HRV-based Training Effects in Athletes

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Emotions; Heart Rate Control; Athlete
• Interventions: Other: TRAD training; Other: HRV-based training

• Registration Number: NCT04150952
• Lead Sponsor: Universidad de Almeria

Brief Summary

Monitoring individual responses to training is an important key factor to prescribe to most effective training programs. Heart-rate variability (HRV) could be used for monitoring the training status of endurance athletes in order to detect the fatigue status and to assess the adaptation to training. This direct fatigue measuring method has been little used to prescribe or regulate exercise prescription. Moreover, it allows new possibilities for the training load prescription according to an athlete's status, the response to the training load, and the adaptation to training. Regardless HRV-guided training, the athlete performance could also be influenced by precompetitive mood and anxiety, which can also be reflected in the precompetitive HRV scores and the subjective effort perception.

Detailed Description

Monitoring individual responses to training is an important key factor to prescribe to most effective training programs. A promising variable that is able to reflect positive or negative training adaptation is cardiac autonomic regulation. In general, a decreased training status is associated with a lower power output at the same submaximal heart rate and a slower heart rate recovery, whereas an increased training status is associated with an increased power output, the same submaximal heart rate, and a faster heart rate recovery.

In this line, heart-rate variability (HRV), which focuses on the variability of successive R-R intervals, have gained popularity in monitoring the training status of endurance athletes. This tool enables the detection of fatigue status and assesses the adaptation to training. After high intensity training or a short-term overreached period, there is a decrease in the resting HRV values, reflecting the effect of the fatigue. In addition, the increase of the performance after a training period is related to an increase in resting HRV. This direct fatigue measuring method has been little used to prescribe or regulate exercise prescription. Moreover, this HRV-guided training, also called day-to-day periodization, allows new possibilities for the training load prescription according to an athlete's status, the response to the training load, and the adaptation to training.

On the other hand, regardless HRV-guided training, the athlete performance could also be influenced by precompetitive mood and anxiety, which can also be reflected in the precompetitive HRV scores and the subjective effort perception. This is another interesting line that pretends to be clarified in this study.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2019-09-07
• Study First Submitted: 2019-10-24
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-10-31
• Study First Posted: 2019-11-05
• Primary Completion: 2019-12-07
• Study Completion: 2019-12-07
• Status Verified: 2020-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-05-25
• Last Update Posted: 2020-05-27

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 14

Inclusion Criteria

• Belonging to the Spanish Athletics Federation.
• Training and running in Spanish Athletics Federation contest during at least two years.
• Stay in the first third of the classification of the previous season last five races.

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Exclusion Criteria

• Cardiovascular pathologies.
• Parameters of blood pressure (BP) outside of normality.
• Respiratory problems diagnosed.
• Be in treatment of psychological problems.
• Regular consumption of drug (s) with direct or indirect effects on the Nervous System (e.g., anxiolytics, antidepressants, neuroleptics).
• Consumption of substances not permitted by the International Athletics Federation (IAF).
• Punctual consumption of medication that could alter the performance due to suffering some disease related to cardiorespiratory system (e.g., influenza).
• Do not attend at least the 90% of the workouts during the intervention.

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
TRAD-Group	TRAD training	Athletes will train according to their trainer plan. Training will not be guided by their basal HRV scores.
HRV-Group	HRV-based training	Athletes will train according to their basal HRV scores. If the resting HRV is higher tan their basal HRV, they will perform a high or moderate intensity training. If the resting HRV is lower, they will perform a low intensity training. If the resting HRV still lower, they will rest. They will not accumulate two or more days of high-moderate intensity training, nor two or more days of rest.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
VO2max	Change from baseline VO2max at 8 weeks	Maximal oxygen consumption in treadmill test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Lactate change	Change from baseline Lactate at 8 weeks	Lactate change after the 3000m test
maximal heart rate	Change from baseline maximal heart rate at 8 weeks	maximal heart rate in the treadmill test
Speed in running test	Change from baseline speed at 8 weeks	Speed in the 3000 meters running test
Börg scale after running test	Through study completion (8 weeks)	Subjective perceived exertion. Scores goes from 0 to 10. Higher scores indicate a higher perceived exertion.
Mood score	Through study completion (8 weeks)	Precompetitive mood levels. Instrument: Profile of Mood States. Scores goes from 0 (low mood) to 4 (high mood).
maximal speed	Change from baseline maximal speed at 8 weeks	maximal speed in the treadmill test
Heart rate in running test	Change from baseline heart rate at 8 weeks	Heart rate in the 3000 meters running test
LnrMSSD score	Through study completion (8 weeks)	Parasympathetic tone and recovery indicator. There are no minimum or maximum values. They depend on the athlete recovery state. Higher scores indicate a better outcome.
respiratory quotient	Change from baseline respiratory quotient at 8 weeks	respiratory quotient in the treadmill test
Time in running test	Change from baseline time at 8 weeks	Time in the 3000 meters running test
Anxiety score	Through study completion (8 weeks)	Precompetitive anxiety levels. Instrument: Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. Scores goes from 1 (no anxiety) to 4 (a lot of anxiety).
ventilatory thresolds	Change from baseline ventilatory thresolds at 8 weeks	ventilatory thresolds in the treadmill test

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Almería; 🇪🇸 Almería, Spain