A Comparison of Hispanic Middle School Students' Performance, and Perceived and Actual Physical Exertion, on the Traditional and Treadmill One-Mile Runs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess whether a treadmill mile is an acceptable FitnessGram Test substitute for the traditional one-mile run for middle school boys and girls. Peak heart rate and perceived physical exertion of the participants were also measured to assess students' effort. 48 boys and 40 girls participated, with approximately 85% classified as Hispanic. Boys' mean time for the traditional one-mile run, as well as peak heart rate and perceived exertion, were statistically significantly faster and higher, respectively, than for the treadmill mile. Girls' treadmill mile times were not statistically significantly different from the traditional one-mile run. There were no statistically significant differences for girl's peak heart rate or perceived exertion. The results suggest that providing middle school students a choice of completing the FitnessGram mile run in either traditional one-mile run or treadmill one-mile format may positively affect performance.

Setting, Age, and Intensity Influence Responses to Exercise in Young Endurance Runners

“…Thus, we observed overall that participants ran harder at each requested RPE when running over ground outdoors compared with when running indoors on the treadmill, with a small effect size for HR but a large effect size for speed. Our findings are consistent with those from Ceci and Hassm en (1991), who saw large speed differences between indoor treadmill and outdoor track running, and with other researchers (e.g., Kong et al, 2012;Latham, Hill, & Petray, 2013) who have also confirmed this difference. Regarding the cause for this speed difference, Kong et al (2012) suggested that it may have arisen from how the treadmill is experienced psychologically.…”

Physical Exercise Influences Academic Performance and Well-being in Children and Adolescents

“…Their results beg the conclusion that early identification of children with poor motor/athletic prowess is of necessity and that actions aimed at improving these children's motor performance and academic skills during the first school years are important investments. Latham et al [17] showed that provision of middle school students with a choice of performing the "FitnessGram" mile run in either traditional one-mile run or the treadmill one-mile format exerted positive influences on several measures of performance.…”