Vol. 4, No 1, 2006 pp. 59 - 71
UDC 796.1034: 612.17
Scientific Paper

CHANGES IN THE CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS AND
BODY COMPOSITION OF WOMEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF THE AEROBIC DANCE
Radmila Kostić1, Ratomir Đurašković1,
Đurđica Miletić
2, Milena Mikalački3
1University of Niš, Faculty of Physical Education, Serbia
E-mail: rkost@medianis.net
2Faculty of Natural Sciences Mathematics & Education, University of Split, Croatia
3University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Physical Education, Serbia

Abstract. The effects of aerobic dance were investigated on the cardiovascular fitness and body composition of 46 women aged 20 to 25. The experimental group was made up 26 female subjects, and the control group numbered 20 subjects. The experimental program of the aerobic dance lasted for a period of three months, with sixty-minute training sessions three times a week.  The aerobic dance part of each workout lasted for 40 minutes, and involved high, low and moderate impact segments.  The cardiovascular fitness was evaluated by means of the following parameters:  resting heart rate, heart rate under strain, systolic arterial blood pressure (mmHg), diastolic arterial blood pressure (mmHg), the absolute value of maximal oxygen uptake (l/min) and the relative value of maximal oxygen uptake (ml/kg/min).   Body composition was evaluated by means of the following measurements:  body height (cm), body weight (cm), average thorax volume (cm), girth (cm), back skinfold (mm), abdominal skinfold (mm).  The basic descriptive statistics coefficients were calculated for all the data from the initial and final measuring, along with the Student t-test and multivariate and univariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA and ANCOVA). There is a statistically significant difference in the variables for cardiovascular fitness and body composition between the initial and final measuring in the experimental group and between the experimental and control group at the final measuring. This study confirmed previous conclusions about significant positive influence of the aerobic dance trainings on the changes in the cardiovascular endurance and body composition parameters in young adult women.
Key words:  functional abilities, anthropometric characteristics, VO2max, aerobic training, women

PROMENE KARIOVASKULARNOG FITNESA
I TELESNE GRAĐE ŽENA POD UTICAJEM
PLESNOG AEROBIKA
Istraženi su efekti  modela plesnog aerobika na kardiovaskularni fitnes i telesnu građu 46 žena starih od 20 do 25 godina. Eksperimentalnu grupu sačinjavalo je 26 žena, a kontrolnu grupu 20.  Eksperimentalni program modela plesnog aerobika realizovan je tri meseca, tri puta nedeljno sa 60 minuta treninga. Sam plesni aerobik na svakom treningu vežban je 40 minuta sa smenjivanjem high, low and moderate tipom naprezanja. Kardiovaskularni fitnes je procenjen sa sledećim parametrima: puls u miru, puls u opterećenju, sistolni arterijski krvni pritisak (mmHg), dijastolni arterijski krvni pritisak (mmHg), apsolutna vrednost maksimalne potrošnje kiseonika (l/min) i relativna vrednost maksimalne potrošnje kiseonika (ml/kg/min). Telesna građa procenjena je  merama: telesna visina (cm), telesna težina (kg), srednji obim grudi (cm), obim struka (cm), kožni nabor ledja (mm) i kožni nabor trbuha (mm). Za sve podatke sa inicijalnog i finalnog merenja izračunati su osnovni koeficijenti deskriptivne statistike, Studentov T-test i multivarijantna i univarijanta analiza kovarijanse (MANOVA i ANOVA). Između inicijalnog i finalnog merenja postoji statistički značajna razlika na varijablama kardiovaskularnog fitnesa i telesne građe žena kod eksperimentalne grupe, i između eksperimentalne i kontrolne grupe na finalnom merenju. Ovo istraživanje je potvrdilo već postojeće zaključke o značajnom pozitivnom uticaju plesnog aerobnog treninga na promene u kardiovaskularnoj izdržljivosti i parametrima telesne građe mladih žena.
Ključne reči: funkcionalne sposobnosti,  antropometrijske karakteristike, VO2max, aerobni trening, žene