Non-Invasive HRV Protocol and New Index to Assess Internal Training Load During Basketball Warm Up

The aim is to establish an specific, non-invasive, sub-maximum and applicable day-to-day protocol to assess the internal training load (IL) for basketball players using Heart Rate Variability (HRV) analysis before practice or competitions. Another aim is to propose a new IL index as a standardized parameter (%), to manage IL before practice sessions or competition. Twelve amateur male basketball players (age: 26.5 ± 8.8 years) completed HRV tests before a submaximal and intermittent drill (Activity Lay Up Wheel; ALUWIL 6min-test). Players performed a 5on5 scrimmage (MATCH) the following day during 10 min, completing rate of perceived exertion (RPE), total quality recovery (TQR) and wellness questionnaires, and continuous heart rate recordings. Players showed higher values of IL parameters based on heart rate (summatory heart rate zones, SHRZ; and training impulse, TRIMP), higher RPE values and lower recovery values during MATCH than ALUWIL (p<0.01). The parameter % of summatory of heart rate zones (SHRZ) showed stronger correlations than SHRZ and TRIMP during MATCH (p<0.001), and significant relations with RMSSD (square of the mean root of the adjacent R-R intervals) during the HRV test (p<0.05). During the ALUWIL test, %SHRZ shows higher and stronger correlations than SHRZ with RRmean (mean of the R-R intervals) (-.807) but similar than SHRZ with RMSSD. In this specific context, ALUWIL test could offer reliable and applied information as a standardized and integrated protocol to assess internal training load in basketball players using cardiac parameters before practice and games. The parameters RRMean, RMSSD and %SHRZ could be a specific indicator for IL management on basketball. However, more research is needed to validate these proposals in a complex context. Key words: HRV, internal training load, basketball, heart rate, submaximal test, SHRZ.