The Effects of Programmed Physical Preparation on the Transformation of Motor Skills of Young Soldiers of Various Specialties

摘要

This study aims to determine whether a physical preparation experimental program, which was implemented over a five-month period, had positive influence on the motor skills of soldiers. The aim of the research is to examine the existence of statistically significant differences in the level of motor skills between the initial and final measuring and, according to these differences, evaluate the influence of the applied physical preparation program. A sample of 382 soldiers was divided into two subsamples, one consisting of 180 soldiers of the Armored Mechanized Unit (AMU) and the other of 202 soldiers of the Technical Education Center (TEC). The units were subjected to nine motor skill tests. To test the differences between the two subsamples, from the initial and final measuring, and to determine the effects of the transformation process, the following tests were used: the T-test for dependent samples, the canonical discriminant analysis, and the multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance. The obtained discriminant function in both cases (AMU and TEC) made a statistically significant (possibility of error = 0.000) difference between the results from the initial and final measuring, with a high canonical correlation (AMU: 0.65; TEC: 0.72). The analysis of the quantitative changes of motor dimensions, as well as the determined level of statistical significance on both the univariate and multivariate levels, showed that the applied program generated significant changes in the overall measured motor area of both subsamples. Statistically significant differences were determined in accordance to the size and effects of the progress between the subsamples. The obtained statistically significant difference can be attributed to different programs of military training, which is more diverse in the case of the AMU than the TEC units. Based on the univariate analysis of covariance, statistically significant differences were noted for the variables of repetitive and explosive strength (greater progress was noted for the TEC unit), as well as for the variables of static strength and precision (greater progress was noted for the AMU unit). Given the importance of its influence, the analyzed physical preparation program can be an important guideline during the compilation of new programs and should be adapted to the current transformation of the Serbian Armed Forces as well as the armed forces of other countries.