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International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences 8(5): 235-239, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org
DOI: 10.13189/saj.2020.080511
Effectiveness of the Multistage Jumping Rope Program
in Enhancing the Physical Fitness Levels among
University Students
Heildenberg C. Dimarucot1, Gil P. Soriano2,*
1College of Arts and Sciences, San Beda University, Philippines
2College of Nursing, San Beda University, Philippines
Received August 14, 2020; Revised September 11, 2020; Accepted September 29, 2020
Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles
(a): [1] Heildenberg C. Dimarucot, Gil P. Soriano , "Effectiveness of the Multistage Jumping Rope Program in
Enhancing the Physical Fitness Levels among University Students," International Journal of Human Movement and
Sports Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 235 - 239, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2020.080511.
(b): Heildenberg C. Dimarucot, Gil P. Soriano (2020). Effectiveness of the Multistage Jumping Rope Program in
Enhancing the Physical Fitness Levels among University Students. International Journal of Human Movement and Sports
Sciences, 8(5), 235 - 239. DOI: 10.13189/saj.2020.080511.
Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract Several studies have shown that there has
been a sudden decrease in physical activity levels among
University students. This is alarming as physical inactivity
is a known risk factor for many chronic diseases. Hence,
Universities are in the best position to examine the personal
and professional lifestyles among their students. The study
was conducted in order to determine the effectiveness of
the eight week multistage jumping rope training program in
enhancing the physical fitness levels of Filipino university
students. The study utilized a quasi-experimental research
design and employed a purposive sample of 70 participants，
who were screened using Physical Activity Readiness
Questionnaire+ and were required to undergo a progressive
eight-week jumping rope test. Cardiovascular endurance
was assessed through volume of oxygen uptake or VO2
max before and after the multistage jumping rope training
program. Data was analyzed using frequency, percentage,
mean, standard deviation and paired t-test. The results
revealed a significant difference in the VO2 max of males
and females after the multistage jumping rope training
program. The study affirms the effectiveness of the
multistage jumping rope test in increasing the VO2 max of
the participants. Hence, integrating the said program in the
school curriculum can significantly enhance their
cardiovascular fitness.
Keywords Cardiovascular Endurance, Physical
Fitness, Skipping Rope Test, University Students
1. Introduction
In recent years, the number of university students who
have low physical fitness levels and observe unhealthy
dietary patterns has increased dramatically [1]. Their
physical activity behaviors are also affected by complex
interaction of motivation and self-regulatory skills together
with a distinct social and physical environment
encompassing college life [2]. These includes increase
academic workloads and substandard sporting facilities
[3-4]
In the Philippines, studies have shown that Filipino
youth have low physical activity and that they do not meet
the recommended physical activity per week due to lack of
time [2, 5]. This is alarming as physical inactivity is a
known risk factor of many chronic diseases [6]. Hence,
promoting physical activity among university students is
crucial in order to ensure that they develop regular physical
activity patterns which they can extend throughout their
adult life.
One of the important indicators of physical activity is
cardiovascular (or cardiorespiratory, cardiopulmonary)
endurance. It is defined as the “combined ability of the
pulmonary system to promote gas exchange between the
236 Effectiveness of the Multistage Jumping Rope Program in Enhancing
the Physical Fitness Levels among University Students
outside air and the circulating blood through the capillaries
in the lungs, the cardiovascular system to transport oxygen
to the working muscles, and the muscular system to utilize
the oxygen [7]. Moreover, it also has mental health benefits
along with other long-term effects like improved ability to
extract oxygen from air during exercise, increased sweat
rate, reduced risk of cancer, and increased density and
breaking strength of bones, ligaments, and tendons, among
many others. Thus, when one has an ideal cardiovascular
endurance level, it would take less effort for that person to
fulfill daily routine especially difficult tasks that require
more physical exertion [8].
Despite the importance of having a high level of
cardiovascular endurance, Macfarlane and Tomkinson [9]
revealed that there has been a global decline in the
cardiovascular endurance test performance of children and
adolescents (6 to 19- year-olds) at a rate of 4-5% per
decade since 1970. The performance of Asian children has
declined at an average rate of -0.44% per year since 1970.
Specifically, the Philippines were among the countries that
performed the worst, below the overall Asian average [9].
Since then, there was no update on the Philippines’ status
as it was not included in the follow up study after 25 years.
