THE IMPACT OF PHYSICAL EXERCISES AND STRENGTH SPORTS ON THE LEVEL OF PHYSICAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS

Abstract

Students’ education occurs in an environment characterized by a constant influx of educational information, which leads to hypodynamia and a decline in physical health. One way to address this decline in physical health is by incorporating exercises from athletic sports. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of physical exercises in athletic sports (using kettlebell sports as an example) on the level and trends of students’ physical health indicators. Research methods. Analysis of literary sources, testing, pedagogical experiment, methodology for assessing the level of physical health, methods of mathematical statistics. The level of physical health of students was studied according to the dynamics of indicators of a qualitative express assessment of somatic health. Results. Male students of the 1st–2nd years, all faculties of the medical university, aged 18–20 years (n=54) participated in the study. An experimental (EG, n=26) and control (CG, n=28) groups were formed. Thus, the obtained data allowed us to establish that according to the Quetelet index, the indicators of both groups were at the average level of completeness for men. The dynamics of the vital index, strength index, Robinson index of the experimental group students significantly (p<0.01) exceeded the similar indicators of the control group students and were assessed as higher than average. In EG students, during two years of study, there was an improvement in the recovery time of the heart rate, which indicated the strengthening of the cardiovascular system of students engaged in physical exercises with kettlebells. The indicator of the level of physical health of EG students was 13.97 conventional units at the end of stage 4, which was also assessed as higher than average and reached the “safe zone”, and it significantly (p<0.001) increased from stage 1 to stage 4 and amounted to 7.38 conditional units, which indicated the positive impact of physical exercises with kettlebells on improving the physical health indicators of students. Conclusions. It was established that the use of physical exercises with kettlebells forms the basis for the development of basic physical qualities, has a positive effect on improving the reserve of external respiratory functions, the functional state of the cardiovascular system, restoring heart rate, contributes to the development of the muscular system and improving the level of physical health of students. It is proven that students who were engaged in physical exercises with kettlebells reached the “safe zone” of the level of physical health, which contributed to improving their well-being, increasing the effectiveness of learning and readiness to perform the tasks of future professional activity.