UNDERSTANDING HEART RATE VARIABILITY AND HOW TO USE IT

[@wenkrush]

❤ I look at it, but I don’t give it much attention. Probably because of pace, distance, VO2 max, fueling, etc. There are just so many things to keep track of.

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@wenkrush Yeah, you’re 100% right! We have more than enough data to look at if we want to. It’s impossible to stay on top of it all!

[@MyFatAdaptedLife]

When I awake and my heart is still beating, I know it'll be a good day. ❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@MyFatAdaptedLife That seems like a metric we should all celebrate.

[@MyFatAdaptedLife]

@its_Matt_B_ touche'

[@SantaCruzRunner]

♥ I had this backwards the whole time. Thanks for this video!

[@its_Matt_B_]

Glad to clear it up! 👊🏽

[@anjalirawat5378]

Please make a video on the best boring shoes. Shoes like Glycerin, Ghost, Pegasus, Ultraboost, etc., that shoe reviewers might find boring, but are good and protective for beginners

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@anjalirawat5378 This is an excellent idea! Thank you!

[@anjalirawat5378]

@ looking forward to it

[@vetboyschmo6093]

❤. I watch mine. It predicted my EBV last year. It tanked for a couple of weeks when I felt fine. I thought maybe my garmin was having trouble. Then I got mono. After recovery, it went back up to normal. So now I pay attention to large swings.

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@vetboyschmo6093 Glad to hear your HRV worked as it should. Sorry to hear you had to find out the hard way by getting sick!

[@TolunayOrkun]

❤♥ HRV is really personal and age dependent. We can only compare ourselves to our normal. I think you had an excellent overview. HRV goes into a bunch of Garmin and other device maker algorithms for exercise readiness etc. It is one of the things I look at at my Garmin watch every day after waking up (morning report). The other one is my sleep analysis.

[@its_Matt_B_]

HRV is like our running in the way that we can only compare ourselves to ourselves and yet, like running, I find myself looking at some high HRV numbers and wondering/wishing mine were higher.

[@largeeddie]

That's a great backgrounder, Matt! I tracked my HRV regularly a couple of years ago but didn't get anything useful from it for training and recovery, maybe as a result of being over 60 and likely having a low natural HRV to start with. I could see effects from sleep and food, but the baseline was so low (20-ish I think) that any movement due to fatigue or readiness seemed lost in the noise. I was disappointed because I love the idea of it. But really I have a pretty good sense of where I stand from my mood, from stiffness and soreness, how long it takes to warm up, how high I can push my heart rate in a hard effort, all of that, so I'll keep doing it the old fashioned way.❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@largeeddie it’s interesting that your HRV was so consistent that any change wasn’t really actionable. I love that even with the ability to track the time between heartbeats, the tried and true method of listening to your body is the best way to monitor your readiness.

[@justalain5124]

Well Dear Matt,I'm impressed with your brilliant HRV explanation I didn't know anything about.An obvious super knowledge.Influenced again to be kind,to be happy and to run well.See you in a couple of miles 🥇🇧🇪💪

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@justalain5124 Thanks as always for watching! I’m happy to hear you learned something about HRV!

[@philault2854]

Most excellent video. Great explanation. I'm 62 and my average is 45. It never seems to spike but does occasionally dip into the high 30's when I'm tired, stressed or on a cruise. 😀♥

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@philault2854 Those cruises will get us every time. It’s a very stressful experience! 😆

[@avifrunner]

About a year ago, when I got my Fenix 7, I finally got to start using this metric. I was skeptic at the beginning but now I"m totally convinced - it's one very important (and simple!) metric for training, and more. When I'm stressed (e.g. work or training), it shows on the "good morning report" the next day. After hard long km repeats sessions, you not only feel the legs "burning", it shows in a number on the phone app. On easier weeks the number climbs back, and on tappering blocks it goes up even more. Now, combine this with the perceived feeling (just don't lie to yourself) - and you have a rather good indicator to wether you are over-doing your training, and need to pull back a bit, or if it's OK to go on. ❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@avifrunner Yep, it sure is a handy metric. The real problem is lying to ourselves, or at least not realizing we’re lying to ourselves. 😂

[@IRunThings]

This video was super good! You explained it so well Matt. Happy New Year by the way!❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@IRunThings Thanks so much, Suz! Happy New Year to you and the family! 😄

[@IRunThings]

My average has been 42. I've had a very stressful last two weeks though. But that is my avg. I am 51 and female (you know this but others reading this might not). Also. ❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@IRunThings Sorry about your stressful two weeks, but I suppose that’s the same for a lot of people during the holidays! Did you notice your HRV drop during that time when compared to before the holidays?

