Optimum training of athletes
In modern sport, a great importance is attached to an estimation of athletes’ functional status. Understanding of organism’s specific features leads to correct strategic planning of sportsman activity during the competition period, as well as to taking an advantage of athlete’s strengths and hiding the weaknesses.
With help of Health Monitor, it is possible to mathematically evaluate physical capacity of a man. Using this data, it’s easy to track down the behavior of functional indicators, estimate if an athlete is competitive and predict probable achievements during competitions.
Theoretical basis of the methodology
Human organism — is an open system. It is always in the process of energy and matter interchange with the environment. The most typical instance is breath.
Oxygen, essential for the metabolic processes, is received from ambient air. Carbon dioxide, in turn, is exhaled, which is an oxygen’s metabolite.
The main oxygen consumer is a somatic musculature. At a time of physical activity, muscles intensively demand for energy and oxygen consumption increases.
It’s noticeable with the naked eye, as the breath frequency grows. However, accurate and precise indicators of oxygen metabolism could be received only by blood test.
Currently, to get a similar evaluation, one could analyze the chemical structure of gas mixture in an exhaled air, which seems more perspective. Spectral gas analyzer Health Monitor can be of a great help in this sphere.
How to estimate human functional specifications?
With a goal to evaluate level of physical capacity, it’s necessary to take into account a number of indicators:
· Respiratory frequency — is measured by simple timer
· Maximal oxygen intake
· Respiratory coefficient
· Threshold anaerobic exchange
· Oxygen pulse
Respiratory frequency is pretty straightforward to understand and calculate. The frequency grows up to deliver more oxygen, required for normal muscles functioning. In the meantime, other indicators are quite troublesome to estimate.
Maximal oxygen intake — is an amount of O2, utilized during the peak physical load. This value is calculated by measuring the difference of oxygen concentration in atmosphere, compared to this in exhaled air. The intake describes an organism’s ability to cope with physical exercises in aerobic regime. In simple terms — it allows to estimate physical strength.
Respiratory coefficient is calculated as ratio between the volumes of exhaled carbon dioxide and inhaled oxygen. The coefficient helps to evaluate deposits of an energy substrates in athlete’s organism, and primarily — of carbohydrates. By means of this ratio, its possible to guess when sportsman is ready to work to breakthrough, or have an assessment of period, during which a man is able to withstand a high-tempo loading.
Trivial methodology of Threshold anaerobic exchange measurement demands for regular blood test taking, right in the course of test procedure. Using Health Monitor, one can measure amount of released non-metabolic carbon dioxide gas, with no blood test required. Threshold anaerobic exchange describes workability.
Oxygen pulse is meant to be calculated. This value represents a ratio between absorbed oxygen and a heart rate. In one word, it shows how much O2 is absorbed during single pulsebeat.
Practical uses
To get objective data, each of indicators was measured several times:
· In a state of rest
· Under various kinds of stress: it was gradually increased until reached the threshold value, specified by researchers.
· Immediately after the end of physical activity;
· A few minutes later, after a short rest.
But for Health Monitor, cycle ergometer and facility, providing stress altering are necessary to conduct measurements.
Gas exchange indicators are to be recorded whether continuously, whether discretely, at some specific moments. The construction of gas analyzer admits functioning in both discrete and continuous regimes as well.
Accuracy of measurement of oxygen and carbon dioxide level is of 0,01 mg/l, which fulfills a need to objectively estimate gas exchange in athlete’s tissues
Other than that, all the processing and calculation needs can be entrusted to a software, which controls the work of this apparatus.
Any data, obtained by Health Monitor is easy to integrate into database and to keep digitally, accessible for analysis. For better visual perception, it’s possible to represent the info as a graph or table, as needed.
Measurement is to be conducted in the beginning of train, and then, periodically — for example, daily, weekly or monthly.
With the right interpretation, a competent physical therapist is able to assess the dynamics of changes in organism, influenced by trainings and, if needed, to change regime. Also, an operational readiness for tournaments and other sport events may be prognosed.
To test anyone, special conditions or any kind of preparation are not required. With regard to its sizes, Health monitor is not bigger than payment terminal. The only essential thing is a power supply of household scale.
Since blood draw is avoided, Health Monitor gives a chance to respond flexibly to changes, and, no doubts, will find its niche in sports medicine industry.
To get a picture of how usual measurement is done, check the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdiRqMMzLC8
And here is an interview with Health Monitor developer and detailed description of how the facility works:
