The intensity of physical activity during physical education lessons of 5th-6th grade pupils

Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine the intensity of physical activity during PE lessons of 5th - 6th grade pupils. Methods. The study subjects consisted of 58 fifth – sixth grade pupils between the ages of 11 and 13, from four Klaipeda city general education schools (Lithuania), selected by convenience sampling. The study included 27 fifth-graders (55% girls) and 31 sixth-graders (45% girls). The study involved the monitoring of heart rates (HR) during PE lessons by Polar M400 heart rate monitors. HR was measured for 3 lessons in each class, for a total of 12 lessons. Results. 5th grade pupils spent most of their time in all PE lessons in targeted medium to high intensity zones, but there were also PE lessons where pupils did not reach the required zones or were above the required zone. The pupils’ mean heart rate of all PE lessons was 148 ± 9.95 bpm, and the maximum heart rate was 184.04 ± 6.13 bpm. The biggest part of 6th grade pupils’ PE lessons physical activity intensity was within the recommended levels in medium-high intensity zones. In all PE lessons, the average heart rate of the pupils was 147.28 ± 9.65 bpm, and the maximum heart rate was 182.16 ± 8.38 bpm. Conclusion. The intensity of PE lessons met the recommendations - more than 50 % of physical activity during lessons was of medium to high intensity. Our study revealed that the change in pupils’ heart rate during a PE lesson was influenced by both factors – the type of activity and the lesson task. Depending on gender, girls had higher values regarding the percentage of lesson time in MVPA than boys