a couple weeks ago i did a post on HRV4Training, which is a tool I use to track my own heart rate variability and it seems like people were pretty interested in what that was and how to use it.
so let's start with the basics:
what's heart rate variability??
basically, it is the variation of time between heartbeats. its measured by the variation in the beat to beat intervals. hrv is the seconds measured between the heart beats.
just think, if your heart rate is at 60 bpm, your heart isn't beating every second on the dot, it's got variability between each beat, and that's what is being measured.
so why does that matter
HRV is a system triggered by our body in response that stressors in our life and body.
a higher HRV has been associated with a higher quality of life. and likewise, a low HRV is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
in a normal healthy person, your HRV should increase during relaxing activities/times. and when your body is under stress your HRV will decrease.
(Important to note that your health is not CAUSED by your HRV, it's a correlation. It really brings to light the health and stress issues that are effecting your HRV)
And your HRV will pretty much definitely change every single day depending on a bunch of factors from your life. Did you sleep well? Did you train hard? Did you eat well? Have you been sick? Are you on your period? How fatigued and sore are you? All of this can and will effect your HRV.
so monitoring where your HRV is at is helpful so you can know where your body is at. if you're monitoring your HRV, you're gonna be able to see actual evidence if your body is depleted, stressed, or overloaded and be able to make those adjustments accordingly so your training can be at the top of your abilities AND so your life is at a high quality. And you can know (with actual scientific evidence) that you need to take a break.
how do you track HRV?
i use an app called HRV4TRAINING. an app for your phone. I haven't had any experience with other apps or their processes so I'm just gonna talk about that app and how to use it. and I'm sure there's a way to do it without an app, but that's also not something I have experience with so I'm not gonna address it. Though my sources below may have some more information for you.
ANYWAY~ this app is great and very easy to use. First thing in the morning, before I even get out of bed, i measure my HRV. with this app you just put your finger over the front light bulb and it measures your heart rate & heart rate variability. you can go for 30-60 seconds and then it'll tell you if your reading was optimal along with what your HRV is. Then you fill out a bunch of tags, like rating your sleep, how much sleep you got, how intense your workout was the day before, what kind of workout you did the day before, what motivation is at to train today, how sore you are, lifestyle stability, alcohol intake, etc. Then based on all of that, it'll tell you whether or not you should limit intensity, proceed as planned, or go hard that day.
And that, for me, is awesome. Because I have a tendency to over train and tracking my HRV has helped me have evidence that tells me that I need to take a break and recover and take care of myself.
the other thing HRV4TRAINING does that's cool is compiles all that data you input in. so you can get info on training load analysis, correlations, acute changes, trends, and summaries. Just a lot of information at your disposal. Because HRV is so variable and there's no single "good" or "bad" HRV it's nice to have all this data to know where you stand.
so for me, HRV4TRAINING and measuring my Heart Rate Variability has been really great for my own training.
there is A LOT of information out there and it can be pretty overwhelming. I read through a bunch of resources listed below so if you're wanting to read up more on HRV check out the links below.
If you have any questions let me know! Send me a message over on my email at tiffnessfitness@gmail.com or my Instagram or Facebook page! Or leave a comment below!
If you want to work on some fitness goals, drop me a line and we can get you going on a program, in person or online!
sources:
https://www.hrv4training.com/blog/interpreting-hrv-trends
https://www.hrv4training.com/blog/heart-rate-variability-normal-values
https://www.hrv4training.com/blog/heart-rate-variability-a-primer
https://medium.com/@marco_alt/on-heart-rate-variability-and-the-apple-watch-24f50e8e7bc0
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/heart-rate-variability-new-way-track-well-2017112212789
https://blog.ouraring.com/blog/heart-rate-variability-basics/
https://www.firstbeat.com/en/blog/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv/