HRV, Sleep Scores & Training: Stop Letting Your Watch Control You
- Coach Nick Farr
- Aug 14
- 4 min read
Stop Hiding Behind Your Whoop Score
As an endurance sports coach, I love two types of athletes:
The ones who put their head down and do the work.
The ones who..… actually, that’s it.
Lately, though, I’ve noticed a third type sneaking into the mix: the “Recovery Data Maximalist.”
These athletes live and die by their Garmin Body Battery, Whoop strain score, Oura readiness index, HRV, or whatever other gadget is currently telling them whether they’re allowed to breathe heavily today.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love sports science. I’ll talk to you all day about heart rate variability, parasympathetic dominance, and circadian rhythm alignment. Those metrics have real value. They tell us about your recovery status, nervous system readiness, and when you might be teetering on the edge of overtraining.
But here’s the problem: for a growing number of people, the numbers have become an excuse machine.
When “Smart Recovery” Turns into “Smart Procrastination”
Let’s say your Whoop says your recovery is in the red. Fine.... maybe it’s telling you something important. Or maybe it’s just picking up that you stayed up too late doomscrolling TikTok and ate a pint of ice cream in bed. Should we adjust training for that? Sometimes. Should we throw the whole session in the trash and spend the morning “actively recovering” by watching Netflix in compression boots? Probably not.
Research backs this up:
HRV is a trend-based tool, not a single-day gospel reading. One bad score doesn’t necessarily mean you’re broken.
The body adapts to training stress. If you skip every session your watch says you’re “not ready” for, you’ll adapt… to doing nothing.
The Other Side of the Coin: The Grind Zombies
Before my “just send it” crowd gets too smug .... you’re not off the hook either. You know who you are:
Fever? You train.
Achilles screaming? You train.
Got hit by a bus? Well, you figure if the upper body still works, you can swim, right?
You’re not a hero. You’re just increasing the chance that you’ll spend the next three months rehabbing instead of improving. Training is stress + recovery. Overdo the stress, underdo the recovery, and the whole system breaks.
The Missing Piece: How You Actually Feel
Data is powerful — but it’s not magic. The gold standard for deciding how to train isn’t just your watch score or just your willpower. It’s the combination of objective data and subjective self-awareness.
Here’s how to do it right:
Check the data. See your HRV, sleep score, or readiness index.
Check in with your body. Are you sore? Heavy-legged? Mentally sharp? Irritable?
Look at the bigger picture. Was yesterday’s session intense? How’s your work/life stress? Have you been sleeping like a champ or like a caffeinated raccoon?
Make the call. Sometimes that means pushing through with a lighter session, sometimes it means resting, and sometimes it means going all-in despite the low score because you actually feel ready.
This subjective element is what makes data useful instead of tyrannical. Without it, you’re just letting a piece of electronics dictate your training life like a moody robot overlord.
Where a Good Coach Comes In
Here’s the truth: most athletes either overestimate or underestimate their readiness. A good coach bridges that gap. They can:
Learn about the nuances that make you, you. What motivates you, what commitments you have outside of training, your habits etc.
Interpret the data in the context of your training history, not just your last night’s sleep.
Spot patterns : like when your HRV drops after certain workouts or when you’re under-fueling.
Give you the green light to push when you’re feeling hesitant or pull you back when you’re charging toward a brick wall.
Coaches add the human filter that wearable devices can’t. They can say, “Yeah, your Whoop says you’re dying, but I know you, and we’re going to do this session at 80% instead of skipping it”, or “You feel fine, but that tendon is sending up smoke signals, so we’re pulling the plug today.”
That’s not weakness or guesswork. That’s training intelligence.
Finding the Sweet Spot
Track your recovery metrics. Pay attention to the trends, not just the daily score.
Be honest with yourself. If you’re truly run down, multiple days of poor recovery scores, sluggishness, irritability, poor performance, back off.
Don’t hide behind your watch. If you feel fine and the low score is just a blip, train. Adjust intensity if needed, but train.
At the end of the day, progress in endurance sports comes from consistent, repeated stress that your body has the opportunity to adapt to. That means sometimes training when you’re not 100% ready and sometimes resting when your ego wants to push.
Your watch can’t make that call. Your coach can help, and so can your own common sense, if you’re willing to use it.
So stop letting a number dictate your training like it’s your boss. You don’t work for Garmin. You work for you.
If you’re tired of guessing when to train and when to rest, stop letting a gadget make the call. Work with a coach who knows how to blend data with common sense so you can actually get faster.
About Nick Farr
Nick is the owner and Head Coach at P3 Fitness and has been a dedicated triathlete and runner for over 20 years. With a passion for endurance sports, Nick brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his coaching, specializing in triathlon, running, and cycling. As an accomplished athlete and certified multi-discipline coach, he has guided countless athletes to reach their personal bests and achieve their goals. In his role as a Triathlon coach at P3 Fitness, Nick is committed to helping each individual unlock their full potential through tailored training programs and expert guidance.
Comments