Dr.Med. V.G. Chernozemov¹
PhD, Associate Professor Y.S. Zhuravleva²
PhD, Associate Professor A.V. Tsinis¹
PhD, Associate Professor M.A. Abramova^1
1Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Moscow
²Northern (Arctic) Federal University n.a. M.V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk

 

Keywords: female students, body conditioning, training loads, energy zones.

 

Introduction. Improvement of students’ health is a major purpose of the educational process in modern university, as intensification of the educational process coupled with the lack of motor activity leads primarily to the academic load increment [4]. Most researchers acknowledge that the state of health of the younger generation is deteriorating due to a regress in the functional state of the body, decreased physical working capacity and physical fitness level [3]. Students’ life is a specific period when physical education is of particular importance, since there is a need, on the one hand, to maintain a high level of viability of the body, and on the other, to prepare it for the future professional activity, which, in most cases, is specific and differs significantly from the usual pace of life of young people.

The lack of motor activity and motivation for physical education leads to the appearance of physical defects, which, in turn, restricts the liberty of actions. Conversely, training loading is accompanied by an increase in the level of body’s functioning, development of physical qualities.

Motor skill training implies multiple repetitive movements, different courses of one action, including repetition of combinations, connections, exercise sequences, as well as various middle distance runs with the rest intervals of 10-30 sec. Continuous performance of sport specific exercises contributes to the development of special endurance, and short-term loading develops speed. Each exercise requires a certain degree of energy consumption, and the more intensive and continuous the workload, the more muscle groups are involved and the more energy is required from various energy zones [5].

Objective of the study was to determine the level of training workloads for the female students practicing "body conditioning exercises with elements of track and field athletics" in the relevant energy zones.

Methods and structure of the study. Sampled for the study purposes were the first-year university female students (n=108) whose physical fitness was rated in the academic physical education process. The following tests were used: sit-ups for 1 min (P.p.: supine position, legs bent, feet fixed, hands on the shoulders, elbows pressed to the body); jumps over a bench with support on both arms (for 1 min); on a signal – moving from a squat position into a front lying position and back (for 30 sec); 30m run, 100m run, 500m run; 9x3m shuttle run; front plank; standing bends forward on a bench. During the physical education classes, the volume and intensity of training loads changed depending on the part of the lesson. For the energy zoning purposes, we recorded the female students’ heart rate versus training workloads (exercises per minute). The calculations were made based on the classification of the training load zones [1, 2].

Results and discussion. The physical education classes in "body conditioning with elements of track and field athletics" were designed to solve the following tasks: health promotion, improvement of overall endurance and working capacity, preservation and restoration of motor functions, development of vital skills. During the athletics practices, the female students’ motor mode was determined by three energy zones: during the warm-up, it was REC zone - 30.5%; it included health-improving middle- and long-distance runs, series of body conditioning and strengthening exercises, stretching exercises. The main part of the lesson was 56.25% aerobic (EN1) and included running and jumping exercises performed in repeated series and with intervals. During the training session, the exercises to develop speed and speed-strength abilities were covered by the EN2 energy zone - 13.25%. The training sessions also included strength exercises to develop strength, speed-strength abilities, coordination (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Percentage of energy zones by types of activity during physical education classes

 

The records were made in two zones according to the international classification. In the compensatory zone, the female students performed the workloads shared for the preparatory part of the lesson, exercises to develop flexibility, technical skills, relaxation exercises after moderate loads; their work consisted in repeated performance of the strength exercise sequences. It was training in REC zone that dominated in the work - 66.6%. In the aerobic zone, the main training means included repetitive performance of speed-strength exercises, jumping exercises, exercise sets with weights, performed at a steady pace and amounting to 33.33% EN1.

The analysis of the results obtained in the female students during the physical education classes held 4 hours a week (1st semester - 68 hours) showed that physical loads in the compensatory zone of metabolic power amounted to 32.09 hours; in the aerobic zones EN1 and EN2 - 29.58 and 4.37 hours, respectively. In the 2nd semester, 72 hours of physical loads were distributed as follows: in terms of REC - 35.98 hours; EN1 - 33.17 hrs; EN2 - 4.9 hrs (Table 1).