Thus, the current physical fitness status, specifically
cardiovascular endurance, of Filipino university students in
general is not yet known.
Studies have shown that rope-jump test was shown not
only to have improved physical fitness status of an
individual but can also their coordination, balance, agility,
rhythm, speed. Further, constant performance of the said
activity may increase static or dynamic muscular strength
and may contribute to the development of motor skills [10,
11]. Hence, an eight-week training program was to develop
in order to determine its effectiveness in increasing the
cardiovascular endurance of the subjects by measuring the
VO2 max.
2. Methods
2.1. Research Design
The study utilized a quasi-experimental research design
in order to determine the effectiveness of an eight-week
jumping rope training program on the cardiovascular
endurance of the subjects using the 1-Mile Walk Fitness
Test [12].
2.2. Research Participants
The study involved male and female students and whose
age ranged from 18 to 20 years old, and were also
non-smokers and non-alcoholics. A total of 70 bonafide
first year level students who were enrolled from physical
fitness class (HKD-01) - a prerequisite of all physical
education course subjects was recruited through purposive
sampling. All the participants were required to have a
physical examination under the supervision of the
university doctor and passed all screening test under the
Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire+ (PAR-Q+
2019) [13].
2.3. Measurement and Instrumentation
2.3.1. The 1-Mile Walk Test
A 1-mile walk test is a fitness assessment that measures
an individual’s level of cardiorespiratory fitness or is
referred to as the maximal oxygen consumption which is
constructed on the quantity of the time it takes someone to
finish a mile of brisk walking. This fitness test is applicable
to individuals who are unable to run for having a low
fitness level or even injuries. It induces an exercise heart
rate of at least 120 beats per minute (bpm) at the end of the
fitness test [8]. Following the protocol of Hoeger, W. &
Hoeger, S. [12], a premeasured 1.0 mile course was
selected where the test was conducted. Upon completing
the 1-mile brisk walking, the participants were instructed to
measure the time that it takes them to complete the course
and to count their heart rate using the radial artery for 10
seconds and multiplied it by 6 to convert it to beats per
minutes (bpm). In order to determine the time to walk, it
was converted from a 00:00 value in order to allow for a
numerical computation within the regression equation.
2.3.2. Computation for VO2 max
Table 1 shows the fitness level classification of VO2
max for Men and Women. The formula that was used to
assess the cardiovascular endurance levels of the
participants [12] is as follows:
Where: VO2 max = ml/kg/min
Wt = Body weight in kilograms
Age = Age in years
Gender (G) = Zero (0) for females, One (1) for males
*Time (T) = Time to walk 1 mile (00:00)
^HR = Post Exercise Heart Rate (bpm)
VO2max = 132.6 - (0.17 x weight in kg) - (0.39 x age)
+ (6.31 x gender [0 for females; 1 for males]) - (3.2 x time
to walk 1 mile) - (0.156 x post-exercise heart rate [bpm]).
2.3.3. Multistage Jumping Rope Program
Table 2 shows the multistage jumping rope program for
eight weeks which was held in a school gym. It started
with the usual warm-up exercise which is dynamic
stretching for 10 minutes except for the first week with
only 5 minutes. The jumping rope test that was done is
progressive to which 100 repetitions are added per week
which starts at 100 in Week One and ends in 800 in Week
Eight. All tests ended with a 5-minute static stretching for
cool down.
2.3.4. Profile of the Participants
The profile of the subjects was collected in the study
which includes the age in years, sex, height in centimeters,
weight in kilograms, and resting heart rate (bpm).
International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences 8(5): 235-239, 2020 237
Tab le 1. Fitness Level Classification for Men and Women
Fitness Classification for Male
Age (year)
Very Poor
(under)
Poor Fair Good Excellent
Superior
(over)
18 - 28 37.9 38.0 - 41.0 41.7 - 44.8 45.6 - 48.5 51.1 - 54.0 55.5
Fitness Classification for Female
Age (year)
Very Poor
(under)
Poor Fair Good Excellent
Superior
(over)
18 - 28 30.9-32.2 32.3 - 35.2 36.1 - 38.5 39.5 - 42.4 43.9 46.8 49.6
Source: Hoeger, W. & Hoeger, S. (2016)
Tab le 2. Multistage Jumping Rope Program
Week
Intensity
(jumps/min)
Warm up:
Dynamic Stretching
Exercise
Cool down:
Static Stretching
1 100 5 mins.
