Street Workout is the new gymnastics-strength development in a very short school-based program

Abstract

An essential part of teaching physical education (PE) is looking for effective and attractive education tools. One of the better solutions are short interventions that aim to develop various aspects of physical fitness and overall health. Street workout is a modern and popular sports discipline based on exercises using one’s own body. The equipment includes benches, bars and parallel bars that are usually placed outdoors. It is a sport that can also be done with children in PE. 48 children (25 boys and 23 girls) aged 10–11 took part in the research. The group took a test of strength (push-up, hang hold, plank hold, squat) and flexibility (sit and reach). A real four-week Street Workout training programme (2x45 minutes PE classes) was designed for the experimental group. The program consisted of static and dynamic bodyweight exercises (pull-ups, dips, levers, holds, lunges etc.) and additional games. The control group visited normal PE classes. The results of the experimental group showed statistically significant improvement (p=0.05) in all the tests — push-up (33.4 %), hang hold (24.6 %), plank hold (34.1 %), squat (7.6 %), sit and reach (3.2 %). The control group showed improvement only in plank hold (26.9 %). The greatest difference between the groups was found in push-up (ES=1.356) and hang hold (ES=1.036) tests. Street Workout proved to be an effective tool as a part of a short-term intervention programme to develop (especially upper body) strength. Thanks to that, it can be an interesting alternative to gymnastics and also a functional tool for physical fitness development.