Association between Hydration Indicators and Physical Endurance Using the Cooper and Yo-Yo Tests among Fourth-Year Physical Education Students

Abstract

This study investigated the association between hydration indicators and endurance performance among fourth-year students in the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. A descriptive–analytical design was applied to a purposive sample of 30–50 team-sport athletes (age 22.1 ± 1.3 years, height 176.4 ± 5.2 cm, body mass 72.8 ± 6.5 kg). Beverage intake was assessed using an adapted BEVQ-15; hydration status was estimated with the urine color scale (1–7). Aerobic endurance was measured by the 12-min Cooper test with estimated VO₂max, and intermittent endurance by the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test—Level 1. Results indicated that 60% of participants drank water daily and 20% more than once per day, while 20% were dehydrated by urine color. Mean Cooper distance was 2580 ± 210 m (VO₂max 46.1 ± 3.8 ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) and mean Yo-Yo distance 1380 ± 165 m. Water intake correlated positively with Cooper (r = 0.62, p = 0.01) and Yo-Yo (r = 0.58, p = 0.01) outcomes, whereas urine color correlated negatively with Cooper (r = -0.55, p = 0.02) and Yo-Yo (r = -0.47, p = 0.03). ANOVA showed significant performance differences across hydration levels favoring well-hydrated athletes. The study recommends structured hydration strategies before, during, and after exercise and routine field monitoring (urine color and pre/post-exercise body mass) within practical curricula.