What Is HRV?

Not every heartbeat is the same. While we tend to focus on our max heart rate when we’re working out, there is a lot more going on that we may not be paying attention to. While we may know out resting heart rate, what do we know about our HRV?

HRV means heart rate variability and it’s a very important indicator of how healthy your heart is. In fact, the lack of HRV is one of the main signals that you’re having a heart attack. It turns out that a healthy heart has a lot of variance when it comes to the heart beating. That means that if your heart is beating unsteadily, that is in fact a good thing. It’s when the heart is completely consistent that there are issues. This is, in fact, one of the best ways to figure out if you’re rested enough to push yourself again.

But testing your HRV is not an easy task, usually requiring the kind of equipment you can only find in medical facilities. Some apps, though, are coming to the rescue to show the layman how to track their HRV.

Depending on a heart monitor or finger sensor, with the app you may end up spending around 90 bucks. But it’s a lot cheaper than going to your sports doctor. And it is the kind of thing that can help you not only figure out how you heart is doing, but is one of the most accurate ways to figure out when it’s time to get the lead out.

Have you tried this test before? What did you think?

-Shane M.