A Practical Microcycle Monitoring Framework Using Firstbeat
Created by Sport Scientist Dr. James Malone, this guide provides a simple structure for how a team can use recovery monitoring (QRT), fitness testing (SMFT), and internal load management…
Sports
Why Heart Rate Zones Are Not Enough in Team Sports
Heart rate monitoring has long been a valuable tool for understanding training load. Traditionally, heart rate zones have been used to describe intensity and guide training prescription. While this approach…
Movement Load Captures the Real Neuromuscular Demands in Ice Hockey — Far Better Than Skating Distance
In ice hockey, tracking player load is essential for optimizing performance and preventing injury. Traditionally, one commonly used metric is skating distance—the total meters/feet (or kilometers/miles) a player skates during…
Joel WenningJoel Wenning, Customer Success Manager, Firstbeat
Why Implement Fitness Testing in Elite Sport? A Breakdown for Coaches
In this article, Firstbeat’s Sport Scientist Graham Stark explains the importance of conducting regular fitness tests with your athletes, the differences in maximal and submaximal fitness testing, and how Firstbeat’s…
Graham StarkSports Scientist
Managing Load After Off Days and Sickness – Expert Insights from Pro Basketball
This article is written by Domenik Theodorou, a Firstbeat Sports client and Performance Coach at RASTA Vechta, a professional basketball team competing in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and FIBA Basketball…
Domenik TheodorouPerformance Coach, RASTA Vechta
Managing Training Load Year-Round: Through Off-Seasons, Breaks & Beyond
This article is written by Domenik Theodorou, a Firstbeat Sports client and Performance Coach at RASTA Vechta, a professional basketball team competing in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and FIBA Basketball…
Domenik TheodorouPerformance Coach, RASTA Vechta
Using Firstbeat Sports Training Effect During Return-to-Play
The Return-to-Play process, or indeed any conditioning program that is not in the form of the athlete’s sport, can be a challenge to manage. Questions such as how much should…
Graham StarkSports Scientist
Make Confident Coaching Decisions with Firstbeat’s Weekly Reporting
In this article, we’ll introduce the Weekly Reporting feature from Firstbeat Sports. As a coach, you can use this feature to: See key training load data over a 7-day period…
Micro-Cycle Periodization in Soccer – How to Structure the Game Week
Preparing for each game is perhaps one of the most important considerations when coaches are planning their weekly training schedule, as they aim to arrive at game day with players as fresh as possible.
Graham StarkSports Scientist
Managing Load in Football Using Internal & External Data
In today’s elite football environment, load monitoring has become a non-negotiable component of high-performance coaching. Balancing training stimulus, recovery, and performance demands is complex, and it requires more than just…
How to Measure Internal Load in Strength & Conditioning?
How do you measure a training session? By the hours you put in? Maybe the distances racked up? Or asking an athlete for verbal feedback? These are useful guides, but…
What is TRIMP? How Sports Teams Use It to Optimize Training
TRIMP (Training Impulse) is a powerful metric that helps sports teams quantify training load using heart rate data, enabling coaches to optimize performance, manage injury risk, and ensure athletes are game-ready….
Beyond Team Heart Rate Monitoring: Train Smarter with Firstbeat
In today’s competitive sports landscape, simply tracking heart rate isn’t enough. Coaches need deeper insights to optimize training, manage injury risk, and maximize performance. Firstbeat Sports takes team heart rate…
What Features to Look for in Physiological Monitoring Tools?
Selecting the right physiological monitoring tool can significantly impact how athletes train, recover, and perform. An effective system goes beyond basic data tracking, offering insights that empower teams to make…
The Need for Off-Season Non-Specific Conditioning
In this article, guest writer and Firstbeat client Konstantinos Stratakis discusses the role of off-season conditioning in team sports, including balancing sports-specific and non-specific conditioning like HIIT. He also explores…
Konstantinos StratakisPerformance and Sports Scientist
Time Spent in Different Heart Rate Zones – Comparison Between Sports
At Firstbeat Sports, we analyzed over 4 million measurements to compare the time athletes spend in each heart rate zone across various sports. The findings reveal intriguing patterns that highlight…
Do Men and Women Stress Differently? Revelation from the Firstbeat Database
Subjectively speaking (based on self-reporting), women experience more stress than men, and objective, heart rate variability -based data seems to concur with this: women have more physiological stress than men. The result is perhaps surprising because women do more things “right” (or at least better than men…) when it comes to recovery. This blog discusses the differences between men and women in the area of stress, recovery and sleep – and speculates on some of the possible explanations and effects on daily well-being.
Introducing the New Team Training Session Report
The Team Training Session Report is an interactive web-based report that utilizes historical data to contextualize the numbers of the current session, making them easier to understand and saving coaches…