PhD, Associate Professor L.V. Yarchikovskaya¹
PhD, Associate Professor Т.Е. Koval¹
Associate Professor S.М. Lukina¹
PhD, Associate Professor О.N. Ustinova^2
1St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg
²Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg

Keywords: health improvement program, combined method, breathing exercises, body adaptive capability, nordic walking, shaping.

Introduction. One of priorities of physical education of students is their wide-scale involvement in the systematic physical education and sports activities with due regard to their state of health, functional, physical and motor fitness.

However, over the past five years, there has been a downward tendency in the level of physical fitness and health of students, and, as a result, an increase in the number of students attributed to special health groups.

In this regard, we need to search for the new ways to create unified health programs that, if properly organized, will be the most important means of promotion of health among weak students [3].

Combined approach is effective for creating health programs in higher educational institutions [2].

Objective of the study was to experimentally substantiate the healthcare effect of breathing gymnastics implemented in university educational programs.

Methods and structure of the study. In the last four years (2013-2017), a new project has been successfully implemented at the university wide department of physical culture and sports of St. Petersburg State University to introduce a whole range of health programs using a combined approach. The list of health-improving types of physical activity includes: yoga, shaping, therapeutic swimming, nordic walking, terrenkur, water aerobics. All programs are based on a single design algorithm, which includes setting of common goals, tasks, different ways of program implementation, generalized criteria of evaluation of healthcare effect, main types of exercises, education plans of realization and program terms. And this, in turn, makes it possible to implement the combined approach in the training sessions, matching up two or three health-improving types in each academic semester. It is proved in practice that the use of the combined approach, without violating the university program requirements when organizing the educational process, significantly improves the efficiency of recreational activities, their attractiveness, promotes motivation of students for motor activity at the university sports facilities.

While analyzing the results achieved, and relying on the new approved health technologies, to improve the healthcare effect we decided to make changes in the training session by adding 15-min breathing gymnastics Oxysize in the beginning of its main part.

The Oxycise breathing technique involves four main stages, the sequence of which is as follows: first, 1 deep inhale through the nose, inflating the stomach, followed by 3 short extra inhales through the nose, the stomach is sucked in; then follows 1 strong exhale through the mouth, imitating a smile, and inflating the stomach as much as possible; and in the end, 3 extra exhales with a sucked in stomach.

For the purpose of the experiment, we took 10 specially selected exercises performed using the Oxycise breathing technique. The experiment was carried out within the framework of the health program in the following combination "Nordic walking - shaping - breathing gymnastics".

The main task of the experimental work was to choose the Oxycise breathing exercises and determine their role in health programs.

The uniqueness of the Oxycise exercises is owing to the methodology of their implementation being fully compatible with the requirements imposed on the classes for special health group students, i.e. such training sessions were available for students with various health deviations and did not require the use of special equipment.

The use of breathing exercises facilitated increase of the blood circulation by means of blood oxygenation, rise of the muscle tone, and significant weight loss.

During the experiment the following research methods were used: educational experiment, questionnaire and statistical methods of data processing.

The essence of the educational experiment was as follows.

In preparation for the experiment, reference and experimental groups of 28 females each were set up. Subject to the study were the 1^st-2^nd-year students from different faculties aged 18 to 22. The experiment lasted 10 calendar months (starting from the beginning of September till the end of June). The classes were conducted in compliance with the approved combined health program "Nordic walking - Shaping." In the experimental group, the main part of the training session was supplemented by the 15-minute Oxycise breathing exercises.

The first part of the health complex ("Nordic walking" health program) was conducted on a sports stadium with a natural grass surface. The second part of the health complex (“Shaping” health program) was held in a university gym.

There were 3 research lines: analysis of overall physical fitness level; analysis of objective indicators; analysis of subjective indicators.

