Issn Print: 0195-9131
Publication Date: 1997/05/01
VALIDITY OF THE STAMINA INDEX TEST FOR MONITORING ELITE ATHLETES 46
M. R. Hill; R. W. Molt; J. Estle; S. Gaskill
Excerpt
Morning heart rates (HR) often have been used by coaches and athletes to monitor health and training status. However, there is relatively little published literature to substantiate the validity of using morning HRs to monitor athletes. Thus, this study examined the effectiveness of the Stamina Index Test (SIT) as a monitoring tool of morning HRs in elite level Nordic and Biathlon skiers during the winter racing season. Eight subjects (6 females and 2 males) performed the SIT every morning for a period of six months. The SIT involved using a HR monitor to record resting (P1), elevated after 30 knee bends (P2), and recovery (P3) HRs. The SIT calculation [(P1+P2+P3-200)/20] was used to reduce and normalize the index value to zero. Multiple variables also were assessed to determine factors that may influence morning HRs, and included: fluid intake prior to SIT, hours of sleep, internal and external variables, numerous sickness variables, training hours, training intensity, and training mode. Canonical correlation analysis was performed on P1, P2, P3, SIT and feeling index scores relative to colds, fluid intake, hours of sleep, internal variables, training hours, and training intensity. The first and second canonical functions were significant, Wilk's λ =.54, F(30,3258)= 18.27, p<.0001. The remaining three canonical functions were effectively zero. The first function accounted for 31% of the variance; the second accounted for an additional 14%. Examination of the structure coefficients for function 1 indicated that recovery HR (-.86), resting HR (-.84), SIT value(-.61), feeling index (.65) and elevated HR (.42) were associated with hours of sleep (.82) and fluid consumption (.60) as measured before the monitoring period. Inspection of the structure coefficients for function 2 indicated that elevated HR (-.65), feeling index (.61) and SIT values (-.33) were associated with reported colds (-.83) and internal variables (-.45). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that: 1) more sleep was associated with lower HR and SIT values, as well as enhanced feeling status; and 2) lower elevated HR and enhanced feeling status were associated with fewer colds and internal problems. It should be noted, however, that consumption of fluid before the test was associated with lower HR, which could alter the effectiveness of the SIT.
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