A comparative analysis of cardiovascular endurance and flexibility among residential and non-residential female sportspersons in Manipur

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of cardiovascular endurance and flexibility among residential and non-residential female sportspersons in Manipur. The study was conducted on a total of 200 female sportspersons, consisting of 100 residential and 100 non-residential participants. The residential sportspersons were selected from the Sports Authority of India (SAI), North East Regional Centre, Imphal, while the non-residential sportspersons were chosen from the Regular Coaching Centre (RCC), Khuman Lampak, Manipur. Participants were adolescent female sportspersons aged 14 to 18 years. The parameters selected for the study were cardiovascular endurance (12-minute run/walk test) and flexibility (back and hamstring). The 12-minute run/walk test was administered to assess cardiovascular endurance, whereas flexibility was measured using the Sit and Reach Test. To determine whether there were significant differences between the two groups, an independent t-test was applied using SPSS software. The level of significance was set at 0.05. After the analysis, it was revealed that there was a significant difference in both cardiovascular endurance and flexibility between residential and non-residential sportspersons of Manipur. The findings indicate that residential (hosteller) athletes demonstrated superior cardiovascular endurance, whereas non-residential athletes exhibited better flexibility than residential athletes. Future studies may consider a larger sample size and explore additional aspects such as health-related physical fitness, motor fitness variables, and other performance-related components.