HRV-based Training Effects in Athletes (HRV-btA)

Physiological and Psychological Effects of Heart Rate Variability Based Training in Endurance Athletes

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Emotions; Heart Rate Control; Athlete
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: HRV-based training; Other: TRAD training

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 Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 14
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Almería, Spain, 04120
    • University of Almeria

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

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.

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.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: HRV-Group; 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.	Other: HRV-based training; Intervention based on HRV-guided training for the performance improvement of athletes. Pre-competitive HRV, subjective effort perception, anxiety and mood will also be analysed.
Active Comparator: TRAD-Group; Athletes will train according to their trainer plan. Training will not be guided by their basal HRV scores.	Other: TRAD training; Traditional endurance training

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
VO2max	Maximal oxygen consumption in treadmill test	Change from baseline VO2max at 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
maximal heart rate	maximal heart rate in the treadmill test	Change from baseline maximal heart rate at 8 weeks
maximal speed	maximal speed in the treadmill test	Change from baseline maximal speed at 8 weeks
ventilatory thresolds	ventilatory thresolds in the treadmill test	Change from baseline ventilatory thresolds at 8 weeks
respiratory quotient	respiratory quotient in the treadmill test	Change from baseline respiratory quotient at 8 weeks
Time in running test	Time in the 3000 meters running test	Change from baseline time at 8 weeks
Lactate change	Lactate change after the 3000m test	Change from baseline Lactate at 8 weeks
Speed in running test	Speed in the 3000 meters running test	Change from baseline speed at 8 weeks
Heart rate in running test	Heart rate in the 3000 meters running test	Change from baseline heart rate at 8 weeks
Börg scale after running test	Subjective perceived exertion. Scores goes from 0 to 10. Higher scores indicate a higher perceived exertion.	Through study completion (8 weeks)
LnrMSSD score	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.	Through study completion (8 weeks)
Mood score	Precompetitive mood levels. Instrument: Profile of Mood States. Scores goes from 0 (low mood) to 4 (high mood).	Through study completion (8 weeks)
Anxiety score	Precompetitive anxiety levels. Instrument: Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. Scores goes from 1 (no anxiety) to 4 (a lot of anxiety).	Through study completion (8 weeks)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fat mass	Percentage of fat mass	Change from baseline body composition at 8 weeks
Muscle mass	Percentage of muscle mass	Change from baseline body composition at 8 weeks
Bone mass	Percentage of bone mass	Change from baseline body composition at 8 weeks
Body water	Percentage of body water	Change from baseline body composition at 8 weeks
Height	Height in meters	Change from baseline height at 8 weeks
Weight	Weight in kilograms	Change from baseline weight at 8 weeks
Heart Rate Variability Change (LnrMSSD)	Parasympathetic tone and recovery indicator	Change from Baseline Heart Rate Variability at 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidad de Almeria
• Investigators: Study Chair: Alberto González Quílez, Master, Universidad de Almeria; Principal Investigator: Antonio Granero-Gallegos, PhD, Universidad de Almeria

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 7, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 7, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): December 7, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 24, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 31, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): November 5, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 27, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 25, 2020
• Last Verified: May 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Training; Anxiety; Stress; Mood; Endurance; Heart rate variability; maximal oxygen consumption
• Other Study ID Numbers: UAL-HRV

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No