Authors: Assistant Professor Dr Ashish Tomar
Abstract: Health-related fitness is a fundamental component of overall well-being and plays a significant role in preventing lifestyle-related diseases while enhancing physical performance and quality of life. Among the various approaches to improving fitness, yoga-based training and conventional exercise are widely recognized for their physiological and psychological benefits. However, limited comparative research has examined their relative effectiveness on different components of health-related fitness. The present study aims to compare the effects of an eight-week Yoga-Based Training programme and a Conventional Exercise programme on selected health-related fitness variables among college students aged 18–25 years. A pre-test–post-test experimental design with two groups was employed. Sixty healthy participants were randomly assigned to either the Yoga-Based Training group or the Conventional Exercise group, with thirty participants in each group. The intervention was conducted for eight weeks, five days per week, with sixty-minute training sessions. Health-related fitness components, including cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition, were assessed using standardized fitness tests before and after the intervention. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, independent t-tests, and effect size measures at the 0.05 level of significance. It is anticipated that both training programmes will produce significant improvements in health-related fitness, while Yoga-Based Training may demonstrate greater benefits in flexibility and overall well-being, and Conventional Exercise may show comparatively greater improvements in muscular strength and cardiorespiratory endurance. The findings of the study are expected to provide valuable evidence for physical educators, fitness professionals, coaches, and health practitioners in designing effective fitness programmes for promoting lifelong health and wellness.
