Endurance Running Training Individually Guided by HRV in Untrained Women

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of HRV-guided training compared to a standardized prescription on i) time to complete 5-km running performance (t5km), ii) peak treadmill running speed (Vpeak) and its time limit (tlim at Vpeak), and iii) autonomic cardiac modulation (i.e., parasympathetic activity and recovery) in untrained women. Additionally, we correlated changes in t5km with changes in Vpeak, tlim at Vpeak and autonomic cardiac modulation. Thirty-six untrained women were divided into a HRV-guided training group (HRVG) and a control group (CG). The CG followed a pre-defined program, alternating moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The determination of MICT or HIIT was based on the pre-training HRV for HRVG. MICT was performed if HRV was < mean - 1 SD of previous measures. Otherwise, HIIT was prescribed. The t5km, Vpeak, tlim at Vpeak, parasympathetic activity (i.e., rMSSD) and parasympathetic reactivation (i.e., HRR) were measured before and after the training period. The t5km decreased to a greater magnitude in the HRVG (-17.5±5.6% vs. -14±4.7%; Effect Size (ES) between-group difference=moderate). rMSSD and tlim at Vpeak only improved in HRVG (+23.3±27.8% and +23.6±31.9%, respectively). The HRVG experienced greater improvements in Vpeak and HRR (Vpeak: 10±7.3% vs. 8.2±4.7%; HRR: 19.1±28.1% vs. 12.6±12.9%; ES between-group difference=small). Although HRVG performed less MICT than CG, the volume of MICT was negatively related to changes in t5km. Vpeak changes were highly correlated with t5km changes. The greater improvements in HRVG for t5km and autonomic modulation reinforce the potential application of this tool.

Training Prescription Guided by Heart-Rate Variability in Cycling

“…Consequently, the percentage of time below VT1 was higher (but not significantly) in HRV-G while time expended upper VT2 remained similar between groups. The distribution in HRV-G is in accordance with the report by Da Silva et al 32 which found a lower proportion of moderate intensity for the HRV guided training group.…”

“…In addition, HRV-G lead to substantial greater increase in this variable with higher magnitude of change. The finding mirrors those of the previous studies 5, 32 that have examined the effect of a day-to-day training prescription based on HRV compared to a traditional training prescription. In this case, power output during 40TT was between WVT1 and WVT2 (Table 3), while the percentage of time expended at moderate intensity (between VT1 and VT2) was significantly lower the in HRV-G group.…”

Factors Affecting Training and Physical Performance in Recreational Endurance Runners

“…Thus, different studies found that grater vagal modulations are related to better training response, adaptation, and recovery in both low-and high-intensity training [69,72]. Moreover, several studies showed how training-load guided by HRV monitoring was more efficient than traditional periodization for training adaptations in both males [70] and females [73] when identifying greater-stress days, thereby reducing the runners' potential for adaptation and requiring a lowered training load. While some HR monitors offer this monitoring tool, this approach is currently easier to implement with different easy-to-use apps (e.g., HRV4training; [74]), which integrate HRV measures with other load and psychometric measures.…”

Heart Rate Monitoring in Team Sports—A Conceptual Framework for Contextualizing Heart Rate Measures for Training and Recovery Prescription

“…Furthermore, day-to-day fluctuations might be interpreted as (physiological) signal , and changes being related to training load, stress, and fatigue (Stanley et al, 2013 ). In line with the latter assumption, several attempts have been made to guide training programs based on daily (resting) HRV as a marker of (cardiovascular) recovery, resulting in either larger adaptations or more efficient training compared to conventional predefined training programs (Kiviniemi et al, 2007 , 2010 ; Vesterinen et al, 2016 ; da Silva et al, 2017 ; Nuuttila et al, 2017 ). However, it must be considered that HRV-guided training programs have always been exclusively based on endurance training and were subject to certain restrictions and training principles (for example, a maximum of two successive high-intensity training days).…”