Abstract
The purpose of the study was to comprehensively characterise changes in indicators of physical fitness and functional capabilities of adolescent girls depending on the level of motor activity under the influence of aerobic loads. The study was conducted at the Pereyaslav Gymnasium No. 3 (Kyiv Oblast) during March 17 – May 25, 2025 and included an aerobic programme with two stages of measurement, which allowed analysing the dynamics of physical fitness and functional indicators of the cardiovascular system of adolescent girls with different levels of motor activity. It was found that in the high-activity group, the distance of six-minute running increased from 900 ± 100 m to 1,130 ± 90 m (+25.6%), while in the low-activity group – from 820 ± 95 m to 950 ± 85 m (+15.9%). The number of squats in 30 seconds increased by +45% (from 20 ± 4 to 29 ± 3) against +33.3% (from 18 ± 4 to 24 ± 3). The 4x9 m shuttle run performance improved moderately: -1.1 s in high-activity and -0.7 s in low-activity. Functional changes in the cardiovascular system were manifested by a decrease in the resting heart rate by -11.4% and -7.3%, respectively, an increase in recovery in the first minute by +54.5% against +44.4%, and a decrease in the Ruffier-Dixon Index by 29.7% and 21.6%, which reflects an improvement in the functional state. Correlation analysis confirmed that the level of motor activity was statistically associated with the scale of adaptive changes (r = 0.68-0.72; p < 0.01). Thus, the initial motor status determined the training sensitivity of adolescent girls and influenced the nature of changes in physical fitness and functional indicators. The obtained data can be used by physical education teachers, trainers, and specialists of health programmes to differentiate the load, taking into consideration the initial level of motor activity of girls
Keywords
motor activity; training effect; muscle endurance; recovery rate; cardiovascular system; girls aged 13-15; fitness programmes
References
- Armstrong, N., Tomkinson, G., & Ekelund, U. (2011). Aerobic fitness and its relationship to sport, exercise training and habitual physical activity during youth. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(11), 849-858.
- Blagrove, R.C., Howatson, G., & Hayes, P.R. (2018). Effects of strength training on the physiological determinants of middle- and long-distance running performance. Sports Medicine, 48, 1117-1149. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0835-7.
- Bratic, M., Dosic, A., Zivkovic, D., Zivkovic, M., Bjelakovic, L., Stojanovic, N., Dordevic, M., Prvulovic, N., & Pantelic, S. (2022). The effects of the aerobic endurance running program on the morphological characteristics of adolescent girls with different nutritional status. International Journal of Morphology, 40(5), 1335-1343.
- Brezdeniuk, O., Furman, Y., Salnykova, S., Sulyma, A., Korolchuk, A., Bohuslavska, V., & Pityn, M. (2021). Adaptation of students with different body composition components to aerobic and anaerobic training. Sport & Society/Sport si Societate, 21(1). doi: 10.36836/2021/1/28.
- Buchheit, M. (2014). Monitoring training status with HR measures: Do all roads lead to Rome? Frontiers in Physiology, 5, article number 73. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00073.
- Chekhovska, M., Shevtsiv, L., Zhdanova, O., & Chekhovska, L. (2020). Fitness in school physical education lessons. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 20, 420-424. doi: 10.7752/jpes.2020.s1060.
- Cohen, D.D., Carreno, J., Camacho, P.A., Otero, J., Martinez, D., Lopez-Lopez, J., Sandercock, G.R., & Lopez-Jaramillo, P. (2021). Fitness changes in adolescent girls following in-school combined aerobic and resistance exercise: Interaction with birthweight. Pediatric Exercise Science, 34(2), 76-83. doi: 10.1123/pes.2021-0034.
- Cowley, E.S., Watson, P.M., Foweather, L., Belton, S., Thompson, A., Thijssen, D., & Wagenmakers, A.J. (2021). “Girls aren’t meant to exercise”: Perceived influences on physical activity among adolescent girls-The HERizon Project. Children, 8(1), article number 31. doi: 10.3390/children8010031.
- Csecs, I., et al. (2020). The impact of sex, age and training on biventricular cardiac adaptation in healthy adult and adolescent athletes: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging study. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 27(5), 540-549. doi: 10.1177/2047487319866019.
- European Commission. (2021). Guidance on ethics and data protection. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ethics-and-data-protection_he_en.pdf.
