Anyone using HRV? (Heart Rate Variability)

Yes. I’ve noticed this as well. Interesting to see you mention it…

I’ve just started using HRV4TRAINING recently I look forward to building up my HRV data although I wish the trainingload, v02, etc… within the insights feature could use past data.

Btw… it appears I’m well rested? Even after some harder 2x20s yesterday.

:slight_smile:

Yeah i use it a lot, the other week done a 105 mile sportive in horrible conditions and the day after my test showed had a virus as result of resting pulse was significantly higher.

Brian

I have just jumped onboard today with HRV4Training. Interested to see recovery times etc. I wonder if it can integrate with the WHOOP?

Question to HRV4T users. If anyone does other activities for, say, recovery, like hike, surf, any of that, how do you log it into HRV4T so it stops thinking and telling “loss of fitness”…

hi there,
I would recommend to use RPE or RPE x Duration, as we normally do in studies for non-endurance sports where quantifying the effort via heart rate or power makes little sense (e.g. Crossfit: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319544061_Heart_Rate_Variability_is_a_Moderating_Factor_in_the_Workload-Injury_Relationship_of_Competitive_CrossFit_Athletes)

Please note that the models you are referring to are standard acute / chronic load models that are present in pretty much any tool these days and do not take into account your physiology (but just the training impulse / load), hence in any case you can always rely on the app in terms of physiological trends analysis and daily HRV scores with respect to your baseline and normal values (see this: Case study: physiological stress in response to training (running a marathon) and lifestyle), while you can use your training load metric even just to contextualize your data as shown for example here: https://www.ricardomazzini.com/single-post/2020/01/08/What-is-HRV-and-how-I-use-it

Hope this helps in case you are still using the app

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I looked at whoop but the cost kills me. I just started HRV4t and use my apple 5 watch. HRV4t says the latest apple iOS watch is accurate enough if you stay very still and use the breathe app and then dump it into HRV4t. I have been using HRV for long as 2 years. Getting to use the watch now is a huge plus. I hated getting up and putting on a HR strap. Hrv works for recovery and should you train. I just started the HRV4t app and Im starting to collect data.

My lack of sleep, i work nights and alcohol are the fastest way to “TANK” my hrv scores. Dehydrations is a big one two. So if anybody doesn’t think their numbers don’t change. Get some alcohol drinks and you will see it drop!!! Not a great way to do it but Ive tested it through the holidays and Wow. NO more booze for me.

@marco_alt, a big thank you for supporting your app here and helping us learn about HRV.

jeff

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So I have been using HRV4t for about 5 days.

Question @marco_alt
In the morning my score is low, but by afternoon my score is higher. At work i can drink lots of water and good food. But when i wake up in the morning. I havn’t been drinking any water for 8-12 hours. No good food.

Wouldnt taking your HRv right before you want to work out be a better way to judge your hrv for training. I dont train when i get up. I get up and then go to work for 8-10 hours. I always feel dehydrated when i wake up. Havnt had any water for long time.

I know most say to take a morning reading but, I dont work out in the morning and my hrv score improves with time as the day goes on.

Just a question.

jeff

hi Jeff, no in general I think that is not a good idea and measurements should be taken first thing in the morning. Some reasons:

  • the morning routine is all about avoiding confounding factors (coffee, diet, even light activity, psychological stressors, etc.), hence it is the only moment where it makes sense to measure (apart from the night)
  • the point of the measurement (both morning and night measurements) is to capture your level of baseline physiological stress (in response to strong acute stressors, and long term chronic ones). This is not necessarily the moment in which your HRV is highest (you could have “positive stressors”, like doing a mindfulness sessions to increase acutely your HRV, still the effect of this session on your baseline HRV might be none, so if there are major stressors creating problems, they will still be there the morning after. The morning is simply the moment in which your HRV is representative of what we want to measure.
  • consider also that the way we analyze the data is always in relative terms, so it does not really matter (because every morning you haven’t had any water for several hours, hence you are always in the same condition, while if you measure at any other time, you are most likely not in the same condition). Consistency is key.

I just wrote this one yesterday, covering some of these points and more on measurement modality and best practices: The Ultimate Guide to Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Part 1 | by Marco Altini | Medium check it out, there might be useful information in there if you are just getting started.

