Physical Activity Participation Variables as Predictors of Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Greater Accra Fitness Club Members

Regular participation in physical activity improves health and well-being. This study therefore sought to establish the relationship between physical activity participation variables and cardiorespiratory fitness levels of members in Ghanaian fitness Clubs. A descriptive correlational design was used for the study. The sample for the study was 546 Club Members from 18 fitness clubs randomly selected from clubs within the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Questionnaire and Cooper ‘12 minutes’ walk/run test were used to gather data for the study. Inferential statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression were used to test hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.

The findings showed that:

1. (74.9%) of the club members possess minimum levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) needed to

   develop health whilst (25.1%) had low levels that needed improvement

2. Positive significant relationships existed between CRF and Physical Activity Index (PAI) (‘r’=.324,

   p=.000), Exercise Equipment and Machines (EEM) (‘r’=.178, p =.000), Variety of Physical Activity (VPA) (‘r’=.115, p =.007) while no positive significant relationship existed between CRF and Mode of Instruction (MOI) (‘r’= .065, p=.178 all 2-tailed; and

3. (14.1%) of CRF was predicted by all variables (R square =.141)

The study concluded that members in Ghanaian fitness clubs had minimum levels of CRF required for health development implying that improvements in fitness levels can be achieved if the right knowledge on the specific aspects of exercise prescription is applied. It was recommended that stakeholders in the Ghanaian fitness industry should collaborate to institute national policies for the organization of mass sports.