Students were split up in groups with one doing physical activity that was solely aerobic fitness and the other doing only motor skills. Aerobic fitness would include activities such as, running, jogging, or swimming. The motor skills group would endure in activities such as throwing and catching or balancing. Each student was tested on their motor skills and their aerobic skills. After the physical tests, they would take a standardized test in all spelling, reading, and mathematics. After the scores came out from all the tests there was a correlation between high motor skills to high reading/math score, and high aerobic fitness score to a high spelling/math score. De Bruijn states that these “results suggest that children’s academic achievement benefits most from engagement in various physical activities which target both aerobic fitness and gross motor skills.” Therefore, in order to get the most benefits from physical activity motor skills and aerobic should be combined. This study was important in showing not only that physical activity improves academics, but how specific exercises will contribute to specific areas of study. This could then led to more specific exercises that are aimed at specific conclusions of success within a specific area of study.
de Bruijn, A. G. M., et al. “Importance of Aerobic Fitness and Fundamental Motor Skills for Academic Achievement.” Psychology of Sport & Exercise, vol. 43, July 2019, pp. 200– 209.