A. Lkhagvasuren, Ph.D.
Mongolian National Institute of Physical Education
B.-E. Shagdar, doctoral student
Mongolian State Medical University, Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Key words: strength abilities, pull-up, push-up, physical fitness, schoolchildren.

Introduction.  Mongolian children have been trained to severe nomadic life, grew stronger and acquired all vital skills since early childhood. Apart from horse riding, various games and exercises on a horse, children and youth liked such contests called "three man's games", being some kind of triathlon, including wrestling, horse races and archery.

Since time immemorial the Mongolians have various specific sports exercises, specified by natural climatic conditions, unique identity of life and work, being the principal methods of physical education and fitness at the same time. Ancient books still contain the description of the used physical exercises in physical education of the Mongolians of 5000 BC (G. Lkhagvasuren 2000).

Physical fitness of schoolchildren is usually estimated by the display of their functional qualities such as agility, strength, endurance, speed strength and motor coordination.

The purpose of the study was to compare strength qualities of Mongolian schoolchildren, residents of different climate and geographic regions.

 Materials and methods. The study has been conducted in the following geographical areas

1. Uvs-mountainous region, 2. Ulaanbaatar city region 3. Dornod-plain region, 4. Umne Gobi desert, Gobi region, 5. Khuvsgul-taiga region.  6348 schoolchildren aged 7-18 years (including 3363 girls and 2985 boys) were examined in the study. To achieve the set objectives the following tests were carried out: 1. Push-ups (number of reps) for boys aged 7-11 years, girls aged 7-18 years; 2. Pull-ups on the crossbar from the hanging position (number of reps) for boys aged 12-18 years in Mongolian comprehensive schools.  

Results and discussion. Tables 1, 2 and 3 show the results of strength qualities of Mongolian schoolchildren residing in the city of Ulaanbaatar and in aimags of Dornod, Uvs, Umnegobi and Khuvsgul.

Strength abilities of a person are commonly understood as a person’s ability to overcome external resistance or oppose it by muscular efforts (4). Any human motor activity involves exercising power and is characterized by the degree of muscle efforts. Thanks to the nervous regulation the same muscle groups can develop different efforts - from a few grams to tens of kilograms (6).

Strength indicators of boys in all age groups are higher than those of girls. Individual strength growth rates depend on the actual biological age. All this must be taken into account when applying the methods of strength training. The development of strength involves different means. The contents of these means and methods of their use vary depending on pupils, their gender and individual characteristics (110, 126, 182, 202).

Pull-ups require from pupils good physical fitness. Only boys aged 12-18 years performed pull-up hanging on a crossbar. This data is shown in Table 1 and figure. Comparative analysis of pull-ups in the studied groups of children showed (Fig. ..) that pupils aged from 12 to 18 years in Ulaanbaatar and Uvs had better results compared with the children from rural Dornod, Umnogobi, Khuvsgul (boys).

Best results were (p <0.05) attributed to boys aged 12-18 years from the Uvs aimag and Ulaanbaatar, compared with other groups of children. They pulled up 0,4 -3,30 times more than their coevals in other regions. There have been found no significant differences between boys of the Dornod, Umnogobi, Khuvsgul aimags.

Table 1. Results of the variance analysis in pull-ups in the studied groups of children

The results of our study have revealed a significant difference (p<0.05) in strenght in the pull-ups on a crossbar from hanging position between the studied boys from Uvs aimag and other groups. 

In a study of 12 year old boys the best results in this type of exercise were observed among pupils of Ulaanbaatar, who were able to pull up on average 0,2 times more than boys from the Dornod aimag, 0,3 times more than boys from the Uvs aimag, 2,7 times more than those of the Umnogobi aimag, 3,2 times more than boys from the Khuvsgul aimag. 

Among 13-year-old boys, the students of Ulaanbaatar also retained the best results, they pulled up 0,12 – 2,3 times more than their other coevals residing in different aimags.

According to the comparative analysis of the results of pull-ups in the studied groups of children (Fig. ..), boys of the Uvs aimag were constantly and significantly (p <0.05) improving their results of this particular characteristics from the age of 14, as compared to other groups of boys from the city and from the Dornod, Umnogobi and Khuvsgul aimags.

