Individualisation of the training process of tennis players using the heart rate monitor

Abstract

This study aims to demonstrate the efficiency and necessity of heart rate monitoring and especially individualising workouts depending on each athlete’s response to the effort provided in both training and everyday life. The study included a group of 6 female tennis players aged 13-14, with 6-7 years of tennis experience. The methods used to conduct this study were the following: bibliographic documentation, direct and indirect observation, testing and measurement, graphical method. In this research, the Polar M400 Heart Rate Monitor was used during the 14 weeks of training. Each girl athlete has her own device (watch and chest belt) and own Polar Flow account where data are transferred from the watch. The software allowed us to record data during the physical training and tennis training of athletes, as well as their daily activity expressed as a percentage. The assessments of tested parameters highlighted the following: the 50-minutes run at a pace of 150 beats per minute (bpm) recorded an average increase of 1.3 km, with a percentage increase of 19.78%; basal heart rate recorded an average decrease of 14.3 bpm, with a percentage increase of 18.14%; VO2 max recorded an average increase of 6 ml/kg/min, with a percentage increase of 10.81%. Differences between the initial and final tests indicate progress for each athlete, which means that the methodology of teaching training lessons has been efficient and therefore the performance of athletes has increased.