@ozmadman I had that happen a few times. I suspect that you will see something tomorrow based on my own experience. Generally HRV is going to be better for trends and not day to day.
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In @ozmadman case, the 6 was way more accurate than the 9. I i had a trend where i was a 6, 3, and finally a 1. Turns out i had an infection below the gum line on my left lower jaw. That proved to be very expensive.
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Ouch! That’s one good thing over here in the UK, our NHS, free health service, doctors and operations. Free in as much as we pay a nominal amount each week from our earnings. I am retired so I now pay nothing, having paid into the system for 50 years.This nominal amount also gives you a state pension on retiring which at the moment is at 67 years but soon to rise I think
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Sorry to bump an old thread, but I’ve had a bit of a journey over the past ~7 months.
As mentioned up on post 34, I had a pretty ordinary time of it back in April/May, and it ended up getting to the point of going to see a cardiologist - a) to see if there was anything they could pick up, and b) for peace of mind, given some of the stories you hear about ‘athletes’ dropping dead when they hit middle age.
First stop was a stress echo test - perfect.
Second stop was the cardiologist & a subsequent CT Calcium check - a score of zero (!) which was a pleasant surprise…
However - this CT scan picked up a black spot on my left lung. I was told not to worry/lose any sleep - but of course I did 
Next step - respiratory specialist, who sent me off for a lung CT scan.
Thankfully, this came back totally clear.
So…the respiratory specialist said that I would have had a virus back in April/May that knocked me about for a couple of months. I should have stopped training for a few weeks.
The main symptom I had was my resting HR was about 10% higher than normal, and my average HR for a given power was ~10 bpm higher than it should have been.
Long story short - my HRV is totally back to normal, compared to April/May. I thought HRV might be something to not take too seriously, but in my case, it has been a good indicator of whether I should ease back.
The three shots below are April data, May data, then the last 6 months.
Everything was going the wrong way…now it’s going the right way, hopefully.
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I am trying to understand how much people actually trust wearable recovery scores over time.
For those using WHOOP, Oura, Garmin, or similar devices: do you adjust training based on HRV/readiness numbers, or do you mostly use them as background context alongside how you feel on the bike?
I only pay attention to the HRV numbers from sleep. The numbers from my waking hours are just too noisy to be of use. I also track my resting heart rate.
I have found that they correlate well with my general sleep patterns. That being said, I mostly rely on how I feel. They only time I tend to pay real attention to them is if I feel OK, but the HRV/Resting Heart rate combo indicates I need more recovery. I then ask myself if I am really ready for a workout, or am I just using my desire to make progress override my actual recovery needs.
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I’ve read quite a bit of Marco Altini’s stuff on HRV and I use his app HRV4training which is a good blend of objective and subjective data. He’s a researcher in HRV and data recording (and an ultrarunner) and is quite pragmatic about the use of HRV vs “how do I feel” - integrating both together.
He advocates recording HRV during a protocolised session each morning - essentially on waking (with an empty bladder) at rest. Lying down if RHR>40 (and sit up if <39 to create some sympathetic tone). Do a 1 minute recording (he’s validated his app’s use of the iPhone camera and algorithm vs ECG).
He doesn’t recommend the overnight HRV recordings as they are not taken in controlled circumstance, for instance there will be a difference between HRV recorded during REM sleep vs deeper sleep states.
It’s worth checking his website and substack as he’s a credible expert on the topic and makes accessible with discussion of decision making related to the data.
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Here’s a nice summary; and re-reading it I think I might try the sitting position going forward as I have a pretty low RHR.
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Great article, thank you for sharing! Since my old Garmin vivosmart updated in February, the “body battery” calculations seem to have changed significantly, to the point that I’m not sure if I’ll replace this wearable once it finally dies.
Now that I read this, I wouldn’t be surprised if lowering the overnight hrv factor in the calculations was included in the update… off to snoop at the pattern in changes now.
After more than 2 years puzzling over the values my Garmin displays on the watchface I use, I realized the only use for the “Body Battery” number is when I don’t want to do something late in the day, I can always look at my wrist and say “Nope, Garmin says I’m too tired.” Hey, it’s objective science, what can they say?
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I have read his web site and listened to his appearance on the Real Science of Sports podcast in August 2022. I do follow his, and other’s advice to ignore absolute values, and follow trends and not individual values. Let us just say that other people disagree about night time HRV. I have found his other instructions to be more trouble than it is worth.
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Ha, yes I have done the same. Sorry, my watch says I’m too tired and need to rest.
I am trying to understand how much people actually trust wearable recovery scores over time. For those using WHOOP, Oura, Garmin, or similar devices: do you adjust training based on HRV/readiness numbers, or do you mostly use them as background context alongside how you feel on the bike?
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As I said previously, I find my numbers generally track my mood, so I do look at trends that might indicate a harder or lighter workout. The only time I look seriously at the numbers is when I want to work out, but the numbers say otherwise. I ask myself if I am just using my desire to push forward inappropriately. If the numbers say I am OK, but I do not feel up to it. I go with my feelings.
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