Observation of How the Female Body Changes Through Intense Exercise

Undergraduate #131
Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Physiology and Health

Katelyn Denton - Mississippi Valley State University
Co-Author(s): Rachel Beecham, Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, MS

The purpose of this research was to observe how different female body types reacted to an intense workout program that contained both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Six female athletes were observed as they progressed in their team offseason workouts. The observations lasted from the last week of January through the end of March 2017. The participants were measured every other week and measurements were taken of their biceps, chest, waist, hips, and thighs in both relaxed and flexed positions to observe not only fat loss but muscle gain as well. They were also weighed and their BMI and body fat percentages were calculated at each measurement session. Researchers hypothesized that there would be no difference in body measurements and weight loss between the six athletes. In the two-month span of observation the trends of fat loss and muscle gain were apparent. For both arms and both legs in relaxed positions nearly all participants increased in size, whereas in the flexed positions for those muscle groups the majority of the participant?s measurements showed decrease, the waist and hip measurements for all participants showed a decrease in size as well. Another aspect of the research was visual. In addition to the quantitative data, pictures of each participant during their measurement session were taken for the duration of the observation period. The pictures were taken from both front on and profile views, with these pictures a notable change in size, both muscle gain and fat loss, were detected. Even though observation of the participants only occurred for a short while, there were significant changes in the individual data that was collected on each participant. Future research should include a larger sample size and a broader range of body types.

Not Submitted

Funder Acknowledgement(s): NSF HBCU-UP II

Faculty Advisor: Rachel Beecham, rvbeecham@yahoo.com

Role: I did everything from research design to data collection and analysis. My mentor helped me with design, but the idea and all data was mine.