Abstract :
Aim of the study. To establish: 1) the amount of research on general motor fitness of 1st-year students, conducted at
selected Polish institutions of higher education between 1953-2010; 2) the number and kind of motor tests applied in
this kind of research as well as the frequency of these tests during the period under study. Material and methods:
The material for this research was composed of the publications on motor fitness of the first-year students taking part
in specific motor trials applied at Polish tertiary institutions between 1953 - 2010. A diagnostic poll method was used
in the research. Results: Fifty-four original research cases conducted in the period under study were observed. Within
this period the trials such as: “100m run”, “jump from the run-up”, “grenade throw” and “ shot put” were more
popular during the earlier years, while the trials such us: “zig-zag run”, “standing long jump”, and “medicine ball
throw” were characteristic of more recent studies. Some of the most popular motor trials were: “standing long jump” –
38 cases, “medicine ball throw” – 30 cases, “zig-zag run” – 28 cases, “shuttle runs” – 9 cases, "short distance runs” –
12 cases, “downward bend from standing position” – 10 cases, and "vertical jump” – 8 cases.
Conclusions: 1. Little research concerning the level of physical fitness of first-year students attending Polish tertiary
institutions was conducted in the years 1953-2010; 2. The amount of motor fitness research carried out during this
period fails to provide constant systematic assessment of the state of the students’ physical condition, which is a result
of too large dispersions in time and territory where the measurements were taken; 3. In the motor fitness tests
conducted with 1st-year students the determining variable was mainly gender, and only few research cases were found
in which general motor fitness was analyzed according to environmental factors and anthropometric parameters; 4.
The popularity of some trials as well as the frequency of their applications fluctuated differently over time.
