Usually, novice athletes want to immediately get the expected results or achieve the desired shape in a short time. Most often, people for this purpose do not think about the state of health. As a result, beginners quickly break down and instead of the desired intensive training, they have to comply with the prescribed rest and medication.
A professional athlete is distinguished by a fundamentally different, intellectual approach to training, when the load is compared with the resources of the body. It grows gradually and is planned based on the target indicators or the competition calendar. One of the most popular and simple indicators of load control in professional sports is RMSSD. In this review, we will tell you what this indicator is and how to use it.
What is RMSSD?
RMSSD is an indicator that shows the physiological recovery of the body. He came to the sport thanks to the methodology of heart rate variability (HRV, or HRV – Heart Rate Variability), developed in the early 1960s to prepare astronauts for flights. RMSSD reflects the state of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for recovery from physiological and/or emotional stress. The indicator is calculated using the analysis in the pulsogram of the power of the HF-wave band.
If your body has not yet recovered from the previous workout, it makes no sense to load it even more. The physical form will only degrade. If you use the body in this mode for several weeks, you are more likely to overtrain, and you will not get any new results. The RMSSD indicator from the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) methodology is designed specifically to avoid overtraining and monitor health balance with increasing physical activity.
Which results can be expected from the application of RMSSD?
At the moment, hundreds of scientific experiments have been performed by sports physicians to determine the effectiveness of using RMSSD and heart rate variability (HRV / HRV) in the training process.
Experiment
26 young men took part in the experiment of the Finnish physiologist Anti Kiviniemi. The subjects were divided into 3 groups. The first were trained according to the standard training program. The second received a daily high-intensity exercise under the control of HRV. The third group was the control. Athletes ran 6 times a week with 2 sessions of low intensity and 4 sessions of high intensity. According to the methodology we described above, if an athlete had an increase or no change in RMSSD, then he performed a high-intensity workout that day. If there was a decrease in RMSSD or a downward trend within 2 days, then the athlete was performing low-intensity training or resting. After 4 weeks, the best response to endurance training was seen in the HRV controlled group. The same group showed the best maximum running speed.
Ten years later, this experiment was repeated jointly by scientists in Brazil and Canada. The scientists recruited 36 women who had not previously run but were healthy and were able to run 5 km in less than 45 minutes. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups – training under the control of heart rate variability with RMSSD and control. The RMSSD values ​​influenced the choice for the activity – high-intensity training or moderate-intensity work. All participants successfully completed the 11-week training program.
The experiment proved that training with RMSSD makes it possible to achieve better sports results, while it is useful for athletes to prevent injuries and overtraining.
Nuances of using RMSSD
Derived from the HRV (HRV) methodology, RMSSD is popular in sports medicine due to its simplicity. However, it is important to remember an important nuance for the correct interpretation of the indicator: RMSSD should be interpreted in combination with other body signals.
First of all, the RMSSD needs to be tracked along with the pulse. Usually, the more trained the athlete, the lower the pulse (up to 35-45 beats per minute at rest). That is, an improvement (growth) in the RMSSD trend should be confirmed by a decrease in the pulse rate.
How to take measurements?
If earlier RMSSD measurements were available only to elite athletes with access to HRV / RCM measurements, today RMSSD is actively penetrating into everyday life. It is available in many fitness gadgets called “Recovery” or “Recovery”, however, fitness gadgets do not always take high-quality heart rate data from the wrist, especially its variability, due to the lack of tight contact between the body and the sensor.
If you need scientific accuracy in measuring and interpreting RMSSD data according to scientific standards for heart rate variability methodology, you can connect your heart rate monitor with heart rate data to the appropriate services that can be found on the Internet.
Why sometimes we do not get results from training?
Many train too hard, thinking that it will lead to faster results. Or they come there to let off steam, relieve stress.
But training is also stressful. In my experience, an unconscious attitude to this simple physiological fact is the second most common reason for skipping workouts, as well as plans, dreams and New Year’s resolutions for an athletic and fit figure. (Second after misguided expectations by comparing yourself to gym idols or “perfect” in every way insta-fitness bloggers and copying their approach.)
This can be corrected by finding a balance between training stress, domestic and work stress. So you can extend regular visits, which will be enough for strong visual changes. Do not forget to give the body a rest and switch to other entertainment. For example, you can choose bet app Senegal and place bets on sports.
Training does not work on a linear basis, as it may seem to many, where more is always better.
In strength training, as in almost everywhere, the principle of distribution operates. When the initial effort is enough to get most of the result.
One study noticed a sufficient stimulating effect in one set per workout (3 per week) in trainees for up to 6 months. Then the volume must be increased. But between 3 and 5 sets per muscle group (9-15 per week), 5 didn’t have much benefit.
Practice shows that the border of 9-12 approaches will hit the bull’s-eye and give proper stimulation.
Most importantly, e is a reasonable approach to training. In addition, you need to remember that the body of each person is individual, so what works well for one may not suit another at all.