- Forså, M.I., Bjerring, A.W., Haugaa, K.H., Smedsrud, M.K., Sarvari, S.I., Landgraff, H.W., Hallén, J., & Edvardsen, T. (2023). Young athlete’s growing heart: Sex differences in cardiac adaptation to exercise training during adolescence. Open Heart, 10(1), article number e002155. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2022-002155.
- Galan, Y., Andrieieva, O., Yarmak, O., & Shestobuz, O. (2020). Programming of physical education and health-improving classes for the girls aged 12-13 years. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 15(3), 525-534. doi: 10.14198/jhse.2020.153.05.
- Gillen, Z.M., Shoemaker, M.E., McKay, B.D., Bohannon, N.A., Gibson, S.M., & Cramer, J.T. (2019). Muscle strength, size, and neuromuscular function before and during adolescence. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 119, 1619-1632. doi: 10.1007/s00421-019-04151-4.
- Harju, T. (2025). The effects of menstrual cycle-based aerobic training on resting metabolism and maximal oxygen uptake and the associations of energy availability to the adaptations. (Master’s thesis, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland).
- Hunter, S.K., et al. (2023). The biological basis of sex differences in athletic performance: Consensus statement for the American College of Sports Medicine. Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, 55(12), 2328-2360. doi: 10.1249/mss.0000000000003300.
- ICC/ESOMAR. (2025). International code on market, opinion and social research and data analytics. Retrieved from https://iccwbo.org/news-publications/policies-reports/iccesomar-international-code-market-opinion-social-research-data-analytics/.
- Ingvarsdottir, T.H., Johannsson, E., Rognvaldsdottir, V., Stefansdottir, R.S., & Arnardottir, N. Y. (2024). Longitudinal development and tracking of cardiorespiratory fitness from childhood to adolescence. Plos One, 19(3), article number e0299941. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299941.
- Iñigo-Vollmer, M.M.R., & Fernandez-del-Valle, M. (2023). Cardiovascular exercise guidelines for optimal performance of active females throughout the lifespan including children, adolescents, and the aging female. In J.J. Robert-McComb, M. Zumwalt & M. Fernandez-del-Valle (Eds.), The active female (pp. 451-461). Cham: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-15485-0_25.
- Ivanyshyn, I., Lemak, O., Vypasniak, I., Sultanova, I., Vintoniak, O., Salatenko, I., & Huzak, O. (2021). Intercorrelation between adolescent’ physical status and aerobic capacity level. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 21(5), 2890-2900. doi: 10.7752/jpes.2021.s5384.
- Kowalski, K.C., Crocker, P.R., & Donen, R.M. (2004). The physical activity questionnaire for older children (PAQ-C) and adolescents (PAQ-A) manual. Saskatoon: University of Saskatchewan).
- Landgraff, H.W., Riiser, A., Lihagen, M., Skei, M., Leirstein, S., & Hallén, J. (2021). Longitudinal changes in maximal oxygen uptake in adolescent girls and boys with different training backgrounds. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 31, 65-72. doi: 10.1111/sms.13765.
- McGarrigal, L.D., Morse, C.I., Sims, D.T., & Stebbings, G.K. (2025). Development of stretch-shortening cycle function in girls during maturation and in response to training: A narrative review. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 39(8), 1043-1051. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005191.
- Oliveira, R.S., Barker, A.R., & Williams, C.A. (2018). Cardiac autonomic function, cardiovascular risk and physical activity in adolescents. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(2), 89-96. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-118850.
- Padilla-Alvarado, J.R., Lozada-Medina, J.L., & Cortina-Nuñez, M.D.J. (2025). Aerobic power profile in young athletes according to age and bio banding. Retos, 71, 1275-1287. doi: 10.47197/retos.v72.117430.
- Papaevangelou, E., Papadopoulou, Z., Michailidis, Y., Mandroukas, A., Nikolaidis, P.T., Margaritelis, N.V., & Metaxas, T. (2023). Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness during a season in elite female soccer, basketball, and handball players. Applied Sciences, 13(17), article number 9593. doi: 10.3390/app13179593.
- Petrovics, P., Sebesi, B., Szekeres, Z., Szabados, E., & Pálfi, A. (2025). Personalized physical exercise program among adolescent girls: A pilot study. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 10(3), article number 341. doi: 10.3390/jfmk10030341.
