Influence of Training Load and Altitude on Heart Rate Variability Fatigue Patterns in Elite Nordic Skiers

Abstract

We aimed to analyse the relationship between training load/intensity and different heart rate variability (HRV) fatigue patterns in 57 elite Nordic-skiers. 1063 HRV tests were performed during 5 years. R-R intervals were recorded in resting supine (SU) and standing (ST) positions. Heart rate, low (LF), high (HF) frequency powers of HRV were determined. Training volume, training load (TL, a.u.) according to ventilatory threshold 1 (VT1) and VT2 were measured in zones I≤VT1; VT1<II≤VT2; III>VT2, IV for strength. TL was performed at 81.6±3.5% in zone I, 0.9±0.9% in zone II, 5.0±3.6% in zone III, 11.6±6.3% in zone IV. 172 HRV tests matched a fatigue state and four HRV fatigue patterns (F) were statistically characterized as F(HF-LF-)SU_ST for 121 tests, F(LF+SULF-ST) for 18 tests, F(HF-SUHF+ST) for 26 tests and F(HF+SU) for 7 tests. The occurrence of fatigue states increased substantially with the part of altitude training time (r2=0.52, p<0.001). This study evidenced that there is no causal relationship between training load/intensity and HRV fatigue patterns. Four fatigue-shifted HRV patterns were sorted. Altitude training periods appeared critical as they are likely to increase the overreaching risks.

Key word

heart rate variability - fatigue - training load - endurance training - altitude training

