The Effect Of 60-Minute Walking Exercise And Stretching On Heart And Lung Strengthening

Abstract

Heart disease and respiratory disorders are major health issues in modern society, with sedentary behavior increasing the risk of heart disease, reducing lung capacity, and causing cardiovascular diseases and obesity. Many workers face limited time for exercise, prompting this study to evaluate and compare the effects of a 60-minute walking exercise and stretching on heart and lung strengthening in Yogyakarta. Using an experimental design, the study targeted workers aged 20-40 years who were healthy, office-based with sedentary behavior, had normal body weight, and were willing to participate in all provided exercises. Data were collected using questionnaires and the Cooper test to measure cardiorespiratory endurance over 12 minutes, and a t-test was conducted to compare pre-test and post-test scores. Results from 30 participants showed that the t-value of 5.448 exceeded the t-table value (df 14) of 1.76131, with a significance level of 0.000 < 0.05. This indicates that both the 60-minute walking exercise and stretching were proven effective in improving heart and lung strength.