Fast Talk 363: Why Breathing Frequency May Become Our Best Measure of Training Stress
Mar 20, 2025
Dr. Stephen Seiler, a leading physiologist from the University of Agder renowned for his research on polarized training, discusses an innovative project focusing on breathing frequency as a training metric. He explores how this approach may better align with perceived exertion than heart rate, offering deeper insights into athletes' performance. The conversation also covers the complex mechanics of breathing, the potential of wearable technology in measuring exertion, and the importance of personalized respiratory training for optimizing athletic performance.
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Limitations of Power and HR
- Power and heart rate are decent training load measures, but have limitations.
- Heart rate is affected by sleep and hydration, while power doesn't reflect the body's stress.
RPE and Quantifiable Metrics
- Perceived exertion (RPE) is often considered the best training load metric.
- A quantifiable measure that matches RPE would be valuable.
Breathing Frequency and Perceived Exertion
- Breathing frequency is controlled by the same brain area as perceived exertion.
- As perceived effort increases, so does breathing frequency.