Manager’s Heart Rate in Competition – Your Mental Approach to Games

1. Manager’s Heart Rate in Competition – Your Mental Approach to Games Des Jennings (SINI), Kevin McGuigan (Ulster GAA)

2. What is Heart Rate? • What is it? • The body’s ‘rev counter’; • What does it feel like? • Practical Example 1 (Volunteer) • How do stress and physical activity affect HR? • “It’s far more dangerous when stress causes the response because the adrenaline tends to narrow the arteries and that could contribute to the risk of heart disease”. (Dugmore, 2002)

3. What Can Affect HR? Exercise 2 In groups of 2 / 3 discuss what events during a match YOU THINK can affect / impact upon HR? Feedback ; Discussion .

4. Picture this....

5. Background – Dugmore (2002) Peak HR – 160 BPM Peak HR – 120 BPM

6. Dugmore (2002) • Remember! • It’s far more dangerous when stress causes the response because the adrenaline tends to narrow the arteries and that could contribute to the risk of heart disease”. (Dugmore, 2002) • “Getting your heart to these sorts of levels would normally only happen if you had done a vigorous work-out in the gym”. • “Your heart needs to be fit to withstand those surges... ...many managers are former players and if they don’t take care of themselves, they will be at significant risk”.

7. The Project - Overview • 5 Senior Inter-county managers and 2 University managers participated; • Each wore a real time HR monitor for the duration of the match; • Key incidents were annotated on the system during the match; • A total of 17 results were gathered across a range of matches of varying intensity; • McKenna Cup; • NFL; • Ulster Senior Football Championship

8. Results - Statistics

9. Results - Graphs

10. Results - Example Throw In Half Time Major Incident Approximate resting heart rate - 78 BPM

11. What Can Affect HR? Return to Exercise 2 – The Answer In groups of 2 / 3 discuss what events during a match YOU THINK can affect / impact upon HR?

12. Controversial Decision Heart Rate Peak 190 BPM

13. Goal For Heart Rate Peak 130 BPM

14. Penalty For - Goal Heart Rate Peak 135 BPM

15. Goal Against Heart Rate Peak 130 BPM

16. Good Tackling Near Sideline Heart Rate Peak 130 BPM

17. Making Substitution Heart Rate Peak 115 BPM

18. Atmosphere

19. Basketball

20. Fight / Flight High Arousal Adrenaline Dynamic Passionate Frustrated Angry DHEA Cortisol Positive Emotion Negative Emotion Acetylcholine Low Arousal Relaxation The Physiology of Performance Loss of interest Cynical Cool under pressure In control

21. Generating Coherence “synchronising systems” Cognitive Autonomic Centre Blood Pressure Respiratory Centre Heart Digestive System

22. Perceptions & Emotions profoundly affect Autonomic Nervous System Balance and Heart Rhythms FRUSTRATION 90 80 HEART RATE 70 60 APPRECIATION 90 80 HEART RATE 70 60 1 50 100 150 200 TIME (SECONDS)

23. Generating Coherence RESPIRATION 4 2 Resp. Units 0 -2 -4 HEART RATE VARIABILITY 95 90 Heart Rate (BPM) 85 80 75 70 65 BLOOD PRESSURE (PTT) 0.32 0.31 0.30 Time (sec.) 0.29 0.28 0.27 FREEZE-FRAME 0.26 0.25 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 TIME (SECONDS)

25. Results There was an overall reduction in cortisol levels of 9.4% (range -32.8 to +29.6%) in the HM group compared to an overall increase of 21.1% (range -16.1 to +127.9%) in the CON group.

26. Testimonial I found it helpful in helping deal with pressure situations such as before big games and even before interviews and presentations in university. Yes, I felt the training taught me to be more in touch with my body and helped me channel nervous energy into positive energy effectively. I found the Heartmath useful to help control my heart rate and breathing. Tried to use the breathing technique during periods of pressure in games and training. If this was useful or successful was very hard to measure however it did provide a method of routine which in turn helped in focussing my attention in the present. I used it in particular with my kicking practice, and found it very useful.

27. Case Studies

28. Niall O’Connor: Heart Rate Graph 174 171 167 K3 K2 140 K1 130 123

29. Ian Humphreys: Heart Rate Graph 165 164 153 K3 K2 K1 147 143 140

30. Heartmath Practical Exercise 3: Need very brave volunteer.

31. The Haka

32. Recommendations • How do you mentally prepare for games? • Visualisation; • Mental Rehearsal; • How do you prepare your support team for games? • Runners / Physio / Doctor / Selectors; • Does everyone know their role on match day? • Do you prepare for What if Scenarios? • Not all situations can be controlled, do you have contingencies in place for unforeseen developments? • Injuries / Red Cards / Bad Start

33. Recommendations • Are you watching the game rather than engrossed in it? • Learning to take a backward step; • Remove the emotion from the situation; • How fit are you? • Good fitness levels can help keep a lower heart rate; • It can also protect you from a health perspective; • Can you regulate your heart rate during the game? • Breathing techniques; • Relaxation techniques.

34. Questions?