Enhancing the general physical fitness by using popular music for female students participating in basketball courses

The purpose of this study was to enhance the general physical fitness of female students after participating in basketball courses by using popular music at Saigon University. 70 healthy female students were chosen and divided into three groups, of which 23 female students were in the 15-week experimental group (15e), another 23 female students were in the 7-week experimental group (7e), and the 24 female students remaining were in 15-week training without music (C). The music tempos were classified into three parts of a training session, i.e., the warm-up (90-120 bpm), training (120-150 bpm), and cool-down (60-90 bpm). Six fitness tests, such as 30 seconds sit-up test (evaluated the core strength), 30m sprint test (speed), 4x10m Shuttle run test (agility), standing long jump test (the explosive power of the legs), handgrip strength test (strength of the hand), 5 minutes running field test (maximal aerobic speed-MAS) were used to evaluate the physical fitness for female students. The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was used to identify the intensity of training sessions among three groups. The results indicated that the application of music improved the explosive power of the legs, agility, and decreased RPE value when compared between the use of popular music and no music (15e, 7e vs. C); However, it showed unchanged in the core strength, speed, MAS, and strength of the hand. In short, music had a positive impact on improving the general physical fitness of female students after participating in basketball courses at Saigon University.