REF-754 · Capostagno B, Lambert MI, Lamberts RP — 2021 · Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, · Paper · PubMed
In cyclists who did a two-week HIT block, heart-rate recovery rose in those whose 40-km time trial improved and fell in those whose did not; stage-2 power tended to rise only in the improvers
Making HRR and stage-2 power the most sensitive LSCT markers of adaptation in this sample
Protocol
The 15 cyclists of REF-753 were re-grouped after the fact by outcome: "adapters" (n = 7) who improved their 40-km TT and "non-adapters" (n = 8) who did not. The analysis asked which LSCT variables had moved with the improvement.
Key Findings
HRR increased significantly across the training period in adapters and decreased in non-adapters.
Mean power in stage 2 tended to increase in adapters and was unchanged in non-adapters.
The authors name HRR and stage-2 power as the LSCT's most sensitive markers of changing training status.
Practical Application
Faster heart-rate recovery accompanied adaptation here, but it also accompanies acute fatigue and overreaching (REF-208, REF-757, REF-207) — so a faster HRR on its own cannot tell improvement from overload. Read it only together with power or heart rate at the fixed load and with RPE on the same test.
Stage-2 power (the moderate stage, ~80% HRmax) was the output that moved with real improvement; a rise there with unchanged or lower RPE is the pattern to look for.
Limitations
Retrospective grouping of 15 subjects by outcome — prone to finding differences that were selected for.
Same cohort, protocol and group as REF-753; not an independent confirmation.