Movement Time, Intensity And Range Of Movement In Physical Education Classes Focus: Soccer

In Germany, empirical research on objectively measured activity variables in physical education classes (PE) is very limited. However, it is of interest for health and training science as well as for sport pedagogy to discuss the effectiveness of PE. This article focuses on movement time (minutes), intensity (beats per minute) and range of movement (meters per minute). Detailed analyses about differences regarding the length of lesson (45 min vs. 90 min), setting (indoor/outdoor) and sex are provided. Participants were 356 pupils (247 male, 109 female) from fifth to tenth grade (M-age = 12.4 years) of a high school in southern Germany. Standardized observation protocols, heart rate monitoring and a position measurement system (local position measurement system [LPM-system]) were used to assess the abovementioned variables. Results show that relative movement time, intensity and range of movement were highest in 45 min lessons. Relative movement time was higher outdoors than indoors. The average heart rate did not differ with regard to setting or sex. However, boys showed a higher average range of movement than girls. Overall, the results show that PE can provide a substantial contribution to daily health and activity behavior.