Heart rate biofeedback as a technique to improve cardiac efficiency and athletic performance in cyclists

This study was carried out with thirty-three cyclists from the junior division of the Catalonian Cycling Federation. The effectiveness of two psychological training techniques - heart rate biofeedback and synchronisation of respiratory rate with the pedalling rhythm - are evaluated based on the improvement of the cyclist's cardiac efficiency during ergometric tests at maximum effort. The study sample was divided into a control group and three experimental groups: the BIO group was trained in the heart rate biofeedback technique, the RES group was trained in the synchronisation of respiratory rate with the pedalling rhythm technique, and the BIR group was trained in both techniques. All the cyclists completed three phases: the pre-test phase, the training phase and the post-test phase. The results indicate that the subjects trained in the different psychological techniques improve their cardiac efficiency. They show, lower heart rate values in the post-test phase, where they applied the techniques learned, compared to the pre-test phase.