Key result
High training load suppresses autonomic HRV indices, with full recovery within 48 to 72 hours.
Why the study?
Although heart rate variability (HRV) is recognized as a sensitive marker of internal training load and recovery status in athletes, its specific role in monitoring fatigue and optimising recovery in elite race-walking athletes needed examination.
Does daily heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring reflect fatigue and recovery status during intensive training in elite race-walking athletes?
Cohort (n=12)
Does daily heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring reflect fatigue and recovery status during intensive training in elite race-walking athletes?
Daily waking HRV measurements sensitively track acute training-induced autonomic fatigue and subsequent recovery within 48 to 72 hours in elite race-walking athletes.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
HRV may track autonomic fatigue in elite athletes; supports consensus on recovery timelines but remains hypothesis-generating.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is now recognized as a sensitive marker of internal training load and recovery status in athletes. This study aimed to examine the role of HRV in monitoring fatigue and optimising recovery in elite race-walking athletes. Twelve athletes (6 men and 6 women) were monitored over an eight-week period of intensive training. Time-domain (SDNN, RMSSD) and frequency-domain (LF, HF, LF/HF) indices were recorded daily upon waking. Perceived fatigue, performance, and recovery levels were assessed using questionnaires and field-based 5-km tests. Results showed a significant reduction in RMSSD and HF power during periods of high training load, accompanied by an elevation in the LF/HF ratio (p < 0.05). Restoration of these indices was observed after 48–72 hours of passive recovery. These findings confirm the value of HRV as a non-invasive tool for monitoring fatigue and recovery in race-walking
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FERHAT et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Fatigue and recovery in elite race-walking athletes (n=12). Daily waking heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring during intensive training vs. Periods of passive recovery (48-72 hours) vs periods of high training load was evaluated on Time-domain (SDNN, RMSSD) and frequency-domain (LF, HF, LF/HF) HRV indices (p=< 0.05). High training load reduced RMSSD and HF power while elevating the LF/HF ratio, with indices restoring after 48–72 hours of passive recovery.
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