Is This The Key Behind Excellent Recovery?

Let's start with a harsh truth.

→ You are only as strong as your ability to recover.

This goes for both your health and your business. It doesn't matter how strong you think you are, or how hard you can push it in the boardroom.

If you can't effectively recover after intense periods of pushing it, then your progress will never reach its potential.

So, knowing this, I'm going to discuss one of the key factors behind recovery...

Is This The Key Behind Excellent Recovery?

If you're in the business world you'll know all about the value that key metrics play in business success.

Revenue, profit margin, ROI, CSAT, COGS, market share, burn rate.

Just some of the most important pieces of information used by businesses to help them make their decisions.

Now, your body can be approached in the same manner, using key metrics to track your health so you make better decisions. I wrote an email on it a few months ago that you can check out by clicking here.

One of the most important health-related metrics you can measure is Heart Rate Variability, commonly referred to as HRV.

If you workout regularly I'd be surprised if you haven't heard this term thrown around before, but even if you have, you're probably not very sure as to what it actually is.

I'll be honest, it took a while bit of time before it finally stuck for me.

So, what exactly is heart rate variability?

"HRV is a measure of your autonomic nervous system. HRV is the variance in time between the beats of your heart." (Whoop.com)

Pretty much it's a measure of how well your body handles stress and recovers from it. It looks at the small changes in time between your heartbeats, which tell us how balanced your nervous system is.

It is widely used in elite sports, high-performance training, and stress management to gauge an individual’s physiological resilience and adaptability.

Unlike most other health KPIs such as blood pressure and resting heart rate, we want our HRV to be as high as possible.

That's because a higher HRV means your body is well-rested, adaptable, and ready to perform.

However, a lower HRV can be a sign of stress, fatigue, or overtraining.

So when it comes to HRV, the higher the number the better!

Now, you might be sitting there thinking what use is this to me? I'm not an athlete, I run a business.

Well, it's of enormous benefit!

HRV is one of the clearest indicators of recovery levels. If you've been pushing it hard recently with deadlines and extreme levels of stress, you best believe your HRV is going to reflect that with a lower reading.

HRV is a direct indicator of the balance between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system.

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) – The “fight or flight” system, which prepares the body for action, stress, and exertion by increasing heart rate and reducing HRV.

Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) – The “rest and digest” system, which promotes recovery, relaxation, and energy conservation by lowering heart rate and increasing HRV.

We want to spend the majority of our time in the latter, but unfortunately, this isn't the case for a lot of stressed-out entrepreneurs.

So, this alone highlights why knowing your HRV is crucial for any high-performing entrepreneur. HRV is far more than a fitness metric and should instead be seen as a performance optimisation tool.

Why? Because a high HRV can be associated with:

Better stress management – Higher HRV indicates that the nervous system can shift between stress and relaxation efficiently.

Improved cognitive function – HRV is linked to executive functioning, decision-making, and mental resilience.

Enhanced recovery – It indicates that the body is ready for strain.

Greater longevity and cardiovascular health – Higher HRV is correlated with reduced risk of heart disease, hypertension, and other chronic conditions.

While a lower HRV can indicate:

Stress, fatigue, poor recovery, or overtraining.

All things any high-performer wants to avoid!

What factors influence HRV?

It's affected by a variety of factors, some of which are within your control.

You've got lifestyle & habits, so things such as:

• Exercise: Regular physical activity, especially aerobic training and Zone 2 cardio, tends to increase HRV over time.

• Sleep Quality: Poor sleep (short duration, frequent awakenings, late-night screen exposure) negatively affects HRV.

• Nutrition: Processed foods, alcohol, dehydration, and excessive caffeine intake can suppress HRV.

• Stress Levels: Chronic stress, emotional strain, and lack of relaxation can lead to lower HRV.

• Breathwork & Meditation: Slow, controlled breathing and mindfulness techniques improve HRV by activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Physical & biological factors also play a role:

• Age & Genetics: HRV naturally declines with age, though lifestyle choices can mitigate this.

• Hormonal Balance: Cortisol (the stress hormone) and inflammation can suppress HRV, whereas testosterone and growth hormone support recovery and higher HRV.

• Hydration & Electrolyte Balance: Dehydration and imbalanced sodium, potassium, and magnesium levels can negatively impact HRV.

Then there are environmental & external influences, like:

• Cold Exposure & Heat: Sauna sessions and cold plunges can improve HRV by stimulating parasympathetic activation.

• Altitude: Training or living at high altitudes can temporarily reduce HRV until adaptation occurs.

• Air Quality & Pollution: Exposure to pollution and poor air quality can decrease HRV by increasing physiological stress.

What should your HRV be?

The answer to this question is kinda complicated and that's because HRV is a very sensitive metric and can not only vary massively from day to day but also from person to person.

As you can see from the graph below, HRV trends downward the older you get.

graph of HRV and age — Image from Whoop.com

But 'good' HRV isn't as black and white as this. As I mentioned already, it's a very sensitive metric and is highly individualised.

You can get some extremely fit and healthy people who can have what would be perceived as a 'low score' on the chart. This is why it's extremely important to approach HRV with a 'you vs you' mentality.

You do this by measuring trends. If you see that your HRV is improving, then you know that you're training and lifestyle are having the desired positive effect.

If you see a downward trend, then that's an indicator that you need to make changes to your approach.

This brings me perfectly to my next and final point.

How to track your HRV?

"What doesn't get measured, doesn't get managed."

If you don't have a way of tracking your heart rate variability, how can you ever look to improve it?

You simply can't. So, you need a device that does it for you and there have never been more available than there are right now.

You have:

Whoop
Oura
Garmin
Polar H10
Apple Watch

And plenty more I'm sure I've never heard about.

You may have guessed by now which one I use, which is of course the Whoop strap.

I've been using a Whoop since 2018 and I love the thing.

Every morning I wake up I get a set of metrics that indicate how recovered my body is, with the main one being my HRV score.

Now, I don't let this score dictate my day but it does let me know how my recovery efforts are going. If I see a particularly low HRV for instance, I'll be sure to check how I slept and see if I can make any correlation between the two.

Or maybe I had a particularly stressful day the day before, hence the low recovery scores.

So if you don't have a device for tracking your HRV, I highly recommend you get one.

Doing so could be the difference between average performances in the gym and boardroom, and tremendous performances!

That was quite a lot of information to digest. If you have any questions or maybe you need some advice on devices, all you have to do is pop me a reply and I'll happily get back to you.

Oh and if you want to try the Whoop strap, you can get a free WHOOP 4.0 strap and one month free when you join with my link: https://join.whoop.com/F8FEFD.

I'm not affiliated with them in any way but I do get a free months membership if you use the link above.

Quote for the day

“Happiness lies, first of all, in health.”

– George William Curtis

I'm not saying a strong and fit body will automatically make you happier because you only have to talk to some of the depressed bodybuilders to know that's not true.

But, it does open up more of the world to you. Meaning you're free to create more memories and live more life.

Which in my eyes, is a recipe for happiness.

- Mark

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here’s a few ways I can help you:

Are you an ambitious entrepreneur or professional who wants to get strong, lean, and boost your energy? Then find out more about my 1-1 coaching here.
Grab a FREE copy of my Ultimate Health Guide by Clicking here now.

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