 And at the age of 15 they pulled up 1,4-3,4 times more then their coevals in other regions. No significant differences were noticed between boys from the rest of the aimags. The results are significant (p<0.05). The average results in pull-ups in 15 year old boys ranged from 6,8 to 11,4 times.

In the category of 16 to 18 year olds the strength results of the boys of the studied groups of children has been improved. They were able to pull up 0,3-2,2 times more, apart from the 17 year old boys of the Dornod aimag. And the children of the same age from the Uvs aimag also kept significant advantage in pull-ups according to the results of other groups of children. Their results have been improved by 2,9 times more than those of their coevals from other aimags. In general, at the age of 16 the results in pull-ups among the boys of the studied groups would range from 7,8 – 12,1 times.

 The results of the given characteristic at the age of 16 in the children of the studied groups are rather similar, apart from the students of the Uvs aimag.

At the age of 17 a significant difference was found between the studied groups of boys (p<0,05) in the pull-ups. Boys from the Uvs aimag showed the best results (13,5 times), and boys of the Dornod and the Khuvsgul aimags showed the worst results in pull-ups (7,7 times and 8,3 times, respectively). Boys from the town of Ulaanbaatar and the Umnogobi aimag have shown average results (10,0 times and 9,7 times, respectively).

According to Figure... it is clear that the results in pull-ups in the studied groups of boys indicate the improvement in all age groups of primary school age (12 to 18 years old), except for pupils aged 14 and 17 from the Dornod aimag, whose strength results have decreased by 0,4 times compared with their younger fellows (13 and 16 years old, respectively).

According to the annual growth in strength abilities in children a significant difference is marked between the studied groups of children. Uvs aimag boys aged 13-18 years old (14,3 times), as well as children of Ulaanbaatar at the age of 18 showed the greatest annual growth (3,4 times and 6,8 times, respectively).

The best results are (p<0,05) attributed to 12-18 year old males from the Uvs aimag and Ulaanbaatar, compared with other groups of children. They pulled up 0,4 -3,30 times more than their coevals in other regions. No significant differences have been found between boys of Dornod, Umnogobi and Khuvsgul aimags.

In our study, the best results in this type of exercise were observed among 12 year old boys, pupils of Ulaanbaatar, who pulled up on average 0,2 times more than boys from Dornod, 0,3 times more than boys from the Uvs aimag, 2,7 times more than boys of the Umnogobi aimag, 3,2 times more than boys of the Khuvsgul aimag.

Push-ups.

The number of push-ups was measured to control strength qualities of the examined children aged 7 to 11 years. The analysis has revealed a significant difference (p <0,05) between urban and rural boys.

In push-ups schoolchildren from the town of Ulaanbaatar showed the most significant results compared with their rural coevals. This suggests that the factors of urbanization not only affect the physical development, but also the physical fitness of children. On the other hand, half of the Mongolian population has moved to Ulaanbaatar from different rural areas, i.e. their children could have been tested in a studied group of Ulan Bator. And in the countryside, children begin to work early, which is good for the development of willpower and arm muscles.

Boys aged 7 to 9 years from the Khuvsgul aimag pushed up two times less than boys of Ulaanbaatar.  

There have been found no significant differences between boys of Dornod, Uvs, Umnogobi aimags. The comparative analysis of the results in pull-ups of the studied groups of children have shown that pupils aged from 7 to 11 years in Ulaanbaatar have good results, compared to the children from rural aimags of Dornod, Uvs, Umnogobi. Boys at the age of 7 to 9 from the Khuvsgul aimag were able to do push-ups two times less than boys of Ulaanbaatar. No significant differences have been found between boys of Dornod, Uvs, Umnogobi aimags.

Table 2. Results of the variance analysis in push-ups (number of reps) in the studied groups of children

During the study, the best results in this type of exercise were observed among 7 year old boys, pupils of Ulaanbaatar who pushed up on average 4,9 times more than boys from Dornod, 4,6 times more than boys from the Uvs aimag, pulled up 5 times more than boys ofthe Umnogobi aimag, pulled up 7,5 times more than boys of the Khuvsgul aimag. 

8-year old boys as well as schoolchildren of Ulaanbaatar showed the result of 2,7 to 8,3 reps more in pull-ups than other coevals residing in different aimags.

9-year-old boys pulled up from 4,2 to 8,3 times more than those from Ulaanbaatar, Dornod, Umnogobi and Khuvsgul. The boys of the rest aimags differed insignificantly. Average results in push-ups among boys of this age ranged from 10,1 to 15,2 reps.