- Petrušič, T., Trajković, N., & Bogataj, Š. (2022). Twelve-week game-based school intervention improves physical fitness in 12-14-year-old girls. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, article number 831424. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.831424.
- Plavsic, L., Knezevic, O.M., Sovtic, A., Minic, P., Vukovic, R., Mazibrada, I., Stanojlovic, O., Hrncic, D., Rasic-Markovic, A., & Macut, D. (2020). Effects of high-intensity interval training and nutrition advice on cardiometabolic markers and aerobic fitness in adolescent girls with obesity. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 45(3), 294-300. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2019-0137.
- Rael, B., et al. (2021). Menstrual cycle phases influence on cardiorespiratory response to exercise in endurance-trained females. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), article number 860. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18030860.
- Rajpoot, Y.S., Choudhary, P.K., Choudhary, S., Saha, S., Ciocan, V.C., Șufaru, C., & Nicolae-Lucian, V. (2025). Physiological responses of female basketball players across graded training intensities: Cardiovascular and respiratory adaptations. Physical Education of Students, 29(5), 353-363. doi: 10.15561/20755279.2025.0503.
- Romero, C., Ramirez-Campillo, R., Alvarez, C., Moran, J., Slimani, M., Gonzalez, J., & Banzer, W.E. (2021). Effects of maturation on physical fitness adaptations to plyometric jump training in youth females. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 35(10), 2870-2877. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003247.
- Shadiow, J., Miranda, E.R., Perkins, R.K., Mazo, C.E., Lin, Z., Lewis, K.N., Mey, J.T., Solomon, T.P.J., & Haus, J.M. (2023). Exercise-induced changes to the fiber type-specific redox state in human skeletal muscle are associated with aerobic capacity. Journal of Applied Physiology, 135(3), 508-518. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00662.2022.
- Skouras, A.Z., Antonakis-Karamintzas, D., Tsantes, A.G., Triantafyllou, A., Papagiannis, G., Tsolakis, C., & Koulouvaris, P. (2023). The acute and chronic effects of resistance and aerobic exercise in hemostatic balance: A brief review. Sports, 11(4), article number 74. doi: 10.3390/sports11040074.
- Sliusarchuk, V., Iedynak, G., Galamanzhuk, L., Mykhailskyi, A., Yurchyshyn, Y., & Prozar, M. (2023). Effectiveness of various physical activity programs in increasing functional capabilities of young females. Sport and Tourism Central European Journal, 6(1), 119-135. doi: 10.16926/sit.2023.01.07.
- Stanley, J., Peake, J.M., & Buchheit, M. (2013). Cardiac parasympathetic reactivation following exercise: Implications for training prescription. Sports Medicine, 43, 1259-1277. doi: 10.1007/s40279-013-0083-4.
- Stricker, P.R., Faigenbaum, A.D., & McCambridge, T.M. (2020). Resistance training for children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 145(6), article number e20201011. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-1011.
- Wan, J., Li, Z., Sun, R., Gu, J., Li, Y., & Zhang, Q. (2025). In-school resistance training improves physical fitness in pubertal girls: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 17, article number 302. doi: 10.1186/s13102-025-01351-8.
- Wang, Z., Ma, H., Zhang, W., Zhang, Y., Youssef, L., Carneiro, M.A.S., Chen, C., Wang, D., & Wang, D. (2024). Effects of functional strength training combined with aerobic training on body composition, physical fitness, and movement quality in obese adolescents. Nutrients, 16(10), article number 1434. doi: 10.3390/nu16101434.
- Weber, V.M.R., Queiroga, M.R., Puranda, J.L., Semeniuk, K., Macdonald, M.L., Dantas, D.B., da Silva, D.F., & Adamo, K.B. (2024). Role of cardiorespiratory fitness, aerobic, exercise and sports participation in female cognition: A scoping review: Sports, fitness, and cognition. Sports Medicine-Open, 10, article number 103. doi: 10.1186/s40798-024-00776-8.
- Willett, H.N., Koltun, K.J., & Hackney, A.C. (2021). Influence of menstrual cycle estradiol-β-17 fluctuations on energy substrate utilization-oxidation during aerobic, endurance exercise. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), article number 7209. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18137209.
- World Health Organization. (n.d.). Physical activity. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity.