What is Heart Rate Variation (HRV) and why should you pay attention to it?

HRV is the length of time between each heart beat.

Although we tend to imagine our heart beats at steady, regular intervals kinda like the ticking of a clock, actually the time between each beat varies by milliseconds. Sometimes there’s a longer duration between each beat and sometimes shorter.

Your HRV is a reflection of how well your nervous system is tracking, essentially it tells you how your lifestyle is affecting your health. Cool huh!

Your nervous system is composed of your rest and digest (parasympathetic nervous system) and your flight or flight (sympathetic nervous system). 

Both of these systems work in conjunction with each other with the aim of creating balance. 

When your system is balanced your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are having a kind of tug of war which means sometimes your heart beats slightly quicker and sometimes it's ever so slightly slower. This differentiation is your HRV. 

When your nervous system is out of whack then your HRV will lower because your sympathetic nervous system is pumping stress hormones through your body and your heart needs to work harder in preparation for the fight or flight that it perceives is coming. 

If it lowers as a result of a hard exercise session - which is a form of good stress -  then after rest it will rebound again, this is the natural adaptation that happens after training, and it’s a good thing.

If however, you’re living with constant stress and anxiety your HRV can be the first indication your body is stressed or showing signs of sickness. This is where your HRV trends downwards for a prolonged period, which ideally we want to avoid

The good news is, when you take back control and create time for your mind and body to rest and recover as and when it needs it, then you can improve your HRV.

So what does HRV have to do with personal training? Your HRV can be a great indicator of the days when you can smash out a great workout and the days when it’s good for you to have a lower intensity session aimed at maximising recovery.

Building strength, fitness and improving your health means you need to utilise the power of recovery, the gains don’t actually occur when you’re working out but when your body is in recovery. Essentially if you don’t allow time for recovery you’re limiting your results.

Great ways to increase your personal heart rate variation go hand in hand with healthier habits. Good diet, quantity and quality of sleep, reducing toxins like alcohol and cigarettes and drinking enough water to keep your body hydrated are all great for your wellbeing.

#personaltraining #golffitness #performance #hrv