Reliability Of Maximum Heart Rate Estimation Equations In Athletes In The Field Football Base Category

The objective of this study was to verify the reliability of the HRmax prediction equations proposed by Fox, Tanaka and Nikolaidis in field football athletes who belong to the youth categories of a club in the first division of Brazilian league. One hundred and sixty-four players, aged between 14 and 20, took part in this study. In order to determine the athletes' HRmax (bpm), Yo-Yo Endurance Test Level 1 was used and defined as the highest value achieved during the test. Data were expressed as mean, standard deviation (SD) of the mean, minimum and maximum values.Independent Student's t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used in statistical analyses. The results showed that none of the three available equations (Fox, Tanaka and Nikolaidis) provide accurate HRmax values in a sample of youth football players, underestimating or overestimating HRmax values. The equation that provided the most accurate HRmax was the Nikolaidis equation. This result is probably due to the fact that this equation was developed based on an example of a football player.