The Effect of Intermittent Fasting and Cardio Training Strategies on Body Composition Measurements among Female Fitness Center Members

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the effect of intermittent fasting and cardio training strategies on body composition measurements (body weight, skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, body fat percentage, and visceral fat level) among female fitness center participants. The study sample consisted of (23) participants in The Rock Club in Nablus Governorate. chosen intentionally, and the study relied on the experimental approach with pre- measurement, where pre-measurements were taken for the participants before starting to apply the intermittent fasting diet and cardio training, then the post-measurement was taken, after the study sample committed to the intermittent fasting diet for two months and practiced cardio training at a rate of (3) training sessions per week for two months, i.e. a total of (24) training sessions. The results showed that there are significant differences at the level (α≤0.05) between the two measurements in favor of the post-measurement in: (body mass, body fat mass, body fat percentage, and visceral fat level) , there are differences between the average ages of women aged (less than 30) years and the average (more than 40) years in favor of the average (more than 40) years in the body mass variable and there are differences between the average age of women who are (less than 30) years old, the average age of (30-40) years old, and the average age (more than 40) years old in the variable of muscle mass, in favor of the average age of women who are (more than 40) years old. The researchers suggest several recommendations the most important are it is better relying on the intermittent fasting strategy because of its positive effect on body composition measurements, and relying on cardio training because of its positive effect on body mass and muscle mass index in the body, especially for women who are over (40) years old.