APPLICATION OF A DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH IN THE ELABORATION OF WELLNESS WALKING PROGRAMS FOR PEOPLE OF THE SECOND MATURE AGE

Abstract

The relevance of the problems presented in the research article is the need to elaborate modern wellness walking programs for people of mature age using a differentiated approach, taking into account the availability and health potential of wellness walk against the background of general problems of hypokinesia and morbidity of the adult working-age population. It is also important that wellness walk is the most accessible type of recreational physical culture, which is able to provide a relatively high functional load. The purpose of the article is to elaborate the wellness walking programs for people of second mature age using a differentiated approach based on different differentiation criteria. The article uses such research methods as literature analysis and pedagogical observation. Application of a differentiated approach to physical education of adults should take into account individual, environmental and social factors. In the context of the purpose of this article, criteria are used that correlate with individual factors, such as a health status and the presence or absence of the most dangerous diseases, and certain individual somatic features of the organism, in particular indicators of body mass, which directly affects the degree of detection of physical abilities. Accordingly, the training programs to wellness walk have been elaborated for people of second mature age, using a differentiated approach based on the criteria of overall health, body mass, and the state of the cardiovascular system. The author presents three wellness walking programs – for healthy people, for people with excess body mass, and for people with a mild form of coronary heart disease. Kenneth Cooperʼs principle was using in the development of programs. These programs regulate the duration of the warm-up, the walking distance, the maximum time for completing the main task, the duration of active rest after its completion, the intensity of walking within the maximum heart rate, and the number of trainings per week at various stages of the programs. Performing wellness walking programs should be taken into account that the training effect depends not only on the distance and duration of walking, but also on its speed. Therefore, the method of individual adjustment of walking speed depending on the width of step and the pace of movement is offered. As the main principle of the proposed programs, a continuous and gradual increase of loads in a five-month cycle is provided. Separate recommendations refer to cases of deterioration of well-being during training and compliance with breathing rules while walking. The elaborated programs may require testing and adjustment.