Development of girls’ flexibility for pre-school age group



The authors in the article touch upon the problem of flexibility for young participants. This research aims to investigate the importance of flexibility in gymnastics.

Keywords: physical education, flexibility, gymnastics.

The physical education of girls was considered by the French physiologist and teacher Georges Demeny (1850–1917). He proved the expediency of using dynamic exercises, exercises for stretching and relaxing muscles, which contribute to the acquisition of flexibility, dexterity, good posture and skill.

The article is deals with the importance of gymnastics in the education of girls. Gymnastic is aimed to develop moral and volitional qualities, taste and musicality. Gymnastics form the concepts of the beauty. An important place in gymnastics is devoted to the dance and the music, the forms of art. Musical accompaniment is aimed to develop musical ability, sense of rhythm, coordination of movements with music. Elements of dance are able to broaden the general horizons of the participants. Dancing is focused to show the folk creativity, to develop the art love of dancers’ own nation and any other nations of the world. In fact, dancing elements develop the coordination of movements, dancing, rhythm, emancipation, emotionality, in general, dancing elements improve motor qualities.

Certainly, the availability and variety in gymnastics, the effectiveness of motor qualities and gymnastic entertainment, in the end, attract the diverse enrolment of participants. Gymnastics correspond to the anatomical, physiological and psychological characteristics of the female body. They are available at any age and suitable for any body constitution.

In the opinions of many, gymnastics is divided into basic, applied and artistic with a sports focus.

Basic gymnastics is used for the purpose of comprehensive, harmonic physical development, health promotion and improvement of motor functions and girls’ posture. Elements of this type of gymnastic (dancing, musical games, different exercises with objects and without objects) are used in kindergartens, secondary schools, secondary and higher educational institutions. The most common type of the main gymnastic is women’s gymnastics, which is used for health promotion, disease prevention, restoration and preservation of motor function, working capacity, active rest. The most popular type in our country and abroad is artistic gymnastics with a sports focus. In rhythmic gymnastics, gymnasts perform jumps, tosses, leaps and other moves with different types of apparatus: rope, hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon. Floor exercise is also an event in the lower levels of competition.

The flexibility and all its forms (passive, active, extremely developed flexibility in the hip joints) take a great place in the gymnastics. Gymnastics requires development and improving fine coordination of movements, sense of rhythm, musicality, and artistry.

However, three modern levels of gymnastics are identified at present. The first level is Mass level. Mass level is health-improving artistic gymnastics which can be offered by sports and health clubs and school sections.

Attention to the study of motor-coordinating qualities has increased nowadays. However, among the numerous publications devoted to this problem, little attention is paid to flexibility. In our opinion, flexibility is a reserve for the further development of rhythmic gymnastics. On the one hand, the further increase of gymnasts’ movements should further develop the rapid mastering of complex elements and combinations. And on the other hand, flexibility is aimed to provide more entertainment and creative approach to training and competitive processes.

In this regard, flexibility is one of the most important physical qualities in rhythmic gymnastics. Successful training and competitive activities of athletes depend on the necessary mobility of the joints. Perfect performance of technical elements and combinations is possible with only the maximum range of motion. Good elasticity of muscles, joints and ligaments can minimize the risk of injury, increase the range of motion in performing exercises and allow the muscles to recover soon from physical exertion. On the contrary, insufficient mobility in the joints can slow the process of mastering motor skills, and some of them cannot be mastered at all. Limitation of flexibility can reduce the level of manifestation of strength, speed and coordination qualities, leads to a deterioration in intramuscular and intermuscular coordination, a decrease in economical work, and often causes damage to muscles and ligaments.

From these facts we can conclude that flexibility is the ability to perform movements with a large amplitude. Perhaps we should also point out the difference in terms. The term «flexibility» is more appropriate referring to the total mobility in the joints of the whole body. In relation to individual joints, we use the term «mobility» and not «flexibility», for example, «mobility in the shoulder, hip or ankle joints».

Therefore, flexibility depends on:

– structures of joints, their shape and area;

– length and elasticity of ligaments, tendons and muscles;

– functional state of the nerve centers that regulate muscle tone;

– ambient temperature — better with higher temperature;

– daily periodicals — reduced in the morning;

– fatigue — passive improves, active worsens;

– heredity, gender and age — children and women are more flexible.

Means of flexibility development:

– relaxation exercises — give an increase of 12–15 %;

– smooth movements over a large amplitude;

– repeated springy movements;

– passive preservation of the maximum amplitude;

– active preservation of the maximum amplitude;

– swings with a gradual increase in amplitude.

Good flexibility provides freedom, speed and economy of movement, increases the path of effective application of effort during exercise. Insufficiently developed flexibility makes it difficult to coordinate human movements, as it limits the movement of individual parts of the body.

According to the form of manifestation, active and passive flexibility are distinguished. With active flexibility, movement with a large amplitude is performed due to the own activity of the corresponding muscles. Passive flexibility is understood as the ability to perform the same movements under the influence of external tensile forces: the efforts of a partner, external weights, special devices, etc. Passive flexibility develops 1.5–2.0 times faster than active.

Positive emotions and motivation improve flexibility, while opposing personality-psychological factors worsen it. According to some experts, Flexibility develops most intensively up to 15–17 years. At the same time, for the development of passive flexibility, the sensitive period will be the age of 9–10 years, and for active — 10–14 years.

Purposefully development of flexibility should begin from 6–7 years. In children and adolescents 9–14 years old, this quality develops almost 2 times more efficiently than in senior school age.

In physical education, the main task is to ensure such a degree of comprehensive development of flexibility that would allow one to successfully master the basic vital motor actions (skills and habits) and to demonstrate other motor abilities with high efficiency — coordination, speed, strength, endurance.

For children, adolescents, boys and girls involved in sports, the task is to improve special flexibility, for example, mobility in those joints, which are subject to increased requirements in the chosen sport.

We cannot ignore the fact that excessive development of mobility in the joints can lead to a redistribution of muscle fibers and ligaments, and often also to deformation of the articular structures, especially in children. Motor actions do not require the maximum possible range of motion, nevertheless, it is important to provide some flexibility reserve, which is one of the prerequisites for the efficiency of movements, since with insufficient flexibility, additional energy is spent on stretching muscles, which features a wide contribution of new high-amplitude touch and helps to avoid injuries.

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