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HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV)
In addition to resting heart rate and the MAF Test, heart rate variability also reflects autonomic imbalance and can be used to monitor training, stress, and other relationships including heart health. HRV is a measurement of the time between each heart beat while resting and provides much more information than just knowing the resting rate. The heart, in fact, speeds up when you inhale, and slows down when you exhale. A healthy, well-rested body will produce a larger gap and higher HRV than a stressed-out, overtrained body.
While more detailed measurements of HRV (along with other factors) is best achieved by an ECG (electrocardiogram) evaluation by a cardiologist, any athlete can measure HRV at home using a simple, practical, and useful method.
During my years in practice, in addition to resting heart rate and the MAF Test, I used a modified master’s two-step test to help assess autonomic function. As you would expect, autonomic balance, as measured by HRV, is maintained following an aerobic workout; however, after an anaerobic workout, autonomic balance is slightly disturbed until the body recovers. In addition, athletes who maintain a good balance of autonomic function, as indicated by HRV, perform better.
Today, new technology allows athletes to more accurately monitor their HRV. A device called the “ithlete” is compatible with iPhones and touch-screen iPods, allowing you to record your resting heart rate for one minute using a standard chest strap heart monitor and accurately calculate your HRV. The device provides great animation of the heart and lungs in action, graphs of your results, stores your personal information, and allows for daily testing comparing your weekly and monthly results. As such, it warns you if HRV worsens, indicating an autonomic imbalance and the need for additional rest that day, or an easy rather than hard workout. For more information on HRV and the ithlete, go to www.ithlete.net.
Monochrome image of ithlete screen at end of 60-second test showing heart rate variability value at the top and resting heart rate beneath the lungs.
When the first stage of functional overtraining is not corrected by making the appropriate training, stress, diet, or other changes, all these signs, symptoms, and functional problems worsen, and the athlete enters into the second stage of the overtraining syndrome.
