Objective. To improve the training process of skilled weightlifters of diff erent sports schools within an annual macrocycle taking into account the diff erences between the groups of weight categories at the stage of specialized basic training.
Methods. Аnalysis of scientifi c and methodological literature, analysis and synthesis of indicators of training work, questionnaire survey, method of calculating the training load (according to V.G. Oleshko), pedagogical observations and experiments, control testing of the morphofunctional state (anthropometry and electronic caliperometry) and physical preparedness (using the general physical preparation and specialized physical preparation tests), methods of mathematical statistics.
Results. The training loads of female weightlifters of diff erent groups of weight categories of the major sports schools of Ukraine in different mesocycles of the annual macrocycle have signifi cant diff erences in the load volumes, fi rst of all, between athletes of the light and heavy weight categories, and also diff er from the standards of the current curriculum for the Children and Youth Sports Schools. The training load indices for diff erent groups of exercises (snatches, clean and jerks, rows, squats, presses and others) tend to change in young weightlifters aged 16-18 years. The training loads of the female athletes were the lowest in the competitive (by 17.4%) and in the control-preparatory mesocycles (by 15.3%) compared to the base mesocycles as this is due to their preparation for competitive starts. Positive changes in the measures of the morphofunctional condition and in the results of control tests of general and specialized physical preparation, as well as the growth of sports performance (in snatch, clean and jerk, and total combined) among the athletes of major sports schools of Ukraine confi rmed the high effi ciency of the training program for middleweight female weightlifters in weightlifting training centers of Kharkiv, Ternopil, and Donetsk regions. The program can serve as a model for the development of a diff erentiated training program for young female weightlifters in Ukraine.
Conclusion. The studies allowed us to recommend the training programs as a basis for designing a diff erentiated training program of annual macrocycle for female athletes of diff erent weight categories and the corresponding age, at the stage of specialized basic training.