Ultra-short-term heart rate recovery after maximal exercise in elite European table tennis players

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine heart rate (HR) responses during 10-s intervals over the first minute of recovery (i.e., ultra-short-term recovery) after table tennis-specific maximal exercise in elite and sub-elite players. Methods: Twenty-five elite (22.8 ± 6.1 years) and 18 sub-elite (20.1 ± 2.2 years) table tennis players completed a specific table tennis test performing forehand offensive strokes against balls launched from a table tennis robot by an experienced coach at a rate of approximately 60 balls/min until exhaustion. Immediately upon exercise cessation, the participants were placed in a lying position for 60 s of HR recording. Results: In general, both absolute heart rate and heart rate expressed as a percentage of the peak exercise heart rate were possibly to likely lower (50–92% likelihood of being different; magnitude-based inference), suggesting faster heart rate recovery, in elite players than in sub-elite players. Conclusion: Therefore, we conclude that elite players have faster HR recovery than sub-elite players and that ultra-short-term recovery can be used to monitor training routines.