Heart Rate Variability Responses to a Training Cycle in Female Youth Rowers

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a reputable estimate of cardiac autonomic function used across multiple athletic populations to document the cardiac autonomic responses to sport demands. However, there is a knowledge gap of HRV responses in female youth rowers. Thus, the purpose of this study was to measure HRV weekly, over a 15-week training period, covering pre-season and up to competition in youth female rowers, in order to understand the physiological response to long-term training and discern how fluctuations in HRV may relate to performance in this population. Measures of heart rate and heart rate variability were recorded before training each Friday over the monitoring period in seven athletes. Analysis of heart rate variability focused on time domain indices, the standard deviation of all normal to normal R–R wave intervals, and the root mean square of successive differences as markers of cardiac parasympathetic modulation. Training load was quantified by multiplying the rating of perceived exertion of the weeks training and training duration. A decrease was identified in cardiac parasympathetic modulation as the season progressed (Effect Size (Cohen’s d) = −0.34 to −0.8, weeks 6 and 11–15), despite no significant relationship between training load and heart rate variability. Factors outside of training may further compound the reduction in heart rate variability, with further monitoring of external stressors (e.g., school) in adolescent athletes.

Heart rate variability of elite female rowers in preparation for and during the national selection regattas: a pilot study on the relation to on water performance

“…Due to the remote nature of the HRV data collection we were unable to enforce a pre-reading stabilization period or seated position for HRV readings which may have an effect on resting HRV values (27,55). Additionally, the statistical analysis used in our previous investigations demonstrated that changes in HRV is an appropriate method in similar small populations (56). Finally, we did not control for the menstrual cycle phase in this study.…”

Commentaries on Viewpoint: Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst: can we perform remote data collection in sport sciences?

“…We recently tested this convergence by asking cyclists to remotely complete six 40-km time trials, using their personal equipment, while tracking training load, heart rate variability, nutrition, and psychological makers ( 2 ). In addition, we used remote data collection to track competitive youth rowers’ response to long-haul travel ( 3 ) and from an applied perspective, their pretraining heart rate variability across a season ( 4 ). We find that it is essential to determine outcomes that 1 ) subjects can obtain without assistance from researchers, 2 ) subjects are familiar with, 3 ) can be obtained with equipment already possessed by the subjects or can easily be provided, and 4 ) are meaningful.…”