Keywords

race walking, sport, heart, students, physical activity, training, adolescence.

Abstract

Introduction. Increasing physical activity as a result of systematic sports training can develop the capabilities of the body as a whole and all its internal organs [2]. As a result, it is possible to optimize health status while minimizing the severity of many dysfunctions [1]. Further study of the impact of regular aerobic training on the functioning of vital organs, especially the heart, whose performance indicators significantly determine all physical capabilities of a person, remains relevant.

Objective of the study – to determine the features of the functional characteristics of the heart of male students who started race walking.

Methods and structure of the study. The study involved 16 clinically healthy young men with two years of experience in race walking two to three times a week. The comparison group consisted of 17 clinically healthy young men with no sports experience. All athletes included in the study underwent an ultrasound examination of the heart condition using an SSD-80 "Aloka" device (Japan), and the results were subjected to statistical processing by calculating Student's t-test.

Results of the study and their discussion. During the comparison of the groups under consideration, differences in cardiac parameters were recorded. Significant intergroup differences concerned the characteristics of the left ventricle of the heart. Young men involved in race walking had 18.8% greater myocardial mass than young men in the control group. The values of the left atrial diameter and left ventricular diameter at the moment of diastole in trained athletes showed a slight tendency to exceed the control values. Relaxation of the posterior wall of the left ventricle occurred at a greater speed in athletes, exceeding control values by 23.2%. Diastolic left ventricular wall thickness in athletes was 14.2% greater than in the comparison group. End-diastolic volume in trained young men tended to be 7.8% lower than the control value. At the same time, stroke volume did not differ between the two groups, being within normal limits.

Conclusions. Systematic race walking strengthens the heart of young men. As a result, trainees show an increase in left ventricular myocardial mass, an increase in the rate of relaxation of its walls while maintaining optimal contractility and capacity.

References

1. Boldov A.S., Zavalishina S.Yu., Lobanova O.L., Goryachkina V.V. Funktsionalnaya reaktsiya serdechno-sosudistoy sistemy yunykh sportsmenov na testovuyu fizicheskuyu nagruzku [Functional response of the cardiovascular system of young basketball players to testing physical loads]. Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury. 2025. No. 10. Pp. 34-35.
2. Zavalishina S.Yu., Makhov A.S. Funktsionalnyye vozmozhnosti yunoshey pri uglublennykh zanyatiyakh fizicheskoy aktivnostyu [Functionality of young men during in-depth physical activity]. Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury. 2022. No. 5. P. 68.

No. 6, pp. 81–81

Received: 20.03.2026 | Published: 02.06.2026

CC BY 4.0