Purpose of the article is to identify changes in the indicators of physical development of students classified by health status to the special medical group under the influence of physical education and fitness complex with the elements of soft fitness. To solve the tasks the following research methods were used: analysis of modern scientific and methodical literature; method of pedagogical observation; pedagogical experiment with the use of a complex with elements of soft fitness; testing of physical development; statistical processing of the material. The question of the use of a sports and recreation complex with elements of soft fitness and its impact on the physical development of students of special medical groups is presented. A comparative analysis of the indicators of physical development of students participating in the experiment is presented. The methods used allowed us to determine the level of physical performance, the functional capabilities of the cardiovascular system, the stability and adaptation to hypoxia of students assigned to a special medical group for health reasons. In the course of the study, it was possible to trace significant changes in the level of physical development of students of a special medical group assigned to the experimental group, who were engaged in a sports and recreation complex with elements of soft fitness. The main results of the study are verification and substantiation of the assumption that the use of physical fitness complex with the elements of soft fitness in physical education classes with students of the special medical group will improve the physical development indicators of the subjects. The materials of this article may be useful to specialists in the field of recreational and adaptive physical education, as well as teachers and students of secondary and higher educational institutions in the field of physical education and adaptive physical education.