Special control tests were used to evaluate the overall physical fitness level. As the control tests we used exercises approved for all groups in terms of the requirements imposed on the level of physical fitness of the population while reaching the qualifying standards of the Russian Physical Culture and Sports Complex "Ready for Labour and Defence". Namely: push-ups (gymnastic bench), sit-ups per 1 min, self-paced squats per 1 min. The total number of reps was counted.

The objective indicators were determined by means of the functional tests: Ruffier test (assessment of the cardiovascular system functionality based on students’ response to physical load), Stange’s test (assessment of the external respiration function), Genche’s test (assessment of the respiratory system functionality), Harvard step test (assessment of overall physical working capacity), orthostatic test. The subjective indicators were determined based on the external signs of fatigue.

Upon completion of the 10-month experiment, all the data obtained were processed and analyzed.

Results and discussion. Table 1 presents the test results of the students of the reference and experimental groups throughout the experiment.

Table 1. Overall physical fitness evaluation

The control test results in the experimental group females were higher in terms of all indicators. The breathing exercises included in the training sessions made it possible to improve the results at the expense of both positive increase in the strength abilities and control of breathing during the exercise. Females of the experimental group did not hold their breath while performing the test tasks, but rather breathed evenly, focusing on exhalation, which was not observed among the reference group females.

2. Table 2 and Table 3 illustrate the dynamics of changes in the functional capabilities of subjects of the reference and experimental groups.

Table 2. Assessment of functional capabilities.

Table 3. Orthostatic test results.

3. The external signs of fatigue in the subjects were determined by the following indicators: attention, well-being, interest in new material and academic classes in general.

The observation data analysis based on the subjective indicators failed to reveal any significant discrepancy between the level of fatigue in students of the reference and experimental groups. However, when rating their state of health, the experimental group females described their condition as "a feeling of lightness", "a surge of energy", "a sense of new physical capacities". While in the reference group, in addition to the feeling of buoyancy and good mood, some girls noted physical fatigue and wished to reduce the physical load offered.

Conclusion. The study data and analyses validated the initial hypothesis and showed the breathing exercises being highly beneficial as a part of combined programs to increase the health improvement aspect of the training process. The breathing exercises were also found to contribute to the overall physical fitness of the special health group students, as verified by the progress in the students’ functional capacities and overall efficiency improvements of the training sessions, progress data analyses and subjective fatigue rating data.

References

1. Koval' I.E., Yarchikovskaya L.V., Oshina O.V. Ispolzovanie kombinirovannogo podkhoda v tekhnologii proektirovaniya ozdorovitelnykh programm [Use of Combined Approach in Health Program Design Technology]. Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury, 2015, no. 2, pp. 98-100.
2. Minvaliev R.S., Koval T.E., Yarchikovskaya L.V. Ozdorovitelnye programmy po fizicheskoy kulture i sportu. Uchebnoe posobie [Health programs in physical culture and sports. Tutorial]. Ed. Sh.Z. Khubbiev, S.Sh. Namozova, T.E. Neznamova. St. Petersburg: SPbU publ., 2014, 234 p.
3. Khubbiev Sh.Z., Namozova S.Sh, Neznamova T.L. Struktura individualnoy ozdorovitelnoy programmy po fizicheskoy kulture i tekhnologiya ee razrabotki [Structure of individual physical culture health program and it design technology]. Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury, 2015, no. 3, pp. 27-30.

Corresponding author: khubbiev@gmail.com

Abstract

The article considers the role of respiratory gymnastics in combined health programs; gives an overview of the Oxycise breathing exercises; and demonstrates practical benefits of the training program combining Nordic walking, shaping and respiratory gymnastics as verified by the experiment.

The study data and analyses showed the breathing exercises being highly beneficial as a part of combined programs to increase the health improvement aspect of the training process. The breathing exercises were also found to contribute to the overall physical fitness of the special health group students as verified by the progress in the students’ functional capacities and overall efficiency improvements of the training sessions, progress data analyses and subjective fatigue rating data.