The effect of aerobic base training on heart-rate variability and performance in elite youth football players

Background: It is vitally important to monitor training load, especially for elite athletes. Monitoring training load means an athletes load can then be manipulated in order to avoid undertraining or overtraining. There are many methods that can be used to monitor training load and differing ways of manipulating training load. Training load is monitored in order to ensure athletes do not over train as well as undertrain. Commonly used methods of training load monitoring include; Global positioning systems (GPS), heart rate and rated of perceived exertion (RPE) and metabolic parameters such as lactate thresholds. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a monitoring tool which shows the internal impact on the body caused from training and competition. Training at high intensity causes HRV to drop due to changes in the Autonomic nervous system (ANS), meaning a drop in parasympathetic activity and an increase in sympathetic activity in the ANS. Research has shown that steady state exercise (60-70% of maximum heart rate) can increase parasympathetic activity in the ANS which would increase HRV (Borghi-Silva et al., 2009). This suggests that the impact on HRV could be used to an athletes’ advantage when trying to recover internally from a training session, post session steady state exercise could increase the parasympathetic tone of the ANS quicker than naturally and therefore recover from the training session. The reliability of using HRV as a training load monitoring tool has yet to have been fully explored in a real life setting. Research has shown the impact and differences in HRV due to exercise (Kiviniemi et al., 2007; Martinmäki et al., 2008; Castello-Simões et al., 2013) but this has been in a controlled laboratory setting and not in an applied environment. Purpose: To assess the reliability of using HRV as a training load monitoring tool in a real life field environment. To analyse the effect of aerobic base training on HRV and performance in elite youth football players. To see whether aerobic base training has a direct effect on the autonomic nervous system and the subsequent change in HRV. Furthermore, whether the change in HRV has an effect on footballing performance. Methods: 18 elite academy football players (Male, 17 ± 1 yrs.’) training load was tracked through GPS, heart rate and HRV over a 12-week period. VO2max and time to exhaustion tests were completed pre and post study in order to establish any fitness changes. All 18 completed 6 weeks of their normal football training schedule; for the second 6 weeks the participants were randomised in to two groups of 9 participants, one control and one intervention group. The intervention group completed tri-weekly aerobic base training sessions on an exercise bike at 60-70% of HRmax, each sessions duration being 30 minutes, this was in addition to their normal training schedule, the control group continued with their normal training schedule. Results: There was low reliability for all HRV indices in a field setting, the most reliable indices were MeanRR, rMSSD and SDNN. There were no significant differences between groups for any parameters, including HRV (<0.05). Although not significant there was an increase in time to exhaustion for the intervention group (effect size 1.17). There was a positive correlation between changes in MeanRR and distance covered/high intensity distance covered for the intervention group (effect size >0.6). Conclusion: Aerobic base training did not have a significant effect on HRV in elite youth footballers. It did have had a positive effect on time to exhaustion and improved performance for distance covered and high intensity distance covered. A longitudinal study with greater participants is needed in this area as significant changes may not have been found due to the study being underpowered. Future research should further investigate the use of steady state exercise and its use in recovery from high training load. Furthermore, the use of HRV and monitoring systems in relation to Chronic Vs Acute training load and Chronic Vs Acute ratio.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• McWhirter, Liam

Contributors dc:contributor

• Morris, Martyn
• Ramsbottom, Roger
• Jakeman, John

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/ksj1-0e45

OAI identifier oai:identifier

tle:209163eb-b68c-4a4e-80b8-328280e8bfaf:d6bd9758-527a-46cd-bfe2-c433766e8fca:1