Effect of Circuit Training on Selected Physical Fitness Components in Middle School Students in Baghdad

The major goal of this study was to determine the effects of implementing circuit training on selecting physical fitness components of intermediate school students in Baghdad, Iraq. This study used a quantitative research type and an experimental design. A total of 60 students (15 years old) were randomly chosen as a sample for this study. 30 students were assigned as the experimental group, while the other 30 students were considered as the control group. Circuit training was given to the experimental group, while the control group received no practice of circuit training. The circuit training program includes two sessions per week, each session lasting for 40 min, 12 weeks: 30-meter acceleration test, muscular endurance (sit-and-reach test), muscular endurance (sit-up test), lower body strength (standing long jump), and upper body strength (push-up test). The data in this study were analyzed using SPSS Version 26 software by paired and independent sample t-tests with a significance level of 0.05. The tests were applied two times during pre- and post-test training. In this study, the circuit exercises were performed with orientations, instructions, and supervision by the researcher and the school's physical education teacher. The results indicated that after the twelve weeks’ circuit training program, all physical fitness selected significantly improved in the experimental group (p < 0.05), while there was no change or improvement in the control group. According to the results, it could be assumed that twelve weeks of circuit training had a significant effect on the improvement of the selective physical fitness components. These results could help physical education teachers design circuit training programs that help school students develop their physical fitness. Keywords: physical education lesson, circuit training, physical fitness components. https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.50.5.4