HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) AS A TOOL FOR OPTIMIZING TRAINING LOAD QUALITY AND RECOVERY IN COMBAT SPORTS: A NARRATIVE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.1(49).2026.5076Keywords:
Heart Rate Variability, Combat Sports, Training Load, Autonomic Nervous System, RecoveryAbstract
Background: Elite combat sports such as wrestling, judo, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu impose high physiological demands, necessitating precise training load management and recovery to prevent non-functional overreaching and overtraining syndrome. Heart rate variability has gained prominence as a non-invasive biomarker of autonomic nervous system balance and internal training load.
Aim: This narrative review synthesizes evidence on HRV's application for monitoring stress, recovery, and optimizing training in combat sports athletes.
Material and methods: A narrative synthesis of 23 peer-reviewed articles was conducted, drawing from databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus. Focus areas included HRV physiological mechanisms, associations with performance, and combat sport-specific findings, prioritizing parameters such as RMSSD, HF power, and LF/HF ratio.
Results: Time-domain and frequency-domain HRV metrics robustly indicate parasympathetic reactivation and systemic recovery. High-intensity interval training provokes greater acute parasympathetic suppression (e.g., RMSSD -32% vs. -14%) and sympathetic dominance (LF/HF +56% vs. +22%) than volume-oriented training, yet yields superior competitive outcomes in wrestlers (mean score 17.92 vs. 15.08). HRV thresholds differentiate functional adaptation (RMSSD ≈ 82.76 ms) from non-functional overreaching (≈45.97 ms)
Conclusions: Routine HRV monitoring facilitates individualized periodization, bioadaptive load adjustments, and overtraining prevention, enhancing performance sustainability in combat sports.
References
Addleman, J. S., Lackey, N. S., DeBlauw, J. A., & Hajduczok, A. (2024). Heart rate variability applications in strength and conditioning: A narrative review. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 9(2), 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk9020093
Bencker, A., Brandebo, M. F., Ivarsson, A., & Johnson, U. (2022). Common demanding conditions among professional high-level military and sport leaders: A cross-contextual qualitative reflexive thematic analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.7146/sjsep.v4i1.130547
Corrigan, S., Roberts, S., Warmington, S. A., Drain, J. R., & Main, L. C. (2021). Monitoring stress and allostatic load in first responders and tactical operators using heart rate variability: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1701. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11595-x
Gamble, K. R., Vettel, J. M., Patton, D. J., Eddy, M. D., Davis, F. C., Garcia, J. O., Spangler, D. P., Thayer, J. F., & Brooks, J. (2018). Different profiles of decision making and physiology under varying levels of stress in trained military personnel. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 131, 73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.03.017
Georgieva-Tsaneva, G., Tsanev, Y.-A., Dechev, M., & Cheshmedzhiev, K. (2025). Impact on competitive performance and assessment of fatigue and stress based on heart rate variability. Applied Sciences, 15(20), 10892. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152010892
Jouanin, J., Dussault, C., Pérès, M., Satabin, P., Piérard, C., & Guézennec, C. Y. (2004). Analysis of heart rate variability after a ranger training course. Military Medicine, 169(8), 583. https://doi.org/10.7205/milmed.169.8.583
Kim, H.-G., Cheon, E., Bai, D.-S., Lee, Y. H., & Koo, B. (2018). Stress and heart rate variability: A meta-analysis and review of the literature. Psychiatry Investigation, 15(3), 235. https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2017.08.17
Lundstrom, C. J., Foreman, N. A., & Biltz, G. R. (2022). Practices and applications of heart rate variability monitoring in endurance athletes. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1864-9726
Lyytikäinen, K., Toivonen, L., Hynynen, E., Lindholm, H., & Kyröläinen, H. (2017). Recovery of rescuers from a 24-h shift and its association with aerobic fitness. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 30(3), 433. https://doi.org/10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00720
Morales, J., Álamo, J., García‐Massó, X., Buscà, B., López, J., Serra‐Añó, P., & González, L.-M. (2013). Use of heart rate variability in monitoring stress and recovery in judo athletes. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(7), 1896. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000328
Mykola, M. (2024). Bioadaptive strategies in programming the training load of high-performance wrestlers. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15346207
Shaffer, F., & Ginsberg, J. P. (2017). An overview of heart rate variability metrics and norms. Frontiers in Public Health, 5, 258. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00258
Slimani, M., Znazen, H., Sellami, M., & Davis, P. (2018). Heart rate monitoring during combat sports matches: A brief review. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 18(2), 273. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2018.1469080
Stephenson, M., Thompson, A. G., Merrigan, J. J., Stone, J. D., & Hagen, J. A. (2021). Applying heart rate variability to monitor health and performance in tactical personnel: A narrative review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15), 8143. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158143
Stone, J. D., Ulman, H. K., Tran, K., Thompson, A. G., Halter, M. D., Ramadan, J., Stephenson, M., Finomore, V., Galster, S. M., Rezai, A. R., & Hagen, J. A. (2021). Assessing the accuracy of popular commercial technologies that measure resting heart rate and heart rate variability. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.585870
Szaj, D., Strzałkowska, P., Raczkowska, M., Hobot, M., & Grabski, W. (2025). Heart rate variability (HRV) as an objective indicator of the stress response: Physiological mechanisms, diagnostic potential, and clinical applications. Quality in Sport, 46, 66625. https://doi.org/10.12775/qs.2025.46.66625
Thayer, J. F., Åhs, F., Fredrikson, M., Sollers, J. J., & Wager, T. D. (2011). A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and neuroimaging studies: Implications for heart rate variability as a marker of stress and health. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(2), 747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.11.009
Tian, Y., He, Z., Zhao, J., Tao, D., Xu, K., Earnest, C. P., & McNaughton, L. R. (2012). Heart rate variability threshold values for early-warning nonfunctional overreaching in elite female wrestlers. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27(6), 1511. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31826caef8
Tomes, C., Schram, B., & Orr, R. M. (2020). Relationships between heart rate variability, occupational performance, and fitness for tactical personnel: A systematic review. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 583336. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.583336
Villar, R., Gillis, J., Santana, G., Pinheiro, D. S., & Almeida, A. L. R. A. (2016). Association between anaerobic metabolic demands during simulated Brazilian jiu-jitsu combat and specific jiu-jitsu anaerobic performance test. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 32(2), 432. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001536
Wang, C. Q. S., Wang, K., Liu, H., Liu, S. Q., Yang, Y., & Luo, J. (2024). The effect of ischemic preconditioning on the cardiac autonomic nervous system after exercise: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Quality in Sport, 33, 55917. https://doi.org/10.12775/qs.2024.33.55917
Xu, X., & Peng, L. (2025). Effects of isometric training on heart rate variability: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pedagogy and Psychology of Sport, 28, 67675. https://doi.org/10.12775/pps.2025.28.67675
Zhang, T., Zhang, M., & Luo, J. (2025). The application and development trends of wearable devices (WD) in endurance sports training: A literature review. Quality in Sport, 37, 57604. https://doi.org/10.12775/qs.2025.37.57604
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jakub Rodziewicz, Wiktor Daniszewski, Viktoria Kretschmer, Magdalena Baranowska, Ewa Sobolewska, Daniel Markowski, Patryk Kondracki, Wiktoria Knobelsdorf
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles are published in open-access and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Hence, authors retain copyright to the content of the articles.
CC BY 4.0 License allows content to be copied, adapted, displayed, distributed, re-published or otherwise re-used for any purpose including for adaptation and commercial use provided the content is attributed.
How to Cite
