The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a continuous general upper-body strength training regime on athletic ability in 10-11 year-old elementary school children. During physical education class, the children performed push-ups, abdominal muscle training and flexibility training twice a week for seven months. Through the training regime, the boys improved their throwing distance, abdominal muscle strength, grip strength and running speed. However, the girls only showed an improvement in their grip strength. The training program produced no effect with regards to agility or jumping power in either sex. Moreover, there was no significant improvement in flexibility for either sex. This study indicates that although upper-body training during elementary school physical education classes is effective for improving physical fitness, the effects are different for boys and girls even with the same training.