• References

• 1 Akselrod S, Gordon D, Ubel FA, Shannon DC, Berger AC, Cohen RJ. Power. Power spectrum analysis of heart rate fluctuation: A quantitative probe of beat-to-beat cardiovascular control. Science 1981; 213: 220-222
• 2 Al-Ani M, Munir SM, White M, Townend J, Coote JH. Changes in R-R variability before and after endurance training measured by power spectral analysis and by the effect of isometric muscle contraction. Eur J Appl Physiol 1996; 74: 397-403
• 3 Appelhans BM, Luecken LJ. Heart rate variability and pain: Associations of two interrelated homeostatic processes. Biol Psychol 2008; 77: 174-182
• 4 Benhaddad A, Bouix D, Khaled S, Micallef JP, Mercier J, Bringer J, Brun JF. Early hemorheologic aspects of overtraining in elite athletes. Clin Hemorheol Microcirc 1999; 20: 117-125
• 5 Billat VL, Demarle A, Slawinski J, Paiva M, Koralsztein JP. Physical and training characteristics of top-class marathon runners. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001; 33: 2089-2097
• 6 Born DP, Faiss R, Willis SJ, Strahler J, Millet GP, Holmberg HC, Sperlich B. Circadian variation of salivary immunoglobin A, alpha-amylase activity and mood in response to repeated double-poling sprints in hypoxia. Eur J Appl Physiol 2016; 116: 1-10
• 7 Boushel R, Calbet JA, Radegran G, Sondergaard H, Wagner PD, Saltin B. Parasympathetic neural activity accounts for the lowering of exercise heart rate at high altitude. Circulation 2001; 104: 1785-1791
• 8 Buchheit M. Monitoring training status with HR measures: Do all roads lead to Rome?. Front Physiol 2014; 5: 73
• 9 Czura CJ, Tracey KJ. Autonomic neural regulation of immunity. J Intern Med 2005; 257: 156-166
• 10 Furlan R, Piazza S, Dell'orto S, Gentile E, Cerutti S, Pagani M, Malliani A. Early and late effects of exercise and athletic training on neural mechanisms controlling heart rate. Cardiovasc Res 1993; 27: 482-488
• 11 Gaskill SE, Serfass RC, Bacharach DW, Kelly JM. Responses to training in cross-country skiers. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999; 31: 1211-1217
• 12 Goldstein DS, Bentho O, Park MY, Sharabi Y. Low-frequency power of heart rate variability is not a measure of cardiac sympathetic tone but may be a measure of modulation of cardiac autonomic outflows by baroreflexes. Exp Physiol 2011; 96: 1255-1261
• 13 Harriss DJ, Macsween A, Atkinson G. Standards for ethics in sport and exercise science research: 2018 update. Int J Sports Med 2017; 38: 1126-1131
• 14 Hautala A, Tulppo MP, Makikallio TH, Laukkanen R, Nissila S, Huikuri HV. Changes in cardiac autonomic regulation after prolonged maximal exercise. Clin Physiol 2001; 21: 238-245
• 15 Janig W, Habler HJ. Sympathetic nervous system: Contribution to chronic pain. Prog Brain Res 2000; 129: 451-468
• 16 Kuipers H, Keizer HA. Overtraining in elite athletes. Review and directions for the future. Sports Med 1988; 6: 79-92
• 17 Lee CM, Wood RH, Welsch MA. Influence of short-term endurance exercise training on heart rate variability. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003; 35: 961-969
• 18 Levy WC, Cerqueira MD, Harp GD, Johannessen KA, Abrass IB, Schwartz RS, Stratton JR. Effect of endurance exercise training on heart rate variability at rest in healthy young and older men. Am J Cardiol 1998; 82: 1236-1241
• 19 Maso F, Lac G, Filaire E, Michaux O, Robert A. Salivary testosterone and cortisol in rugby players: Correlation with psychological overtraining items. Br J Sports Med 2004; 38: 260-263
• 20 Meeusen R, Duclos M, Foster C, Fry A, Gleeson M, Nieman D, Raglin J, Rietjens G, Steinacker J, Urhausen A. Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: Joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2013; 45: 186-205
• 21 Millet GP, Roels B, Schmitt L, Woorons X, Richalet JP. Combining hypoxic methods for peak performance. Sports Med 2010; 40: 1-25
• 22 Mourot L, Bouhaddi M, Perrey S, Rouillon JD, Regnard J. Quantitative Poincaré plot analysis of heart rate variability: Effect of endurance training. Eur J Appl Physiol 2004; 91: 79-87
• 23 Mujika I, Busso T, Lacoste L, Barale F, Geyssant A, Chatard JC. Modeled responses to training and taper in competitive swimmers. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1996; 28: 251-258
• 24 Perini R, Veicsteinas A. Heart rate variability and autonomic activity at rest and during exercise in various physiological conditions. Eur J Appl Physiol 2003; 90: 317-325
• 25 Pichot V, Roche F, Gaspoz JM, Enjolras F, Antoniadis A, Minini P, Costes F, Busso T, Lacour JR, Barthelemy JC. Relation between heart rate variability and training load in middle-distance runners. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2000; 32: 1729-1736
• 26 Plews DJ, Laursen PB, Kilding AE, Buchheit M. Heart-rate variability and training-intensity distribution in elite rowers. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2014; 9: 1026-1032
• 27 Plews DJ, Laursen PB, Le Meur Y, Hausswirth C, Kilding AE, Buchheit M. Monitoring training with heart rate-variability: How much compliance is needed for valid assessment?. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2014; 9: 783-790
• 28 Pomeranz B, Macaulay RJ, Caudill MA, Kutz I, Adam D, Gordon D, Kilborn KM, Barger AC, Shannon DC, Cohen RJ, Benson H. Assessment of autonomic function in humans by heart rate spectral analysis. Am J Physiol 1985; 248: H151-H153
• 29 Reyes Del Paso GA, Langewitz W, Mulder LJ, Van Roon A, Duschek S. The utility of low frequency heart rate variability as an index of sympathetic cardiac tone: A review with emphasis on a reanalysis of previous studies. Psychophysiology 2013; 50: 477-487
• 30 Schmitt L, Hellard P, Millet GP, Roels B, Richalet JP, Fouillot JP. Heart rate variability and performance at two different altitudes in well-trained swimmers. Int J Sports Med 2006; 27: 226-231
• 31 Schmitt L, Regnard J, Auguin D, Millet G. Monitoring training and fatigue status with heart rate variability: Case study in a swimming Olympic champion. J Fitness Res 2016; 5: 38-45
• 32 Schmitt L, Regnard J, Desmarets M, Mauny F, Mourot L, Fouillot JP, Coulmy N, Millet G. Fatigue shifts and scatters heart rate variability in elite endurance athletes. PLoS One 2013; 8: e71588
• 33 Schmitt L, Regnard J, Parmentier AL, Mauny F, Mourot L, Coulmy N, Millet GP. Typology of "fatigue" by heart rate variability analysis in elite Nordic skiers. Int J Sports Med 2015; 36: 999-1007
• 34 Schumacker YO, Mueller P. The 4000-m team pursuit cycling world record: theoretical and practical aspects. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002; 34: 1029-1036
• 35 Seiler KS, Kjerland GO. Quantifying training intensity distribution in elite endurance athletes: is there evidence for an "optimal" distribution?. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2006; 16: 49-56
• 36 Seiler S. What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes?. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2010; 5: 276-291
• 37 Seiler S, Haugen O, Kuffel E. Autonomic recovery after exercise in trained athletes: intensity and duration effects. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007; 39: 1366-1373
• 38 Sevre K, Bendz B, Hanko E, Nakstad AR, Hauge A, Kasin JI, Lefrandt JD, Smit AJ, Eide I, Rostrup M. Reduced autonomic activity during stepwise exposure to high altitude. Acta Physiol Scand 2001; 173: 409-417
• 39 Solli GS, Tonnessen E, Sandbakk O. The training characteristics of the world’s most successful female cross-country skier. Front Physiol 2017; 8: 1069
• 40 Steinacker JM. Physiological aspects of training in rowing. Int J Sports Med 1993; 14 (Suppl. 01) S3-10
• 41 Steinacker JM, Lormes W, Lehmann M, Altenburg D. Training of rowers before world championships. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998; 30: 1158-1163
• 42 Svendsen IS, Hem E, Gleeson M. Effect of acute exercise and hypoxia on markers of systemic and mucosal immunity. Eur J Appl Physiol 2016; 116: 1219-1229
• 43 Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. Heart rate variability: Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation and clinical use. Circulation 1996; 93: 1043-1065
• 44 Thayer JF, Sternberg E. Beyond heart rate variability: Vagal regulation of allostatic systems. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2006; 1088: 361-372
• 45 Tonnessen E, Sylta O, Haugen TA, Hem E, Svendsen IS, Seiler S. The road to gold: Training and peaking characteristics in the year prior to a gold medal endurance performance. PLoS One 2014; 9: e101796
• 46 Uusitalo AL, Uusitalo AJ, Rusko HK. Endurance training, overtraining and baroreflex sensitivity in female athletes. Clin Physiol 1998; 18: 510-520
• 47 Yamamoto K, Miyachi M, Saitoh T, Yoshioka A, Onodera S. Effects of endurance training on resting and post-exercise cardiac autonomic control. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001; 33: 1496-1502