Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

rearnakedchoke

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So I saw this on my Apple watch and had no clue what it is. Looked it up and seems like like a new way to measure heart Heath and is even a marker of cognitive decline. Based on my readings, I may not make it until Monday.
Anyone watching this reading? Any insights?
 
I honestly don't know much about it, but from what I've heard, there's many factors that can affect your HRV, including things like anxiety, time of the day, excitement, caffeine, poor night of sleep, hard training, etc. Apparently some people want to use it as a way to assess the stress of a training program. So, in theory, a poor score would indicate you need a deload or something similar. It seems like this is disputed since the devices vary in their accuracy. It also seems like it's hard to know what caused the HRV variation and some say the correlation between fatigue and HRV is poor in the first place, since HRV can be affected by many things.

Additionally, there's also the possibility of mindfucking yourself into performing poorly, just because the device told you that was supposed to happen. This is a cool article on that effect:

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/placebo-sleep/

As a complete broscientist it seems to me that, if you're getting some annual medical check-ups with a blood panel, blood pressure and other common sense stuff to make sure you're generally healthy; and have a generally healthy lifestyle, micromanaging these "fatigue indicators" day-to-day might end up doing more harm than good, and you might be better off measuring fatigue in other ways and not wearing these devices at all.

Maybe if you were a coach gathering information from a high level trainee, or if you were a researcher it would be interesting, but as a way of self monitoring it seems to have limited usefulness.

Hope you don't die.
 
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I honestly don't know much about it, but from what I've heard, there's many factors that can affect your HRV, including things like anxiety, time of the day, excitement, caffeine, poor night of sleep, hard training, etc. Apparently some people want to use it as a way to assess the stress of a training program. So, in theory, a poor score would indicate you need a deload or something similar. It seems like this is disputed since the devices vary in their accuracy. It also seems like it's hard to know what caused the HRV variation and some say the correlation between fatigue and HRV is poor in the first place, since HRV can be affected by many things.

Additionally, there's also the possibility of mindfucking yourself into performing poorly, just because the device told you that was supposed to happen. This is a cool article on that effect:

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/placebo-sleep/

As a complete broscientist it seems to me that, if you're getting some annual medical check-ups with a blood panel, blood pressure and other common sense stuff to make sure you're generally healthy; and have a generally healthy lifestyle, micromanaging these "fatigue indicators" day-to-day might end up doing more harm than good, and you might be better off measuring fatigue in other ways.

Maybe if you were a coach gathering information from a high level trainee, or if you were a researcher it would be interesting, but as a way of self monitoring it seems to have limited usefulness.

Hope you don't die.
Thanks man. I notice it is highest while i sleep or around I wake up. Drops after a workout and then goes up slowly the rest of the day. I’m sure it’s one of many things you need to look at and as you say, knowing you are monitoring it can definitely have an effect. I will check out the link you posted also. Thanks!
 
I honestly don't know much about it, but from what I've heard, there's many factors that can affect your HRV, including things like anxiety, time of the day, excitement, caffeine, poor night of sleep, hard training, etc. Apparently some people want to use it as a way to assess the stress of a training program. So, in theory, a poor score would indicate you need a deload or something similar. It seems like this is disputed since the devices vary in their accuracy. It also seems like it's hard to know what caused the HRV variation and some say the correlation between fatigue and HRV is poor in the first place, since HRV can be affected by many things.

Additionally, there's also the possibility of mindfucking yourself into performing poorly, just because the device told you that was supposed to happen. This is a cool article on that effect:

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/placebo-sleep/

As a complete broscientist it seems to me that, if you're getting some annual medical check-ups with a blood panel, blood pressure and other common sense stuff to make sure you're generally healthy; and have a generally healthy lifestyle, micromanaging these "fatigue indicators" day-to-day might end up doing more harm than good, and you might be better off measuring fatigue in other ways and not wearing these devices at all.

Maybe if you were a coach gathering information from a high level trainee, or if you were a researcher it would be interesting, but as a way of self monitoring it seems to have limited usefulness.

Hope you don't die.
Impressed by your consistently quality posts. Have a good one.
 
Impressed by your consistently quality posts. Have a good one.

Hey man, same to you, appreciate your insights.

Honestly, I just try to get most of my info from 4 or 5 sources that I consider trustworthy and research based, mainly the Barbell Medicine guys, Mike Tuscherer, Mike Israetel, Greg Nuckols and his crew, and a couple others. All these guys cite sources and have been coaching professionally for a long time and I've personally tested some of their programs and like them a lot, which tells me they know their shit. As for me, I'm a noob who tries to spread their knowledge and research haha.
 
Isn’t hrv how your heart rate changes predicts your recovery and resistance to stress.
 
@rearnakedchoke
We liked to use em in our exercise science classes. Didnt use apple though. They are a solid tool in a toolbox, probably better to graph a month of results overtop of your training/sleep/diet to get a full idea, but this isnt always feasible for all.

Where i found it most beneficial was for planning concurrent training modalities for athletes who have to train more fields of fitness than others; wrestlers, bjj, fighters etc.
 
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@rearnakedchoke
We liked to use em in our exercise science classes. Didnt use apple though. They are a solid tool in a toolbox, probably better to graph a month of results overtop of your training/sleep/diet to get a full idea, but this isnt always feasible for all.

Where i found it most beneficial was for planning concurrent training modalities for athletes who have to train more fields of fitness than others; wrestlers, bjj, fighters etc.
This is good advice. Thanks!
 
