JOURNAL OF SPORTS SCIENCE & MEDICINE

Research article

HEART RATE RECOVERY AFTER SUBMAXIMAL EXERCISE IN FOUR DIFFERENT RECOVERY PROTOCOLS IN MALE ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES

Otto F. Barak1, Zoran B. Ovcin2, Djordje G. Jakovljevic3, Zagorka Lozanov-Crvenkovic4, David A. Brodie5 and Nikola G. Grujic1

1Medical School, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia, 2Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia, 3Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Muscle Performance and Exercise Training Laboratory, Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, UK, 4Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia, 5Research Centre for Society and Health, Buckinghamshire New University, UK

Received   16 December 2010 Accepted   22 March 2011 Published   01 June 2011

© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2011) 10, 369 - 375

ABSTRACT

The effects of different recovery protocols on heart rate recovery (HRR) trend through fitted heart rate (HR) decay curves were assessed. Twenty one trained male athletes and 19 sedentary male students performed a submaximal cycle exercise test on four occasions followed by 5 min: 1) inactive recovery in the upright seated position, 2) active (cycling) recovery in the upright seated position, 3) supine position, and 4) supine position with elevated legs. The HRR was assessed as the difference between the peak exercise HR and the HR recorded following 60 seconds of recovery (HRR60). Additionally the time constant decay was obtained by fitting the 5 minute post-exercise HRR into a first-order exponential curve. Within- subject differences of HRR60 for all recovery protocols in both groups were significant (p < 0. 001) except for the two supine positions (p > 0.05). Values of HRR60 were larger in the group of athletes for all conditions (p < 0.001). The time constant of HR decay showed within-subject differences for all recovery conditions in both groups (p < 0.01) except for the two supine positions (p > 0.05). Between group difference was found for active recovery in the seated position and the supine position with elevated legs (p < 0.05). We conclude that the supine position with or without elevated legs accelerated HRR compared with the two seated positions. Active recovery in the seated upright position was associated with slower HRR compared with inactive recovery in the same position. The HRR in athletes was accelerated in the supine position with elevated legs and with active recovery in the seated position compared with non-athletes. Key words: Heart rate recovery, autonomic activity, active recovery, physical activity.

PDF (271KB) FULL TEXT