[@markchangcoco5427]

My HRV last 7d Avg is 41. I noticed consuming alcohol really screws up HRV. ❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@markchangcoco5427 Interesting! Are you doing any kind of dry/damp January this year?

[@Deadbuck73]

I’ve been hoping this topic would come up soon!

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@Deadbuck73 The suggestion box is always open to you! 😁

[@Deadbuck73]

@ having come from a Forerunner 35 to the new(er) 165 I’d love a view at some of the more in-depth functions. I’m probably just behind the 8 on this! I’m sure most folks are already up to speed! I’m always grateful for all your topics!

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@Deadbuck73 This is a good idea. Our watches have way more features than we'll ever use, but it's good to know them!

[@goes_by_santi3444]

❤ very informative and interesting. I dont track HRV (to be honest, I don't track much of anything these days, not even mileage) but the idea tickles my curiosity. Thanks for sharing.

[@its_Matt_B_]

Hey Santi! If you're not tracking anything, I'd say you're one of the lucky ones! It would be lovely to not even track mileage! 😁 How often do you run? Do you just run by time, or however you're feeling on a particular day?

[@goes_by_santi3444]

@its_Matt_B_ I'm in the process of healing an injury. So for that reason I'm tracking nothing right now so that my focus is solely on paying attention to my body and giving it what it needs. So I'm not doing much running. I'm walking a lot, rucking a fair amount, and strength training pretty normally. I'm also taking my downtime from running to work in more calisthenics.

[@michite7435]

❤️ my HRV is 55.

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@michite7435 👌🏽 How much does it change over time, or even from day to night?

[@georgemkoshy6622]

❤ Thanks. Nice summary!

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@georgemkoshy6622 Cheers, George!

[@jimoconnor8597]

I use HRV as an anecdotal indicator only. Mine definitely tracks with times I have been sick over the years or "life stress" has been higher. I still do WOs or long runs regardless of the numbers. So many other factors like hydration and your watch position on your wrist can cause the readings to be wonky. I just looked at mine for last night and had a period of time where it was 18. LOLOLOL Glad I woke up this morning!!!

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@jimoconnor8597 😆 I’m glad you woke up too! Yes, we’ve got to approach it with a pinch of salt and take a holistic look at our health! It would drive me crazy if I only made wo decisions based on my HRV. 😁

[@jimoconnor8597]

@@its_Matt_B_ Thanks again for the HRV refresher! I'm into this data, nerd stuff too.

[@alanshrimpton6787]

Hey Matt! 61 years old my 4 week HRV average on Garmin is 41 but 4 weeks prior was 37, 37 & 39. Resting HR was 46 and 4 weeks prior 46, 46 & 44. My max HR is only 178 as I push on a Half Marathon finish 1h 27m. I think my HRV is also very low if not off scale on your graph.

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@alanshrimpton6787 it’s this kind of example that makes me sure that HRV numbers are truly individual. You’ve got incredible markers of health and a “low” HRV. Keep doing what you do! 🙌🏽

[@bcockton]

I look at, had no idea what it meant. Am I balanced? Yes… proceed with the rest of the day. No?… repeat previous step. My current baseline is 49-86 (according to my Garmin) and I am at 59avg. It does move quite a bit if I am in marathon training.

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@bcockton it makes sense it would move during marathon training! That’s a lot of hard work you’re putting your body through. 💪🏽

[@alangray8952]

Track my HRV via my garmin 965. Quite a good metric to follow, but notice it goes unbalanced when I'm either run down or after drinking a lot of alcohol ❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@alangray8952 That “unbalanced” is exactly why we pay attention to it. It’s good to hear you’ve been able to see the relationship between being unbalanced and drinking / being run down. It works!

