Training with Low Heart Rate Variability

Yesterday I posted about how my HRV had been declining for 15 days until I got sick a couple of days ago.

A week earlier and this would have been disastrous because I can't train with my team at all from work commitments so these 2 practice games are very important to build team synergy and to get game simulated training under my belt. It will also be only the 2nd time I've kicked a footy since August last year. Fortunately I'm pretty lucky as my skills don't degrade too much without touching a footy like some other players do.

In yesterday's post I also mentioned "priority workouts" which basically refers to prioritizing your workouts, or exercises, so if you hit a period where you can't train as much as you want to or you do get sick where it sets your training back a few days, then you still get the work that you NEED to get in above all else.

At the moment I have 3 workouts that I'm running with:

Priority #1 - Speed Workout

These workouts have been covering acceleration work over 5 - 30m as well as max velocity fly sprints over 10 - 30m. They started at a total distance of just 45m but will peak at 160 - 200+ total meters this week depending what my HRV tells me. Speed is king so it''s easily priority #1, especially for a 37yr old.

I have 3 of these sessions left which has put me under pressure to fit them in as I hate not finishing what I started when it comes to training but more on this later.

These sessions are high intensity like all 100% sprinting is.

Priority #2 - Lower Body Gym Workout

I hadn't any lower gym work since pre-Christmas so I needed to get some more in and the best time to train strength is when you're training speed, especially acceleration. I have only been using 2 exercises per workout for these workouts every 5 - 7 days.

I do 1 Olympic lift then 1 strength lift. The O-lifts have been hang cleans and now I'm currently doing split jerks. The strength lifts have been 12" step ups and back squat pin 1/3rd lockouts. I've just got 1 of these workouts to go which is split jerk and lockouts.

These sessions are moderate to high intensity (last day of lockouts I'll work up to 145 - 150kgs)

Priority #3 - Upper Body Gym Workout

I basically use lower body sessions as an active recovery type session I like to do something most days of the week.

I've been using a complex of sort here for bench presses and chest supported rows that was split into 3 workouts geared towards strength and then 3 workouts geared towards power.

Sessions 1 - 3 was rebound reps into drop, catch and throws for bench but drop, catch and pull into pins for rows into dynamic effort with bands for bench and without for rows into pin bench presses and deadstop rows.

Sessions 4 - 6 is in reverse so pin/deadstop reps into dynamic effort into drop/catch into rebound reps.

These sessions are moderate to high but nowhere near the lower strength days as I'll only top out at 95 - 100kgs for benches compared to the 150kgs for the lockouts.

Today my HRV registered 7.8 (up from 6.3 yesterday) and my baseline increased back up 7.4 (from 7.2). Now the HRV4Training would app, which gives you a training recommendation each day depending on your current and past scores, told me as I am above baseline and I improved upon yesterday that I can train as hard as I can.

The beauty of logging your results (I put my HRV, resting heart rate, daily and baseline numbers in my training spreadsheet) is that you can notice patterns and levels that the average for you. My average is about 7.8 or higher for daily HRV which is why I said yesterday that I won't do a sprint workout until I register an 8 or more for a daily HRV which I hope is tomorrow.

Getting back to the priority workouts you need to be honest with yourself about what workouts, or exercises from workouts, are the most important for your needs. I can tell you right now that any upper body work will NOT register at #1 and if it does then you've confused the beach with football.

What I had to do to try and fit on my sprint work before Wed/Thu of this week is to break my sprint workouts into 2 different options - a 2/week option and a 3/week option.

If my HRV is 7.7 or above tomorrow then I will sprint. If it is lower then an 8 then I will opt for the 3/week option (Sun/Tue/Thu) that has an extra session but lower total volume per session (120 - 160m) so it will be easier to recover from.

If I'm over an 8 on my HRV then I will go for the 2/week option (Sun/Wed) that has a lot more volume per session (190 - 210m) and thus will be harder to recover from.

You've got to have contingency plans for your training or at least have the ability to alter what you're doing when fatigue tells you to slow down a bit. I can tell you when this is about to, or is actually happening and what to do in it's place to make sure you don't go over the edge and remain on track to tear it apart on a Saturday.