HRV-Guided Training for Professional Endurance Athletes: A Protocol for a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Autonomic Nervous System Function

Background:

• Physiological training adaptations are influenced by the balance between the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous systems (PNS).
• Heart rate variability (HRV) serves as a non-invasive metric to assess autonomic nervous system activity.
• Individualized training plans utilizing HRV show potential for performance enhancement in athletes, though research in professional endurance athletes is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effects of a 12-week HRV-guided training program versus a traditional training program on the performance of professional endurance athletes.
• To evaluate changes in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) as the primary performance outcome.
• To determine if HRV-guided training offers superior performance improvements compared to conventional training methods.

Main Methods:

• A 12-week cluster-randomized controlled trial involving professional endurance athletes.
• Athletes were assigned to either an HRV-guided training group (HRV-G) or a traditional training group (TRAD-G).
• HRV-G training intensity and volume were adjusted based on daily HRV measurements, while TRAD-G followed a predetermined training schedule. VO2max was assessed via incremental treadmill testing.

Main Results:

• The study aims to determine changes in VO2max and other performance metrics between the two groups.
• Expected outcomes include superior functional performance improvements in the HRV-G compared to the TRAD-G.
• Analysis will focus on identifying significant differences in performance outcomes attributable to the training methodologies.

Conclusions:

• HRV-guided training is hypothesized to be an effective strategy for enhancing functional performance in high-level endurance athletes.
• The findings are expected to provide evidence supporting the use of HRV monitoring for optimizing training prescription in elite sports.
• This research could offer coaches a data-driven approach to personalize training and maximize athlete potential.