[@alangray8952]

@its_Matt_B_ it does, I don't drink much but do have a couple of nights a year where I get drunk and noticed it's unbalanced for a good 4 - 6 days after a heavy night on it

[@eric-running-to-chamonix]

I have used HRV apps, HRM, watch. In my view, HRV is too much of a "lagging indicator" to be of practical use. I already feel beat up well before HRV is yelling at me to ease up. For me, RHR is less laggy and if it's up, I tend to take notice, particularly if I'm sleeping OK, which is my primary indicator for health and training status. BTW, I have my surgery next week and I find out if I make it into UTMB OCC. I'm already not running due to a mysterious injury I picked up in December. But surgery recovery should help that resolve. I'm relying on you to share some inspirational runs over the next couple of months.

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@eric-running-to-chamonix Sorry to hear about your mysterious injury, but it sounds like it couldn’t have happened at a better time with your surgery and of course the weather being less than ideal (unless you really enjoy running in frigid temps). As far as HRV goes, I look at it much the same as RHR, with the good data only being recorded when we’re asleep.

[@anjalirawat5378]

Wonderful video. For a beginner, which shoe will you suggest between Ghost 16 and Ultraboost 5? Which is softer? Do you have any other recommendations for a traditional trainer that is flexible and relatively stable?

[@its_Matt_B_]

Thanks so much! 🤩 Both the UB5 and G16 are fairly similar in softness. If o were you I would go with the UB5x (rather the UB5). The Ghost is a good shoe but not really exciting. You should also consider the Brooks Glycerin 22 or the upcoming Hoka Bondi 9.

[@anjalirawat5378]

@ thanks a lot for the suggestions :)

[@udofroelich12]

❤ Mine is even lower like 30ish on average while all my other health and performance metric are pretty good. Is it similar to vo2 max in that it's a good predictor of longevity or healthspan?

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@udofroelich12 I haven’t read anything about it being a marker of longevity.

[@MLHunt]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@MLHunt 🫡

[@jefflessenberry6632]

It really took a month for you to recover from covid? The Lakewood ranch half marathon this coming weekend was supposed to be my a race for the 2024 training build. I will sign up for the clearwater half at the end of January but i am not sure i will fell as good as before covid. I am 57 also so i know sometimes the recovery is longer with age.

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@jefflessenberry6632 I’d say it took longer than a month for me to feel 100% again. I was fine to run after a few days, but the fatigue and feeling of not being quite right lasted a long time. Are you not doing the half this weekend now?

[@jefflessenberry6632]

​@@its_Matt_B_no to Lakewood ranch this weekend but i just signed up for Clearwater

[@jeroen1989]

Average of 82 as a 35yr old male, which I seem to doubt now being twice the max of your shown graph 😅

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@jeroen1989 The graph just shows the middle 50% of HRV values by age. You could definitely be that high! 🙌🏽

[@kuraimakumbe3762]

❤ interesting topic Matt, female aged 43 with the following HRV: Current 72 2024 82 2023 79

[@its_Matt_B_]

Interesting that you've been so consistent over the years. Have you been sick or been training hard recently to explain the 72? It doesn't seem low enough than your past two years to raise questions, but i'm curious!

[@kuraimakumbe3762]

@its_Matt_B_ I'm not sure, my training is same, maybe it's the poor sleep and stress.

[@traceyhoyle4145]

🍫🍫🍫

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@traceyhoyle4145 🤩

[@traceyhoyle4145]

The chocolates were meant for the previous video 🙈😅

[@its_Matt_B_]

@ 🤣 I figured as much! A chocolate bar would be a pretty random emoji otherwise!

[@Lachlan_McDougall]

2023 average 71 2024 average 79

[@its_Matt_B_]

Wow! Solid increase! Did you do anything specific to see that bog jump?

[@Lachlan_McDougall]

@@its_Matt_B_ first half of 2024 was 70-76 started running mid way through the year and the 2nd half was 81-86

[@dazdarren9926]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@dazdarren9926 🤩

[@htownq7224]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@htownq7224 😍

[@brionia9760]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

@@brionia9760 🙌🏽

[@alanchoi8864]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

🙌🏽

[@Okay_mate]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

✌🏽

[@Pnwrunner]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

🙌🏽 Cheers, mate!

[@lordstalker93]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

🙌🏽

[@Jhanke999]

❤

[@its_Matt_B_]

🙌🏽