Improving physical performance is the most common goal of Elite HRV users.
Physical performance improves over time when you:
- optimize training (i.e. not too much, not too little),
- avoid injuries that set you back, and
- avoid illness or other health concerns that prevent your training or slow your recovery.
HRV removes much of the guesswork from this process. This is because HRV is actually not just measuring your heart, but your nervous system (which is closely tied to all of your organs and their functions).
HRV analysis can tell you:
- How well you’re recovering from training, so your body can repair and rebuild optimally to get stronger, fitter, faster without overdoing it.
- If you need to increase or change up your training stimulus to keep progressing.
These HRV signs and patterns remain useful as you progress from novice to advanced at a certain sport or workout.
Lastly, HRV will also tell you if other lifestyle factors such as sleep, nutrition, alcohol or mental stress are hampering your training progress.
It only takes a few minutes per week.
You can start by tracking your HRV for a few days, to establish a baseline.
Then, as you adopt a training program or make health changes, continue to track changes in HRV. They will help you decide if you are over- or under-training, and also identify if your health change is working.
Curious to learn more? All you need is a compatible HRV sensor like our favorite (link) or one of these (link), and the Elite HRV app (link).