The improvement effect of Modern Balinese Baris Dancing Exercise on body composition, blood pressure and heart rate.

Sixty healthy males, adult Balinese, aged from 18 to 22 years old, were studied to estimate the effect of Modern Balinese Baris Dancing Exercise (MBBDE) on body composition, heart rate, and blood pressure at rest. Based on their physical fitness level, the subjects were divided into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). The EG had 8 weeks of practicing the MBBDE which consisted of 73-87% of estimated maximum heart rate level, 3 x 50 min per week. Significant reductions in fat tissue weight (-0.25 +/- 0.22 kg in EG and -0.02 +/- 0.51 kg in CG; p < 0.05), and percent body fat (-0.53 +/- 0.37% in EG and -0.20 +/- 2.05% in CG; p < 0.05) were found after 8 weeks of exercise. This exercise also significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (-7.1 +/- 6.78 mmHg in EG and -1.8 +/- 4.63 mmHg in CG; p < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (-4.5 +/- 5.14 mmHg in EG and -0.5 +/- 3.03 mmHg in CG; p < 0.001), and mean blood pressure (-5.3 +/- 5.96 mmHg in EG and -0.9 +/- 3.83 in CG; p < 0.001) at rest. There was also a significant reduction in resting heart rate (-8.8 +/- 6.42 bpm in EG and -2.2 +/- 4.82 bpm in CG; p < 0.001). It is concluded that 8 weeks of practicing the MBBDE improved body composition and cardiovascular function as well.