Beats Per Purpose: Back to the Basics of Heart Rate, in Practice

A free webinar with Martin Buchheit and Firstbeat.

When: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026 @ 15:00 EET · 14:00 CET · 13:00 GMT · 08:00 EST

Heart rate straps are back on players’ chests. But what are we really asking them? Today HR plays a role in a wide range of coaching decisions: training load, readiness, recovery scores, even neuromuscular fatigue. But what can each metric tell you, how do you interpret it, and where do its limitations lie?

Join Firstbeat and Martin Buchheit for a 45-minute session on using heart rate with a clear purpose in daily practice. Going back to basics, Martin will explore two key questions: How demanding was the session? And how is the player responding to training? He’ll explain what heart rate can tell us about metabolic load and individual responses, and where it stops being useful.

What you will learn

• Where HR sits in the monitoring puzzle (load vs response, metabolic vs neuromuscular), and what it cannot see.
• How to read HR as load: what zone exposure looks like across a football week, and how short intermittent efforts, heat and zone settings can distort it.
• How to use HR as response (submax HR in a standardized drill, HR recovery, HRV), and how to standardize it so a change means something.
• A simple grid for staff: which question, which HR metric, and what not to use it for.

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Ask Martin your questions

The session includes a live Q&A, giving you the opportunity to ask questions about any challenges you face when using heart rate data with your athletes.

Can’t attend live? Register to receive the recording.

Who is this session for?

Strength and conditioning coaches, sport scientists, and performance staff working in team sports. Whether you’re getting started with using heart rate data or want to refine your current approach, this session will help you connect the data you collect with the decisions you make.