and most of them are dissatisfied with their waist and abdomen.(2)12 weeks of pilates training has significant changes in body shape of sedentary female college students,including body weight,waist circumference,thigh circumference,calf circumference and BMI.Therefore,Pilates training can improve the body shape of sedentary female college students.(3)The 12-week Pilates training brought significant changes to body fat percentage,muscle percentage,and protein percentage values in the physical composition test indicators of sedentary female college students,implying that Pilates training can optimize their physical composition.(4)After 12 weeks of training intervention,the comparison of body shape and body composition indexes between the two groups before and after the experiment showed significant changes in the percentage of muscle content,indicating that the Pilates intervention program had a better shaping effect.Therefore,the body shape of sedentary female college students was optimized through both intervention schemes,but the effect of Pilates intervention was better.