Heart rate modelling as a potential physical fitness assessment for runners and cyclists

de Smet, Dimitri [UCL] Francaux, Marc [UCL] Hendrickx, Julien [UCL] Verleysen, Michel [UCL]

(eng) Assessment of physical fitness of endurance athletes is usu- ally performed by means of standardized exercise protocols in specialized laboratories. The recent development of devices measuring heart rate, power output, speed, etc. raises the possibility to assess the fitness level from data collected on the field. We propose a model based on cardiac pa- rameters identification on training activities. Identified parameters prove to allow for heart rate simulations that match measurements with an av- erage root mean square error of 4 beats/min for cycling activities for which power output and heart rate were provided and 6 beats/min for running activities for which the heart rate was provided and power out- put was estimated based on global positioning system (GPS) tracking.