The effect of CrossFit exercises on the physical health level of 16–17-year-old boys

Abstract

Recently, there was a steady trend in Ukraine towards the deterioration of pupils’ physical health. According to researches, about 76% of pupils in Ukraine have a deviation in their state of health. Problem Statement:The authors note that one of the main reasons for this trend is the intensification of the educational process, the decrease in the motor activity of young people, the imperfection of physical education at school, and the expansion of the modern media network. Specialists in the field of physical education note that physical education plays an important role in the promotion of health. It should be noted that today CrossFit gains steady popularity among modern youth. Thus, we believe that introducing CrossFit as innovation into the school physical education system is appropriate because it will contribute to pupils’ interest in physical culture lessons, increase motor activity and, as a result, improve the level of physical health of pupils. Purpose: to determine the level of physical health of 16-17-year-old boys after the introduction of CrossFit exercises. Material: theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific and methodological literature, medical and biological methods, pedagogical experiment, and methods of mathematical statistics. In the research 52 pupils aged 16-17 years took part. Results: It was established that the level of physical health improved to the “average” after the introduction of CrossFit exercises into the educational process on physical education of 16-17-year-old boys. Conclusions. The results of initial researches indicate “below the average” level of physical health of high school pupils of both study groups and are equal to - 2 points. In the age aspect there is mainly the improvement in results with age at boys both in the main group and in the control group. It was established that after the introduction of the variable module CrossFit, the level of physical health at boys of the study main groups increased by 1 point and began to equal - 3 points, which corresponds to the “average” level. The exception is the data of 17-year-old boys, where the improvement in indicators on the assessment scale wasn’t displayed, and they are equal to 3 points before the experiment, which corresponds to the “average” level of physical health. The results of boys of control groups, that reflect the level of physical health remained unchanged, compared with the initial data.