COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PHYSICAL FITNESS OF THE CANDIDATES ENROLLING IN THE MILITARY ACADEMY

Abstract

Movement as an elementary characteristic of living matter, as well as an important feature of humans, can be observed from the aspect of biological and psycho-social factors, but also from physiological, biomechanical and motivational aspect. Every movement belongs to one or several specific motor skills, which represent a pivotal factor in solving tactical tasks and achieving the necessary security goals and requirements. In the process of enrollment in the Military Academy, all candidates’ health, intellectual and physical abilities are tested, whereas during their studies the cadets attend a mandatory four-year program of physical education conducted by the means of the Special physical training and sport course. The testing, conducted for enrollment in the Academy, is further used as a prerequisite for taking the exam for the course, thus allowing continuous monitoring of physical fitness. Aiming at acquiring concrete information on the physical fitness state and the differences in terms of physical fitness between the candidates enrolling in the Academy and cadets, this paper presents the results of a testing conducted with 70 candidates aspiring to join the Academy and 70 cadets of the Military Academy, who regularly attend a physical education course. In order to identify the differences between the two groups of participants, the research was based on the t-test for independent samples. Based on the obtained results, certain qualitative and quantitative differences can be established in all segments subject of this research, which derive from the conditions, as well as the organization and duration of the preparation for this tests.