Our latest study investigates the relationship between subjective indicators of recovery status and HRV among NCAA Division 1 sprint-swimmers. The main findings were:

1) Perceived sleep quality showed the strongest relationship with post-waking LnRMSSD.

2) LnRMSSD demonstrated stronger associations with subjective parameters than resting heart rate.

We report both group and individual relationships. The full text is available here.

Association between Subjective Indicators of Recovery Status and Heart Rate Variability among Divison-1 Sprint-Swimmers

Abstract

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological marker of training adaptation among athletes. However, HRV interpretation is challenging when assessed in isolation due to its sensitivity to various training and non-training-related factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between athlete-self report measures of recovery (ASRM) and HRV throughout a preparatory training period. Ultra-short natural logarithm of the root mean square of successive differences (LnRMSSD) and subjective ratings of sleep quality, fatigue, muscle soreness, stress and mood were acquired daily for 4 weeks among Division-1 sprint-swimmers (n = 17 males). ASRM were converted to z-scores and classified as average (z-score −0.5–0.5), better than average (z-score > 0.5) or worse than average (z-score < −0.5). Linear mixed models were used to evaluate differences in LnRMSSD based on ASRM classifications. LnRMSSD was higher (p < 0.05) when perceived sleep quality, fatigue, stress and mood were better than average versus worse than average. Within-subject correlations revealed that 15 of 17 subjects demonstrated at least one relationship (p < 0.05) between LnRMSSD and ASRM variables. Changes in HRV may be the result of non-training related factors and thus practitioners are encouraged to include subjective measures to facilitate targeted interventions to support training adaptations.

Figure 1

Effect sizes ± 90% confidence interval for resting heart rate parameters relative to subjective categorization.