Other/Mixed How to properly read HRV?

[thegoldengod]

I have an Apple Watch Series 3 and it is logging my HRV intermittently. I take my HRV reading every morning right when I wake up.

I noticed that my HRV is anywhere between 50-60ms.

Knowing that this is my average range, if HRV drops below 50ms is it a sign to focus a little more on recovery?

Trying to gauge how to interpret deviations from the norm.

 

[Groove Greaser]

It might just be marketing, but I've heard if oft-repeated that accurate HRV readings can't be obtained from wrist devices. Better to have a chest strap or calibrated finger device.

I use a chest strap and the free app "Elite HRV" if that helps any. It also gives you a "relative balance" score to take some of the guesswork out of HRV readings.

Finally, I have found - as have others on this forum - that HRV is a useful tool, but that I trust how I'm feeling more than what my HRV reading says.

 

[ali]

I know many use it but I go by feel. I've still got smoke coming out my ears after a race on Sunday. A reasonable indicator to take it easy, certainly more visual than hrv!

 

[Anna C]

It's instructive and will teach you better how to go by feel. Ask yourself how you feel, then get your second opinion from HRV reading. If it's out of whack and you thought you felt fine, ask yourself, what am I not considering? (probably quality/quantity of sleep, or overall life stress... but maybe how stressful your recent training was), and do I really feel fine? (you may find that your mood is off, or you're more irritable than you should be, or less focused). Then you'll know to factor that in going forward. You'll get tuned in better to how you really feel, and after a while it won't surprise you.

Personally I don't let a screwy HRV reading tell me not to train if I had planned to, but if I see it indicating way out of the norm I do pay a little extra attention to recovery, mostly sleep and nutrition, and consider if my programming needs to be adjusted.

 

[vegpedlr]

I've used HRV off and on for a few years. I first used iThlete as it was the first I heard about, then switched to SweetBeat since it's based here in the US. Founder Rhonda Patrick has a ton of knowledge about how to use HRV. Check out some of the podcast interviews done with her.

A couple key points I learned from her, first and most important is that your number is yours alone. There is much individual variation, and your age is one factor. So don't compare your number to anyone else. Especially since they may be using a setup with a different algorithm. When I switched from iThlete to SweetBeatHRV, my number changed significantly.

So to use it, you have start using it regularly and note the score. After some time, you'll see your ranges for rested vs cooked. It would be best to start using it when you're pretty rested, maybe the end of a recovery week. Then, see how different workouts and life stresses affect it. Like Anna mentioned, it's just one data point, not a definitive guide. Use it a solid second opinion. HRV measures your response to ALL life stresses in a cumulative manner. One low score by itself isn't critical, but a trend is. So if it's low, but you feel good, maybe train as usual, or back off a bit. If it stays low, reconsider. A couple times my HRV crashed, and it was right before I got sick.

It's important to measure it consistently under the same conditions. The usual practice is right when you wake up, before you get out of bed, like the old school pulse check, only better. Since HRV fluctuates all the time, if you choose to check it at other times, only compare readings from the same time of day or you'll go crazy.

 

[Hasbro]

I’ve also heard wrist devices don’t have the accuracy needed but maybe the newer watches do....I don’t know. And like @vegpedlr said always check at the same time under the same conditions. I agree that first thing upon waking is best. I use the Elite HRV app too and you have to establish a baseline to have something to compare to.

Another method I’ve used in the past is to take my resting HR upon waking every morning. After establishing a baseline for a week or two (make sure you’re fully rested during the baseline period) I cut back my training if my morning HR was 20% or higher than normal on any given day. Back when I was deadlifting heavy my normal HR was in the low 40’s. The morning after a heavy session it would go up to the mid 50’s and about 2 days later it would be back in the low 40’s.

20% or higher I wouldn’t workout at all that day.
15% I might do some light active recovery type training. (Walking, swimming, crawling, etc)
10% I would train as long as I felt good.

 

[thegoldengod]

20% or higher I wouldn’t workout at all that day.
15% I might do some light active recovery type training. (Walking, swimming, crawling, etc)
10% I would train as long as I felt good.

This is similar to how I've been using HRV. It's a combination of how I feel (ie. am I really sore? do I feel like working out today? etc. etc.)

I've found the following in my not-so-scientific testing:

1. HRV is drastically higher when I get good sleep, drastically lower when I have poor sleep

2. On days where I work out hard and am feeling crushed, my HRV doesn't always seem to correlate, it still remains high. Not sure how to interpret that. I have yet to get an HRV reading that is low after doing a metcon or something that is taxing on the body. Need more data/testing, but thought I would share.

3. I am only using my HRV reading from when I wake up since that is consistent and controlled, but an observation none-the-less: my HRV is always higher in the morning and as the day progresses, goes down (sometimes way down) and then back to some kind of middle average.