Physical training

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of eight weeks physical and mental rotation training on the balance and falling of elderly women. Method: The present study is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and two-way ANOVA, which is also t-test designed. Tools included: mental rotation questionnaire and functional reach test. The participants included: 36 patients (12 subjects in three groups of physical training, mental rotation and control group) have been randomly selected among the elderly women of an elderly Centre in Tabriz. The training program was administered in two groups of physical training and mental rotation for eight weeks, at three sessions in a week and a group of control with no intervention.  For data analysis, the SPSS software, version 21 was used. Results: One-way ANOVA showed, the mean balance among the elderly women was significantly different from the physical training group. The relationship between post-test mental rotation and pre-test physical training was significant at the 0.01 level. Also, the relationship between the post-test mental rotation group and the pre-test mental rotation group was significant at the level of 0.05 and the relationship between mental rotation and balance among elderly women is significant at the 0.01 level, at the end the relationship between mental rotations and falling in the elderly was significant at 0.05 level. Conclusions: The results of this research indicates that the physical training and mental rotation training had a positive effect on the balance of the elderly women and it also showed that the elderly women of the physical training group had more improvement on balance than mental rotation groups. So, this research indicates that, cognitive abilities and movements could be facilitating and effective in this way.

The aim of this research was to compare the effectiveness of an aerobic exercise program, a mindfulness training program, and a integration of aerobic exercise and mindfulness training on the academic performance of fourth-grade female students. The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design including a control group. The statistical population consisted of all fourth-grade female students from public elementary schools in Amol city during the academic year 2020-2021, from which 90 students were selected through convenience sampling and assigned to four groups: aerobic exercise program, mindfulness training, integration of aerobic exercise and mindfulness, and a control group (each experimental group consisting of 23 participants and the control group consisting of 21 participants). Subsequently, 18 sessions of 30-minute training were designed and conducted every other day. To collect data in the pre-test and post-test, the Academic Performance Questionnaire by Fam and Taylor (EPT) was used. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and SPSS22 software. The results indicated a significant difference in the academic performance of participants in all three groups: aerobic exercise program (Eta=0.59), mindfulness training (Eta=0.49), and the integration of aerobic exercise and mindfulness (Eta=0.56) compared to the control group (P≤0.05). However, participants in the integration group of aerobic exercise and mindfulness performed better than the other two training groups. These results suggest that integrating mindfulness training and aerobic exercise can be an effective strategy for improving the academic performance of fourth-grade female students.