More will follow in the next post about how to use the data, but understanding what is measured and why it should be done in a certain way, is of course a necessary first step.

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I’v been using EliteHRV with their CorSense sensor for a few weeks now. I am curious if anyone else uses them and what their experience is. I like the sensor and the app. My issue is all the other metadata they attempt to either sync with Apple Health or have you manually enter seems to be erratic at best. I’d think that Sleep duration and workout duration from Strava would be something they could import correctly but so far its all pretty much useless and inaccurate.

What other apps and sensors does anyone recommend?

I use HRV4Training on my iphone. For the price of the app ($10 I paid), it’s a bargain.

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I just started using HRV4Training a few days ago and I’m using the camera, so I don’t have to try to get a strap around me in bed, and my Tickr doesn’t seem to play nice with the app for HRV purposes.
Since I’m new to this and trying to get my routine established, I’m taking a bunch of successive readings each morning to try to dial in something consistent with regards to position, breathing, etc. and get used to the measurement in general. I have a couple of uncertain points:

  1. If I take a bunch of readings in the same position, should I consider as the “correct” reading: The first reading after I wake up? The best one (max rMSSD) I get? The most frequent rMSSD (statistical mode)?
  2. My flash burns my finger if I put it directly over, so I just have my finger over the camera and near the flash, but this requires me to keep my other hand over the back of the phone so I don’t flood our bedroom in light and wake my wife up. This ends up with me pressing my phone into my stomach a bit when laying down and makes it a tiny bit hard to breathe. Should I switch to sitting up or something?
  3. Anyone else who overthinks everything (think increased blood pressure when measuring with a cuff just because you know it’s being measured) wonder/notice if your readings are skewed low from overthinking/stressing?

I had similar issues re: overthinking when wearing an HRM at first until I got used to it, so I’m guessing I just need to stay the course on this and I’ll start getting better data. But just thought I’d query everyone’s knowledge here for reassurance :wink:

Update: EliteHRV has been VERY proactive with recent software updates as well as responding to my issues. I like the Readiness Score in conjunction with baseline. I now need to focus on changes to slowly improve my HRV overall.

I agree that EliteHRV has been good. But I don’t understand how the same HRV numbers can mean different things. Last week, my reading was 57 and readiness score was 9. Sunday it was 57 and score was 6 - that my sympathetic activity was elevated and I should consider recovery. I had a hard 44 mile ride on Saturday so recovery was in order, but not sure why the same number can cause different results.

Dave,

I do agree. I’ve decided to just track the data both HRV and Score each ride and look for trends. I do understand too much variation will drive different scores. I’ve seen cases where my HRV slowly declined, then due to a new baseline a the score changed for a same reading. I am still watching to fully understand what the numbers mean to me specifically. I am probably going to try running another app also, but have resisted as I did not really want to do two readings every morning.

With that said, I do like the CorSense they sell.

I usually get up to bathroom and then get back into bed and check my HRV. I do it under the covers and don’t look at the screen. I can feel the vibe when it starts and the 2nd vibe a minute later to know when the measurement is done.

I think the important thing is to do it the same way every morning and then look at the trends.

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I’m checking it on both apps now each morning right when I wake up lying down. I have a baseline with Elite but HRV4Training is still just getting started. It’s interesting to compare to Garmin’s Stress score too. For now it’ just data…I still go with how I feel each day to steer training deviations.

Interestingly, some Sleep Number beds are now tracking HRV. I got an update from them this past week and the data is starting to collect. It will be interesting to see how the numbers correlate with my Whoop strap.

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Not used Python in GC so a steep learning curve coming up.

I want to create a Poincare plot with HRV data within GC.

Only just caught on that GC now calculates and stores HRV data from ordinary HR straps. I wrote a VB app years ago to do that from a Garmin Strap.

I work best following example code. I admit that my attention span is too short to deal with learning a new language from square one. I’ve been out of the loop for 10 years. github is a bit of a mistery to me.

Many thanks Rob - aero stuff on my www.floataero.com blog

If anyone is looking for a free alternative to other apps, there is https://trainingtodayapp.com for iphone and apple watch. I have been using it this week, seems pretty decent, but i havent used a whoop or other apps so flying blind here.

It’s been mentioned a few times from ex whoop users here