Improving health and physical fitness indicators of students in a technical university by means of implementing table tennis exercises in training activities

One of the main tasks of physical education at the university is to improve the level of health and physical fitness of students. According to the analysis of literature the perspective way of addressing this task is the implementation specializations on various sports into training activities as the most progressive form of improvement of physical education. In this regard, the aim of the paper was to explore the possibility of improving health and physical fitness indicators of students by means of implementing table tennis exercises in training activities. The following materials and methods were used in the study: analysis of special scientific and methodical literature, available standard methods of research of students’ health indicators, pedagogical testing, methods of mathematical statistics. The research involved 148 students of 1-2 years of study aged 18±1, related to the main group for health reasons. As a result of the study, at the beginning of the first semester, the initial level of data on the indicators of the functional state of the cardiovascular, respiratory system and physical fitness of students had been determined, and during next four semesters students were training according to the proposed method including table tennis exercises. At the end of the fourth semester, the previously studied indicators were re-determined. In order to determine the functional state of the cardiovascular system the students used the Ruffier test and an orthostatic test, and they used the Stange-Hench test for the respiratory system. Physical fitness of students was assessed through pedagogical testing. The study showed that the implementation of special physical training of students by the method of training table tennis players into the educational process is an effective means for improving their health and physical fitness level; the patterns of changes in the studied indicators depending on the gender of students were determined.

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