At the age of 10 strength qualities in push-ups in boys of the studied groups improved by 0,4-2,6 times. And the children of this age from Ulaanbaatar are also significantly ahead of the other groups of children according to the same characteristic. In general, the results in the groups of 10 year old males in push-ups ranged from 12,3 to 21,3 reps.

Although the results of the given characteristic in the group of the age of 11 are almost the same, but still the studied groups of boys did not differ much in push-ups (p <0,05).

Urban boys still retained the best strength results among all of the examined children. They showed the best results – 23,8 reps in push-ups and turned out to be much stronger than their coevals. The results of other groups ranged from 14,6 to 23,8 reps (Fig. ...)

We can see from the Figure that the results in push-ups in the studied groups of boys reflect improvements in all school age groups (7 to 11 years), but there were no significant difference noticed among girls. The comparative analysis has shown slow strength development in boys aged 7-8 years old, from the Khuvsgul aimag and 8-10 years old boys from Dornod.   

According to the annual growth of the speed abilities of children in this age group the studied groups of children differ significantly. Boys at the age of 8-11 (7,5 reps) from the Uvs aimag and boys at the age of 7 to 11 from the Umnogobi aimag showed the greatest annual growth (11,6 reps).

Push-ups (Girls)

The number of repetitions in push-ups was measured to study the strength qualities of the examined girls aged 7 to 18 years. The analysis has revealed a significant difference (p<0,05) between urban and rural girls.

Table 3. Results of the variance analysis in push-ups (number of reps) in the studied groups of children

7 to 8 year old girls from Umnogobi showed the best results of this characteristic in comparison with other girls, although the results are worse at the age of 9. 

Though they differ in the age of 7 by the least reliable numbers, urban girls up to the age of 10, Uvs aimag girls at the age of 7 to 9 and girls from Huvsgel aimag showed stepwise increments of their strength qualities..

At the junior school age the best results in this type of exercise were observed among 7 year old girls. 8 years old girls from Umnogobi aimag on average pushed up 2.9 times more than girls from Dornod, 0.6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1.2 times more than girls from Uvs aimag, 1.4 times more than girls from Huvsgel aimag.

Girls at the age of 9 from Umnogobi aimag on average pushed up 2.9 times more than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than the Khuvsgul aimag.

10 year old girls from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from Khuvsgul aimag. 11 year old girls from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from the Khuvsgul aimag.

At the secondary school age the best results in this type of exercise were observed among 7 year old girls, pupils from the Umnogobi aimag, who pushed up 3,2 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 4,1 times more than boys from the Ulaanbaatar, 4,6 times more than boys from the Uvs aimag, 1,5 times more than those of the Khuvsgul aimag.

According to the findings of the analysis, girls from the Dornod aimag had the lowest results, as compared to other groups of children. Their strength qualities are hardly developed in the early school years. The analysis revealed a significant difference (p <0,05) between urban and rural girls.

This is proved by the influence of the methods of conducting physical education classes by an unprofessional teacher in this aimag. At primary school homeroom teachers conducted gym classes. 

12 year old girls from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from the Khuvsgul aimag.

13 year old girls from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1.4 times more than girls from the Khuvsgul aimag.

Girls aged 14 from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from the Khuvsgul aimag. Urban girls of all age groups except for the girls aged 14 improved their results in push-ups, featuring the highest numbers of this particular characteristic.

At the age of 15 girls from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from the Khuvsgul aimag. Girls from Umnogobi aimag at the age of 16 pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from the Khuvsgul aimag.

In general, it is confirmed that girls’ strenght qualities stop developing after 15-16 years. At the age of 17 girls from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from the Huvsgel aimag.

Girls aged 18 from the Umnogobi aimag pushed up 2,9 times more on average than girls from Dornod, 0,6 times more than girls from Ulaanbaatar, 1,2 times more than girls from the Uvs aimag, 1,4 times more than girls from the Khuvsgul aimag.

Conclusions: 1. Strength qualities of 7-18-year schoolchildren from different climate and geographic zones were proved to improve with their age, but the process is decelerated in some age groups, has something in common and different.

2. The allocated differences prove that the standards of strength qualities for Mongolian schoolchildren should be designed.

References

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