100 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
2 200 10 mins.
200 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
3 300 10 mins.
300 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
4 400 10 mins.
400 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
5 500 10 mins.
500 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
6 600 10 mins.
600 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
7 700 10 mins.
700 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
8 800 10 mins.
800 repetitions per minute with 30-second
rest
5 mins.
2.4. Data Analysis
The data collected was analyzed using the SPSS version
21.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY). Descriptive
statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and
standard deviation were used for the profile of the subjects
while paired t-test was used to determine the subjects’
VO2 max before and after the multistage jumping rope
program.
3. Results
Table 3 shows the profile of the subjects. It was
revealed that the mean age of the participants was 18.27
(SD=0.61) while there were 37 (52.86%) female and 33
(47.14%) male participants. The mean height was 158.2
(SD=19.6), the mean weight was 72.12 (SD=38.09) while
the mean resting heart rate (bpm) was 69.79 (SD=16.95).
Tab le 3. Profile of the Participants (n=70)
Profile n (%) Mean (SD)
Age (years) 18.27 (0.61)
Sex: Male
Female
33 (47.14)
37 (52.86)
Height (cm) 158.2 (19.6)
Weight (kg) 72.12 (38.09)
Heart rate (bpm)
(69.79 (16.95)
On the other hand, Table 4 depicts the comparative
analysis for the pre-test and post-test mean VO2 max of
the subjects after undergoing the multistage jumping rope
program. It was revealed that the pre-test VO2 max among
males was very poor, with a mean score of 36.1 (SD=8.68)
while the pre-test VO2 max among females was poor with
a mean score of 32.53 (SD=3.90).
Focusing on the post-test result, it can be gleaned that
the VO2 max among males became good with a mean
score of 47.62 (SD=8.95) after the Multistage Jumping
Rope Program. On the other hand, the post-test VO2 max
among females was 37.34 (SD=3.71) which can be
interpreted as fair.
The result of the paired t-test among males revealed a t
value of -8.756 and a computed p-value of 0.000 while
among females the result yielded a t value of -8.859 and
p-value of <0.05.
4. Discussion
The objective of the study was to determine the
effectiveness of the eight-week training program in
increasing the cardiovascular endurance of the subjects by
measuring the VO2 max among University students.
Currently, there is limited research whether jump-rope
based program can be used as a training method to
238 Effectiveness of the Multistage Jumping Rope Program in Enhancing
the Physical Fitness Levels among University Students
improve the physical fitness among University students
[14]. The main findings of the study revealed that the
8-week training program significantly improves the
cardiovascular endurance among the participants.
Specifically, the VO2 max among males changed from
very poor to good; while for females, it changed from
poor to fair after undergoing the training program.
The study indicates that the Multistage Jumping Rope
Program is an effective method for improving
cardiovascular endurance among University students.
Tab le 4. VO2 max Before and After the Multistage Jumping Rope
Program (n=70)
Variables Pre-test Pos-test t-value p-value
Mean SD Mean SD
Male
(n=33)
36.1 8.68 47.62 8.95 -8.756 *0.000
Female
(n=37)
32.53 3.90 37.34 3.71 -8.859 *0.000
*p value is significant at 0.05 level
These findings are supported by the study of Partavi [14]
who concluded that the 7-week rope jump training is and
effective method for improving cardiovascular endurance
among adolescent boys and Chao-Chien and Yi-Chun [15]
who showed that the 12-week jumping rope training
significantly influence the cardiovascular endurance
among students who are intellectually impaired. Further,
the study is consistent with previous literatures which
reported that a rope-jump based training program
significantly improves cardiovascular endurance [14,
16-19].
The findings of the study offered empirical evidence on
the effectiveness of a jump-rope based program in
enhancing the physical fitness among University students.
Despite the positive findings of the study, there are some
limitations that should be recognized. The study only
included first year level students which was purposely
selected and did not include other students, thereby
limiting its generalizability. Also, other measures of
physical fitness such as muscular strength and endurance,
flexibility, agility, and speed were not included
5. Conclusions
The study affirms the effectiveness of the multistage
jumping rope test in increasing the VO2 max of the
subjects. The school administrators are advised to adapt
the Multistage Jumping Rope Program to improve
physical fitness among University students. It includes
providing adequate infrastructure to support such
activities and create awareness of such programs. Further,
integrating a jump rope-based program in the curriculum
and afterschool activities is recommended.
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