A Comparison of the Effects of Weight Training on Strength and Girth Measures of Prepubescent and Postpubescent Boys

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effects of a weight training program on strength and girth measures of prepubescent and postpubescent boys. Forty-nine subjects participated in this study. Thirty-four subjects were trained and 15 were untrained. The trained group consisted of 16 prepubescent subjects. All subjects were given a pretest which consisted of two girth measures and five strength measures. The trained group participated in an eight-week weight training program. The untrained group participated in regular physical education classes. At the conclusion of the eight weeks, both groups were posttested using the same procedures as the pretest. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses. The trained group significantly outperformed the untrained group and both prepubescent and postpubescent boys improved their performance. It was also found that although overall performance generally favored postpubescent boys, pubescent status was not a significant factor on the development of strength and girth measures employed in this study.