Manual Resistance Training (MRT), an alternative to traditional resistance training, requires minimal equipment and may be effective when applied in school-based physical education (PE) classes. The purpose of this study was to document the physical changes in adolescents (N = 222) using MRT in school-based PE settings. Six fitness tests from the Fitnessgram assessment tool were selected to assess students' cardiovascular and muscular fitness and skin-fold tests were used to assess body composition. One Control and two Experimental Groups were defined. The Control group of students (N = 129) attended regular PE classes. One Experimental group (N = 63) attended PE that was complemented by the MRT system. A second Experiment group (N = 30) attended PE complemented by MRT and cardiovascular endurance training. Using the selected Fitnessgram tests post-test measurements were done after 9 and 18 weeks of PE. At baseline, there were no significant differences between the three groups for most measures. Compared to baseline, experimental groups improved significantly in all six fitness measures and showed more improvements than the Control group in most fitness measures both at 9 and 18 weeks. None of the groups showed significant improvement in body composition. The results documented that an MRT complemented PE program was effective in improving adolescents' muscular fitness. An 18-week combined MRT and cardiovascular endurance training program effectively improved cardiovascular and muscular fitness but was ineffective in improving adolescent body composition. An MRT based exercise session requires minimal equipment and set-up, and can be performed in a short period of time, therefore it is suitable for application in regular PE settings.

As shoe cushioning capability decreases, runners modify their patterns to maintain constant external loads. The adaptation strategies to shoe degradation were unaffected by different cushioning technologies, suggesting runners should choose shoes for reasons other than cushioning technology.

The results provide updated health-related fitness profiles for US youth and identify the critical ages when youth fitness levels start to decline.

This article describes the conceptual design and evaluation strategies used in the NFL PLAY 60 FITNESSGRAM Partnership Project, a large participatory research network focused on building effective school physical education programming. The article summarizes the unique participatory design, recruitment methods, programming strategies, and analytical plans used to evaluate this large project. The study provides unique insight into how to effectively deliver large-scale school-based physical fitness and physical activity programming to support and enhance physical education programming in schools.

The results of these longitudinal analyses support the utility of the NFL PLAY 60 physical activity promotion programs for improving youth aerobic capacity and potentially helping to reverse the prevalence of overweight/obesity. However, the overall program adoption rate is low.