 

Table 1. Energy zoning to manage training loads during practical sessions of female students throughout academic year

Training zones	HR, bpm	1st semester		2nd semester
		%	Hrs	%	hrs
REC – compensatory	Below 120	47.19	32.09	49.97	35.98
EN1 – aerobic	120-140	43.51	29.58	46.07	33.17
EN2 –  anaerobic threshold	130-170	6.43	4.37	6.81	4.9
EN3 –  aerobic – anaerobic	160-180	−	−	−	−
SP1 –  anaerobic metabolism	Max	−	−	−	−
SP2 – anaerobic metabolism IPC	Max	−	−	−	−
SP3 –  alactate	Ignored	−	−	−	−

The comparative analysis reveals that speed increased only in the 100m run test (by 3.9%, p<0.05), while in the 30m one and in the shuttle run test there was a tendency towards improvement of the test results (Table 2). Also, in two out of three test exercises used to evaluate strength endurance, there was a significant increase in the indicator - by 5% (p<0.05) in the test to determine strength endurance of the abdominal muscles, and by 11% (p<0.05) in the jumping over the bench (with support on both arms) test. By the end of the academic year, there was a statistically significant increase in the following indicators: overall endurance (500m run test) - 6% (р<0.05), flexibility (forward bends) – by 21% (р<0.01) and static strength - 11% (р<0.05).

Table 2. Physical fitness indices in female students throughout the school year, M ± m

Motor qualities	Tests	September	May
Speed	30m run, sec	5.66±0.06	5.61±0.05
	100m run, sec	18.56±0.46	17.84±0.22*
Coordination	3х9m shuttle run, sec	11.04±0.1	10.86±0.21
Strength endurance	Sit-ups, reps	46.44±0.87	48.69±0.68*
	Squat - front lying position - squat for 30 sec, reps	25.59±0.49	26.23±0.65
	Jumping over a bench for 60 sec, reps	33.46±1.09	37.00±0.85*
Overall endurance	500m run, sec	2.48±0.09	2.30±0.06*
Static strength	P.p. front plank, sec	1.28±0.04	1.44+0.15*
Flexibility	Forward bends, cm	-11.51±0.54	-9.14±1.55**

Conclusion. The analysis of the training workloads performed by the female students during the classes in "body conditioning with elements of track and field athletics" revealed the following: during the training sessions throughout the year, the girls do not perform any exercises to develop speed, their trainings are dominated (64.45%) by workouts in EN1 zone. It is due to the shortage of the training loads (including maximal ones) in the relevant zones that the speed and coordination qualities were found underdeveloped in the trainees. Consequently, in order to effectively develop these motor skills we recommend to make the academic physical education process more versatile in every semester by the high-intensity trainings in the aerobic-anaerobic EN3 zone (HR of 160-180 bpm) and anaerobic SP1 zone (maximal HR).

 

References

1. Verkhoshanskiy Y.V. Osnovy spetsialnoy fizicheskoy podgotovki [Fundamentals of special physical training]. Moscow: Fizkultura i sport publ., 1988, 332 p.

2. Kolmogorov S.V., Avdienko V.B., Rumyantseva O.A. Energeticheskoe obespechenie plavaniya sport­smenov [Energy supply of athletes' swimming]. Moscow: Russian Swimming Federation publ., 1998, 71 p.

3. Pushkina V.N., Kornev A.V., Olyashev N.V., Kochnev A.V. Differentsirovannoe fizicheskoe vospitanie studentov na osnove konstitutsionalno obuslovlennykh markerov [Differentiated academic physical education based on constitutionally conditioned markers]. Teoriya i metodika fiz. vospitaniya i sporta, 2016, no. 3, pp. 59-61.

4. Pushkina V.N., Olyashev N.V., Pogorelova O.V. et al Povyshenie effektivnosti fizicheskogo vospitaniya studentok sredstvami step-aerobiki [Effectivization of physical education of female students via step aerobics]. Electronic scientific publication 'Mir nauki', 2016, vol. 4, no. 6. Available at: http // mir-nauki.com // PDF // 34 PDMN616.pdf (date of access: February 17, 2018).

5. Razmakhova S.Y. Raspredelenie trenirovochnykh nagruzok po zonam energeticheskogo obespecheniya v techenie uchebnogo goda u studentok universiteta [Power zone distribution of training loads for female students throughout academic year]. Sovremennye problemy i razvitie fizicheskoy kultury i sporta [Modern problems and development of physical education and sports]. Arkhangelsk, 2003, pp. 95–98.

 

Corresponding author: korela2010@yandex.ru

 

Abstract

Sampled for the study purposes were the first-year female students (n=108) whose physical fitness, speed, strength endurance, flexibility, overall endurance and static strength were rated in the academic physical education process. For the energy zoning purposes, we recorded their heart rate versus training workloads (exercises per minute). The physical fitness and functionality rates were found the training workload and energy zone specific according to the relevant classification of the training workloads.

It was found that the trainings in the academic physical education process were dominated by workouts in REC and EN1 zones without attention to the speed developing practices. It is due to the shortage of the training loads (including maximal ones) in the relevant zones that the speed and coordination qualities were found underdeveloped in the trainees. Based on the study data and analyses, we recommend to make the academic physical education process more versatile in every semester by the high-intensity trainings in aerobic-anaerobic EN3 zone (HR of 160-180 beats per min) and anaerobic SP1 zone (maximal HR).