PhD E.S. Potovskaya¹
O.N. Krupitskaya^1
1National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk

Keywords: students, fitness, physical fitness, stress tolerance, movement coordination qualities.

Background. Regular health and fitness practices are known to mitigate the bodily responses to neurohormones under emotional stress, i.e. significantly increase the stress tolerance [1]. Coordination and balancing skills building exercises in the physical education/ health courses with a special emphasis on the attention control and concentration are known to be beneficial for people diagnosed with high anxiety. Such trainings will be complemented by controlled resistance exercises to build up the stress tolerance and coping skills [3].
Objective of the study was to assess benefits of new movement coordination and stress tolerance building model for female fitness groups.
Methods and structure of the study. Sampled for the new training model testing experiment were the 1-3-year National Research Tomsk State University students (n=120) trained in fitness groups and split up into 3 Experimental (EG1, EG2, EG3) and 3 Reference Groups (RG1, RG2, RG3): see Figure 1.

Figure 1. EG/ RG composition: dependent samples

The EG trainings were complemented by our experimental training model making a special emphasis on the all-round physical qualities including the movement coordination and the overall/ special endurance – in addition to the strength trainings traditional for the standard academic fitness program. The movement coordination in the EG was improved by the tennis racket/ ball practices; couple (tennis and stuffed) ball throw exercises; target ball throws; and postural control/ balancing exercises [2]. The RG was trained as required by the traditional fitness program with weights-applying practices. The academic stressors, stress tolerance rates and stress coping progresses were rated by the questionnaire surveys, with the stressors rated on a five-point scale and followed by the EG versus RG progress analysis [4].
Results and discussion. The pre-experimental tests found insignificant intergroup differences in the physical fitness rates of the same-year EG and RG: see the Table hereunder. Yearly progress tests found significant progress in the coordination qualities in the EG versus the pre-experimental EG rates and versus the RG progress. Thus the stuffed/ tennis ball juggling tests showed significant (p<0.05) pre- versus post-experimental progress in the EG. Every EG in this test showed significant progress versus the peer RG, with the only exception for the stuffed ball juggling in the first-year groups.

Table 1. Pre- versus post-experimental coordination qualities test data of the EG ad RG

EG2 (2- and 3-year students) trained for two years showed the highest progress in the stuffed/ tennis ball juggling tests and significant progress in the target throws – versus their 3-year EG peers trained for one year only. The 1-year EG students also showed a significant progress in the ball throws albeit their final test rates were lower than in the senior EG groups, with insignificant differences in the EG3 versus RG3 test data. It should be mentioned that the shuttle sprint tests showed no progress in the six groups. The reaction speed rating falling object catching tests showed progress in every EG, with the highest progress in the 2-year EG students trained for 2 years.

Questionnaire surveys found significant progress in the 1- and 3-year EG students, and no progress in the 2-year EG students in the academic stress tolerance/ coping domains. Every RG showed no progress (even on a trend level) in these domains. It should be mentioned that the 1-year students were tested with the high sensitivity to the examination stressors (with the prior stress rates of 2.2 points and examination-period stress rates of 3.6 and 3.4 points in the RG3 and EG3, respectively); whilst the 2- and 3-year EG students were tested to better cope with the examination stressors versus the 1-year EG and their RG peers.
The senior RG students were also tested with the higher examination stresses – versus the EG peers tested with the higher stress tolerance and progresses from 2.5 to 1.8 points in the 2-year and 2.7 to 1.9 points in the 3-year students. Furthermore, the 1-year EG students showed significant progresses in coping with the other stressors including the daily regimen mismanagement, shortage of leisure time, sleeping disorders and malnutrition – versus their RG peers. It should be emphasized that the senior EG students were tested with the significant and stable progress in the stress coping domain. On the whole, the questionnaire survey data found the academic year and age specific stress sensitivities albeit every EG was tested with improvements in the stress tolerance rates.
Conclusion. The study showed benefits of the new movement coordination and stress tolerance building model for academic female fitness groups – as verified by the EG versus RG statistically significant (p<0,05) progress in every test. Questionnaire surveys to rate the anxiety rates in the students after the two-year fitness trainings showed progresses of the EG in many stress coping aspects. Thus the EG were tested with the significant improvements in the stress tolerance rates for the two years including improvements in the daily regimen management, socializing and tolerance to the everyday living problems.

References

1. Eremin A.L. Noogenesis and the theory of intelligence. Krasnodar: Sovetskaya Kuban publ., 2005. 356 p.
2. Potovskaya E.S., Krupitskaya O.N., Kolpashnikova V.S. et al. Physical qualities development technique as means to improve stress tolerance of female students. Physical education, public health and education. Proc. XI International res.-practical conference in memory of V.S. Pirussky. Tomsk: STT publ., 2017. pp. 79-84.
3. Rutman E.M. Do I need to escape from stress?. M.: Fizkultura i sport publ., 1990. 128 p.
4. Shil'ko V.G., Shil'ko T.A., Potovskaya E.S., Krupitskaya O.N. University students' stress tolerance rates versus their attitudes to physical training and sports. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2016, no. 12, pp. 41-43.

Corresponding author: biglard@yandex.ru

Abstract
Regular health and fitness practices are known to mitigate the bodily responses to neurohormones under emotional stress, i.e. significantly increase the stress tolerance. Objective of the study was to assess benefits of a new movement coordination building model for female fitness groups with the stress tolerance tests. Sampled for the new training model testing experiment were the 1-3-year National Research Tomsk State University students (n=120) trained in fitness groups and split up into 3 Experimental and 3 Reference Groups. The RG was trained as required by traditional fitness program with weights-applying practices; and the EG trainings were complemented by our experimental training model making a special emphasis on the all-round physical qualities including the movement coordination and the overall/ special endurance. Physical progress tests in the EG showed high progress in many aspects including the movement coordination abilities. The stress tolerance was rated by questionnaire surveys which found the significant progress in the EG versus the RG in many stress coping/ control aspects.