Selected Coordination Motor Abilities of Students of the University of Physical Education During Survival Training

Introduction. Taking up emergency actions when fighting various types of natural disasters requires appropriate psychophysical preparation. Thanks to the development of technique, coordination motor abilities have gained greater importance than physical strength and endurance in such activities. The purpose of the present work was to assess the impact of 36 hours of survival activities and sleep deprivation on selected coordination motor abilities in students of the University of Physical Education. Material and methods. The study involved 12 male students of the University of Physical Education in Warsaw, specialising in “Physical Education in Uniformed Services”. The age of the participants was 21.0 ± 0.74 years, their body height was 179.5 ± 5.6 cm, and their body mass was 74.6 ± 8.0 kg. The assessment was performed based on the following coordination motor ability tests: a test measuring the differentiation of the use of forearm muscle strength, a running motor adjustment test, and a measurement of divided attention. A test involving shooting from a pneumatic gun and a measurement of the maximal force of the forearm were also carried out. Tests and trials were conducted before training (P1), after 24 hours of training (P2), after completing the training - that is after 36 hours of training (P3), and after 12 hours of rest (P4). During the training, the participants completed 12 km on foot, paddled for approximately 6 hours, rowed kayaks for about 4 hours, and performed survival tasks. Results. The analysis of the results of the study of maximal force and the ability to differentiate forearm muscle strength showed that the forearm muscle strength remained at the same level during the entire training. The ability to differentiate forearm muscle strength deteriorated after night training. There were no statistically significant differences in the results of the running motor adjustment tests and in shooting performance between individual measurements. Conclusions. Participation in long-term survival training with very low intensity, combined with sleep deprivation, caused a temporary deterioration in the ability to differentiate forearm muscle strength. This may indicate that people involved in rescue operations during which the psychophysical load is small will be able to perform tasks correctly for a long time.