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Bottom line: do you always rest when "in the red"?

There are a lot of mornings where I have a scheduled training day, but I wake up and take my HRV score and it is in the red. Usually when it's red because it's too far above the average, I ignore it. I'm much more concerned when it's red because it's too far below the average and much more inclined to rest on these days.


I don't mean to "game the system" and I definitely want to optimize my training, but I do feel that a lot of the times I want to override the HRV score (especially on the upwards spikes) and just go with how I subjectively feel instead. Thoughts?

What other indications do you have, e.g., Heart Rate?  When I have Red indication with increased heart rate I definitely take a day off from strenuous training.  On the other hand if my HRV is high and my heart rate is low I try to determine if I mucked something up, e.g., rest, nutrition, stress, hydration the day before.  If I know any of these were not optimal then I might train at a redcued load/intensity but if I cannot figure it out I will probably take a day off.

In the manual it actually states that if you get a amber or red indicator and an increased HRV you should reduce your load more so than if you get a reduced HRV. Its at the bottom of page 81. It also talks about false positives at the bottom of page 76. I having a issue where I feel I regularly getting false positive making it hard to interpret how I should be training

Another thought:  I was getting erratic readings for a few days and it turned out I needed to replace the battery in my Polar Heart Rate Monitor.  My readings were all over the map so I treated some as false positives.

Tom - the strap, or the watch? My strap doesn't require any battery, just the Bioforce plug. I have been thinking though that I've had my strap for quite a few years. Nevertheless it still seems to deliver a fairly consistent heart rate as long as my phone is close to my body.

Mine is the strap.  It has a detachable monitor/transmitter that with a replaceable battery. 


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