Effects of tennis exercise of different intensities on cardiorespiratory capacity and mental health of sedentary students.

Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of different intensities of tennis exercise on cardiorespiratory capacity and psychological status of college students who sit for long periods of time.

Methods: An experiment was conducted on 40 university students according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. An experiment was conducted with 40 university students based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study was divided into four groups: the control group received health education only and did not participate in tennis training; the low-intensity group (Group B), the moderate-intensity group (Group C1) and the high-intensity group (Group C2) underwent individualized tennis training based on a maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) of 40%-50%, 60-67%, and 68-75%, respectively, four times a week, with a training duration of 1 hour, 40 minutes and 40 minutes, respectively. The study tested participants' cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max), psychological well-being (anxiety and depression scores), body weight, resting heart rate, and blood pressure before and after 12, 24, and 36 weeks of training. Repeated measures were analyzed by ANOVA.

Results: A statistically significant difference (P<0.05) was seen when comparing the weight changes of the various groups prior to and during the intervention. Students' VO2max values were improved at different exercise intensities after the exercise intervention. Group C2 showed different degrees of improvement in students' mental health at different periods after exercise intervention. Both light and high intensity exercise were effective in improving students' cardiorespiratory capacity.

Conclusions: Prolonged tennis exercise improves students' cardiorespiratory capacity and mental health. Tennis exercises of different intensities have better improvement on the weight of sedentary students. Students' physical condition is better impacted by high-intensity tennis.