Key result
Heart rate variability measured by Omegawave immediately prior to assessment was inversely related with strength performance in military personnel (p = 0.002).
Why the study?
Heart rate variability has become popular for assessing physical fitness and performance, but its ability to predict strength and cardiovascular performance using commercial off-the-shelf wearables required assessment in a military cohort.
Do heart rate variability metrics from commercial devices predict strength and cardiovascular performance in active-duty military personnel?
Observational (n=24)
Do heart rate variability metrics from commercial devices predict strength and cardiovascular performance in active-duty military personnel?
p-value: p=0.002
Heart rate variability metrics obtained from commercial devices, specifically the Omegawave, can predict strength and cardiovascular performance in military personnel, with lower pre-event HRV associating with higher strength performance.
Lower pre-assessment Omegawave HRV was associated with greater strength in military personnel; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before informing practice.
Heart rate variability (HRV) has become popular for assessing improvements in physical fitness, performance, and recovery. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of HRV metrics to predict strength and cardiovascular performance in a military cohort using data obtained from commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) wearables. (1) Methods: Twenty-four active-duty military personnel (17 males; 7 females), ranging from age 23 to 41 (32.70 ± 4.65), were equipped with a Whoop Strap 3.0, a Garmin Fenix 5, and an Omegawave during a 12-week exercise intervention study. For this experiment researchers focused solely on HRV metrics obtained on scheduled “Gameday” competitions that occurred periodically during the intervention and contained a battery for strength, power, and cardiovascular performance tests. (2) Statistical Analysis: HRV metrics fitted with linear mixed models and applied to a composite strength variable derived following interrogation of performance tests with principal component analysis (PCA). Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) was also used to compare cardiovascular and strength metrics. (3) Results: Results indicated that standard deviation of NN intervals (SDNN)] obtained from Omegawave was the best overall predictor of performance (AIC > 5.00). (4) Conclusion: Our analyses demonstrated that traditional metrics obtained with the Omegawave were the best performance predictors. HRV measured by Omegawave immediately prior to Gameday assessment was inversely related with strength performance, suggesting that a lower HRV was associated with higher performance (p = 0.002). These findings demonstrate the potential influence of timing and raw values utilized on HRV interpretation to predict strength and cardiovascular performance.
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Hierholzer et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Active-duty military personnel (n=24). Commercial off-the-shelf wearables (Whoop Strap 3.0, Garmin Fenix 5, Omegawave) was evaluated on Prediction of strength and cardiovascular performance (p=0.002). Heart rate variability measured by Omegawave immediately prior to assessment was inversely related with strength performance in military personnel (p = 0.002).
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