The Comparison of the Effect of the Number of Aerobic and Yoga Sessions on Physical Self- Description Components of Female University Students

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of 5 and 10 weeks of aerobic and yoga exercises on physical self–description components of female students. 57 sedentary female students (age range of 19-25 years old) from Ferdowsi University who did not have any experience of those training modes were selected and randomly and equally assigned to two experimental groups (aerobic and yoga) and one control group. The experimental groups participated in the program for 10 weeks, two sessions per week, each session 60 minutes. During this period, the control group did not engage in any organized exercise program. In order to collect data, physical self–description questionnaire was used at three different points (at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the test). One–way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test showed that at the end of the 5th week of exercise, coordination and sport competence components in yoga group were significantly higher than aerobic and control groups (P<0.05). At the end of the 10th week of exercise, in yoga group, coordination and physical activity components were significantly higher than control group and strength component was significantly higher than aerobic and control groups (p<0.05). In addition, coordination component in aerobic group was significantly higher than control group (P<0.05). paired–sample T test showed that in yoga group, sport competence and strength components at the end of the 10th week of exercise were significantly higher than the 5th week of exercise (p<0.05). The results showed a significant increase in coordination, sport competence and physical activity components related to the first 5 weeks and a significant increase in strength to the second 5 weeks of exercise in yoga group. These results show the relative priority of yoga exercises and a need for more sessions to improve some components of physical self–description.