This is good advice. Thanks!

Also, log your rhr the next day after every session the working HR during the session, and how long it takes to bring it back to rhr after you finish your exercises. If your rhr is higher the next day by only a few bpm, no biggie. If your rhr is normally 55 and the next day its 75+ , you likely didnt recover (sleep/nutrition/stress usually).

Its ideal to avoid cardiovascular drift, and having a higher rhr or working hr than normal for the same activity can impede improvements and actually cause some regression. This is a good, but not the only reason HRV as a tool can be useful.
 
Also, log your rhr the next day after every session the working HR during the session, and how long it takes to bring it back to rhr after you finish your exercises. If your rhr is higher the next day by only a few bpm, no biggie. If your rhr is normally 55 and the next day its 75+ , you likely didnt recover (sleep/nutrition/stress usually).

Its ideal to avoid cardiovascular drift, and having a higher rhr or working hr than normal for the same activity can impede improvements and actually cause some regression. This is a good, but not the only reason HRV as a tool can be useful.
Was just coming to ask a question on hrh since you guys are so knowledgeable. After a workout, my heart rate goes down around 35 bpm in the first minute. Say from 156 to 120 or so. That’s normal I’d think. It takes 5 minutes though to get down below 100, which I would think is even more concerning.
 
Was just coming to ask a question on hrh since you guys are so knowledgeable. After a workout, my heart rate goes down around 35 bpm in the first minute. Say from 156 to 120 or so. That’s normal I’d think. It takes 5 minutes though to get down below 100, which I would think is even more concerning.

Do you warm up ? How do you cool down? Do you go too hard too quickly for some workouts?
Were you fit in life before, ever a smoker etc?
Overweight currently? Family with heart or hypertension issues?
How much caffeine before or during workouts?
Hydration levels?
 
Do you warm up ? How do you cool down? Do you go too hard too quickly for some workouts?
Were you fit in life before, ever a smoker etc?
Overweight currently? Family with heart or hypertension issues?
How much caffeine before or during workouts?
Hydration levels?
I don’t really warm up. Just go. Never a smoker and was in decent shape. Didn’t workout for close to a year because of covid. I drink a couple cups of coffee. Family history of hbp, but mine is pretty good. Never been told it’s high. Could stand to use a few pounds now also!
 
Do you warm up ? How do you cool down? Do you go too hard too quickly for some workouts?
Were you fit in life before, ever a smoker etc?
Overweight currently? Family with heart or hypertension issues?
How much caffeine before or during workouts?
Hydration levels?
Just finished a workout. Cool down is just sitting there. So should be an accurate reading. Went from 147 to 111 after the first minute but down to 104 after three minutes.
 
I don’t really warm up. Just go. Never a smoker and was in decent shape. Didn’t workout for close to a year because of covid. I drink a couple cups of coffee. Family history of hbp, but mine is pretty good. Never been told it’s high. Could stand to use a few pounds now also!

Warms up, especially if you are doing sprints, LISS etc, help a great deal with the entire workout. I don't anticipate your HR getting that revved from lifting weights unless you're doing circuits or complexes.
A. you will avoid cardiovascular drift for a longer period of time.
B. It helps your NS function optimally for task.
C. Warm ups help with vasodilation of blood vessels, as opposed to just heading in cold; they will be distensible.
D. As a result of A, you will be able to lower RHR a bit more than your current completions. Hopefully quicker after a few short weeks. 4-5 minutes to go from 120-100 BPM is a bit lengthy, although with age this can occur also. IIRC you're 45, and if you are in so so shape, this shouldn't really be happening for most people.

Just finished a workout. Cool down is just sitting there. So should be an accurate reading. Went from 147 to 111 after the first minute but down to 104 after three minutes.

There's a bunch of cool downs out there, base it on what you did that day. IE if you lifted weights, you don't need to jog to cool down.
Sauna's while great you for you, increase your heart rate during the moment, though they do have a great impact overall to health. I would say to avoid a hot shower/sauna until your RHR is normal ish if you are hitting them afterward (not sure what your rules are during covid where you are).

Warm ups and cool downs suck, but i found myself needing the fuck out of them before i hit 30.
 
Warms up, especially if you are doing sprints, LISS etc, help a great deal with the entire workout. I don't anticipate your HR getting that revved from lifting weights unless you're doing circuits or complexes.
A. you will avoid cardiovascular drift for a longer period of time.
B. It helps your NS function optimally for task.
C. Warm ups help with vasodilation of blood vessels, as opposed to just heading in cold; they will be distensible.
D. As a result of A, you will be able to lower RHR a bit more than your current completions. Hopefully quicker after a few short weeks. 4-5 minutes to go from 120-100 BPM is a bit lengthy, although with age this can occur also. IIRC you're 45, and if you are in so so shape, this shouldn't really be happening for most people.



There's a bunch of cool downs out there, base it on what you did that day. IE if you lifted weights, you don't need to jog to cool down.
Sauna's while great you for you, increase your heart rate during the moment, though they do have a great impact overall to health. I would say to avoid a hot shower/sauna until your RHR is normal ish if you are hitting them afterward (not sure what your rules are during covid where you are).

Warm ups and cool downs suck, but i found myself needing the fuck out of them before i hit 30.
The warm up makes sense. Thanks. The heart is getting up from kb swings for 30 secs on 30 sec rest. For as many sets as I can do, which at the moment isn’t much. We are still in lockdown, so doing all these with kb and db.
I will try the warm up and see if that helps.
 

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