Abstract
This study examined the acute training responses of heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary biomarkers (immunoglobulin A and alpha-amylase) following a standardised training bout in Paralympic swimmers. Changes in HRV, sIgA and sAA were documented Monday morning, Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning over a 14-week monitoring period leading into international competition. Magnitude based inferences with effect sizes (ES) were used to assess the practical significance of changes each week. Normal training responses elicited increases in HR, α1, sAA and sIgA, accompanied by decreases in HF(nu), standard deviation of instantaneous RR variability (SD1) and the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) from Monday morning to Monday afternoon, and to Tuesday morning with similar week to week responses for most variables. Changes in RMSSD from Monday a.m. to p.m. were likely smaller (less negative) for Week 7 (78/18/3, ES = 0.40) following a competition weekend with similar changes observed from Monday a.m. to Tuesday a.m. (90/5/5, ES = 1.30). In contrast, the change in sAA from Monday a.m. to p.m. was very likely less (more negative) at Week 7 (0/0/99, ES = −2.46), with similar changes observed from Monday a.m. to Tuesday a.m. (0/0/99, ES = −4.69). During the taper period, there were also likely increases in parasympathetic modulations (RMSSD, Weeks 12–14) along with increased immune function (sIgA, Week 13) that demonstrated a favourable state of athlete preparedness. Used together, HRV and sAA provide coaches with valuable information regarding physiological changes in response to training and competition.
Highlights
Understanding the effect of a given training stimulus on exercise performance is critical for planning training sessions and achieving peak performance
While the current athletes did not partake in any strenuous physical activity during the day, all athletes were studying at high school or university and as such did not rest all day between training sessions
Regardless, the reported Monday a.m. to p.m. changes in heart rate variability (HRV) and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) in the current study provide coaches and athletes with normative data to assist in the monitoring of training
Summary
Understanding the effect of a given training stimulus on exercise performance is critical for planning training sessions and achieving peak performance. Coaches are constantly working to identify how individual athletes respond to training so they can accurately prescribe an appropriate training load. This ideal load reduces the possibility of negative training responses and enhances positive training adaptations. A range of specific blood variables [1] and psychometric questionnaires [2] have been used to monitor an athlete’s response to training loads and quantify athlete fatigue. Obtaining blood samples can be inconvenient and sometimes painful, especially if used for frequent monitoring. Questionnaires can be time consuming and report a subjective measure of fatigue or training load and not internal training load [3]. There has been increased interest in the Sports 2016, 4, 13; doi:10.3390/sports4010013 www.mdpi.com/journal/sports
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