Influence of Competition Day on Cognitive Control and HRV in Young Male Gymnasts.

Sartor, F, Capuzzoni, S, Rospo, G, La Torre, A, Vailati, F, and Vailati, E. Influence of competition day on cognitive control and HRV in young male gymnasts. J Strength Cond Res 31(7): 1982-1993, 2017-In gymnastics, high levels of executive attention and physical and coordinative capacities are required. However, training planning does not usually account for dynamic alterations in cognitive capacity. This study investigated whether cognitive capacity was altered by the approach of a competition. Ten elite male gymnasts (16 ± 2 years, 57.3 ± 16.1 kg, 1.64 ± 1.27 m) were monitored for sleep, life demands, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and pain, starting 5 days before the competition and up to 5 days after it. Stroop task performance and concomitant heart rate variability (HRV) were monitored 5 days and 1 day before the competition and then 1 and 5 days after. Sleep and life demands were not affected by the competition. Localized pain ranged from mild to moderate levels throughout the observation period. It weakly correlated with RPE (r = 0.241, p = 0.010) and moderately with number of errors (NoEs) (r = 0.639, p = 0.047). The RPE was higher for the competition day (p = 0.002). Median reaction times during the Stroop task were higher in the period preceding the competition (p < 0.001) for similar NoEs. The HRV during the congruent stimuli task showed higher root mean square differences of successive beats, portion of normal to normal intervals exceeding 50 milliseconds, and high frequency after the competition (p ≤ 0.05). Poincare plot SD2 showed a positive correlation with Stroop task NoEs (r = 0.590, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the period preceding an important competition affected cognitive performance and HRV in young male gymnasts. A practical implication of this study is that training loads could be adjusted according to mental stress before a competition.

Heart rate variability reflects training load and psychophysiological status in young elite gymnasts.

In gymnastics, monitoring of the training load and assessment of the psychophysiological status of elite athletes is important for training planning and to avoid overtraining, consequently reducing the risk of injures. The aim of this study was to examine whether heart rate variability (HRV) is a valuable tool to determine training load and psychophysiological status in young elite gymnasts. Six young male elite gymnasts took part in a 10-week observational study. During this period, beat-to-beat heart rate intervals were measured every training day in weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Balance, agility, upper limb maximal strength, lower limb explosive, and elastic power were monitored during weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Training load of each training session of all 10 weeks was assessed by session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and psychophysiological status by Foster's index. Morning supine HRV (HF% and LF%/HF%) correlated with the training load of the previous day (r = 0.232, r = -0.279, p < 0.05 ). Morning supine to sitting HRV difference (mean R wave to R wave interval (RR), mean heart rate, HF%, SD1) correlated with session RPE of the previous day (r = -0.320, r = 0.301, p < 0.01; r = 0.265, r = -0.270, p < 0.05) but not with Foster's index. Training day/reference day HRV difference (mean RR, SD1) showed the best correlations with session RPE of the previous day (r = -0.384, r = -0.332, p < 0.01) and Foster's index (r = -0.227, r = -0.260, p < 0.05). In conclusion, HRV, and in particular training day/reference day mean RR difference or SD1 difference, could be useful in monitoring training load and psychophysiological status in young male elite gymnasts.