The Chinese Doctor Wang Shue, lived in 200 AD and used to say: “ If the heartbeat becomes as regular as the ticking of a woodpecker or the dripping of rain on the roof, the patient will die within four days.”.
At the time, the Chinese doctor may have been seen by his community as the bird of ill omen, but with his saying he anticipated a concept that would later be developed and studied starting from the 1980s; that is, what we all now know as HRV
But what is it about and above all, Is it really an important value to check your fitness?
The answer is yes.
But let's see specifically why.
A bit of physiology
For example, even if our heart beats 60 times in a minute, the exact time between each beat will not always be the same. This small variation is a fundamental indicator of our cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system health and is abbreviated as HRV.
HRV reflects the balance between two components of the autonomic nervous system:
- Sympathetic nervous system: is responsible for the “fight or flight” response, it activates the body to react to stressful situations by accelerating the heartbeat.
- Parasympathetic nervous system: manages the “rest and digest” response, slowing the heartbeat and promoting relaxation and recovery.
These two components must work together in synergy, while there are cases in which one of the two prevails, such as in the case of arterial hypertension or heart failure.
Why is it important?
Un High HRV Generally indicates that the autonomic nervous system is balanced, that the body is able to adapt well to changes, and is a sign of good health and recovery. In athletes, a high HRV means that the body is well rested and ready for another intense workout.
Un Low HRV, instead, can indicate stress, fatigue, lack of rest, or that the body is under pressure and is not recovering adequately.
HRV can be measured through specific tools such as heart rate monitors or wearable devices, and is often used to monitor general health, stress status, and physical recovery.
In short, HRV is an indicator of your ability to cope with stress and maintain a good balance between activity and recovery.
Personal experience
I have been using a for about a year now Garmin Instinct 2, by constantly downloading all the data on their application, this allowed me to verify over time their reliability and their usefulness.
The morning HRV check has become an important moment to understand my physical condition. It is useful to check the 7-day average, but in my experience it is equally valid to analyze the data day by day.
If one morning the values are below average, it would be a good idea to slow down the training, or go out knowing that any signs of fatigue will have to be taken into consideration more carefully, to avoid running into situations of overexertion.
This value is often able to anticipate the onset of flu-like conditions and is important for checking how the body reacts to intense training, competitions or moments of strong stress.
Conclusions
In modern sport there are very useful tools both for us coaches and for advanced athletes. This data allows us to better calibrate training plans, to verify if there are elements that disturb it and consequently find a training path more in tune with our qualities.
As long as you follow them precisely.
