After-school fitness performance is not altered after physical education lessons in adolescent athletes

Physical education (PE) provides a unique opportunity for school-age youth to establish health habits, although some young athletes are exempt from PE and others do not participate because of a concern regarding the lingering effects of fatigue on afterschool fitness performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of different PE lessons on afterschool fitness performance in young athletes. Twenty athletes (14-18 years) participated in 3 different PE lessons that consisted of aerobic exercise (AE), resistance training (RT), or basketball skill training (BS). Fitness performance was assessed after-school following each lesson and after a control day without PE. There were no significant differences in flexibility (34.1 ± 6.5, 34.7 ± 1.3, 33.5 ± 7.2, and 33.6 ± 7.3 cm), vertical jump (46.3614.7, 46.2613.6, 46.4613.4, and 45.66 14.2 cm), long jump (175.0636.4, 174.2636.3, 172.7635.8, and 171.9 ± 34.7 cm), medicine ball toss (348.9 ± 121.8, 342.0 ± 120.6, 353.9 ± 123.6, and 348.4 ± 129.1 cm), proagility shuttle run (5.8 ± 0.5, 5.7 60.53, 5.8 ± 0.52, and 5.8 ± 0.5 seconds), 20-m sprint (3.7 ± 0.4, 3.7 ± 0.4, 3.7 ± 0.3, and 3.7 ± 0.3 seconds), and 200-m sprint (36.3 ± 4.7, 35.1 ± 4.0, 35.9 ± 5.9, and 35.4 ± 5.4 seconds) after AE, RT, BS, or the control day, respectively. These findings suggest that an exercise lesson or skill-based PE class will not have an adverse effect on after-school fitness performance in adolescent athletes.