How to Interpret Post-Workout and Recovery Data?

You build your fitness not so much during training as during recovery. This is when your body rebuilds itself and adapts to the next training session, whose difficulty and intensity should not be random, but rather determined by your level of recovery. Otherwise, instead of building your fitness step by step, you may end up with overload, injuries and burnout.

Post-workout and recovery data can help reduce this risk, yet many runners still underestimate them, focusing primarily on monitoring metrics during running sessions or supplementary exercises. And that should not be the case. Post-workout and recovery data are just as important as the data collected during training. They are like a mirror in which we can look at ourselves and make sure we are sticking to our original training plan or decide whether we should adjust it to our level of recovery. These data also help us better understand how we feel and stay calm when a workout simply does not go as planned.

LOOK BEYOND A SINGLE RECOVERY METRIC

The Cheetah 2 Pro and Active 3 Premium sports watches, like the Helio Strap, monitor dozens of post-workout and recovery metrics. These include information on training load, calculated based on the duration and intensity of the workout as well as oxygen consumption, along with post-workout and resting heart rate, short- and long-term fatigue levels, the state of the nervous system, indirectly reflected by heart rate variability (HRV), and sleep quality.HybridCharge is another useful metric. It indicates our energy level, calculated based on the aforementioned training load and recovery (sleep), as well as activity outside of sport, including the duration and intensity of work during the day, our subjective well-being and diet.

There is one more metric. It indicates the time needed for full recovery before another hard training session can be completed. Many runners may see it as an excellent, because simple, point of reference. After their last workout, they receive a clear message on their watch: a light workout can be performed in 24 hours, a moderately intense workout in 48 hours, and a hard workout only after 96 hours.

The problem is that between one workout and the next, a number of factors can interfere with proper recovery. We may work longer than usual, fail to get enough sleep or even pick up an infection whose first symptoms have not yet appeared. In such a situation, the recovery time calculated after the previous workout may no longer accurately reflect our current condition.

Therefore, one of the biggest mistakes a runner can make is making a decision about their next training session based solely on a single recovery metric. A smarter approach is to listen to your body and look at several important metrics at the same time, including:

  • short-term training load (ATL)
  • long-term training load (CTL)
  • heart rate variability (HRV)
  • sleep quality over the past few days
  • time needed for full recovery
  • HybridCharge
  • resting heart rate

ATL and CTL training loads are expressed on a five-level scale. An athlete can be relaxed, energized, have a balanced or optimal training load. The highest level of fatigue is classified as “overtrained” in the Zepp App. The more ATL exceeds CTL, the more fatigue a runner is likely to feel.

Heart rate variability indirectly provides information about the state of our nervous system. The higher the value, the better: the system is more rested, which may indicate light and responsive legs during training. If the value is below the average for the previous week, the system is fatigued and the runner may feel less dynamic.

Sleep quality depends not only on how long we sleep, but also on the amount of deep sleep. The higher the sleep quality, the better the body should be able to cope with hard and intense training. After a demanding week at work, one good night's sleep may not be enough to fully recover.

The time needed for full recovery is calculated from the end of the last workout. The longer and more intense the workout, the more time we will need to fully recover. The Zepp App may indicate several days, but this does not mean that once the recommended recovery period has elapsed, a runner should automatically proceed with the same workout at the same intensity.

HybridCharge, mentioned earlier, continuously shows our current energy level. This level is lowered by any activity, not just training, and raised by rest, especially sleep. HybridCharge can also be adjusted based on information about our subjective well-being.

Resting heart rate, meaning the number of heartbeats per minute while at rest or asleep, provides information about our general state of health. It is worth checking in the morning, immediately after waking up, and comparing it with the average from the previous weeks. A resting heart rate higher than usual may indicate ongoing fatigue, stress or even the onset of an infection. An elevated heart rate during an easy warm-up or recovery run may provide additional confirmation.

These metrics are constantly changing. What matters is knowing whether and how to respond. Here are some example scenarios:

SCENARIO 1

The time needed for full recovery has almost completely elapsed. The previous few nights have also been restful, as reflected by metrics such as HybridCharge (80) and resting heart rate (50 beats per minute). At the same time, the training load accumulated over a longer period (CTL) remains high, while HRV is still at the level of the average from the previous week. If you had tempo runs planned, it may be worth changing the plan and opting for a progressive run instead. This way, you can still complete a valuable workout without unnecessarily adding another overly demanding stimulus to your body.

SCENARIO 2

Your training load has been lower over the past few days. You may therefore feel relaxed and rested, which is also confirmed by your ATL and CTL metrics. Only a few hours remain until full recovery, which may seem like practically no time at all.

The problem is that two days earlier you completed a harder strength-training session. As a result, your HRV dropped and has still not returned to its usual level. On top of that, you slept poorly last night, which has also negatively affected how you feel.

Meanwhile, your training plan calls for long intervals of 3 km each – three repetitions with a 3-minute jogging recovery. This is a very demanding session that requires not only fresh legs, but also an appropriate level of concentration. In this situation, given the poor night's sleep and low HRV, it may be worth modifying the workout. Instead of long intervals, you could perform shorter but more frequent repetitions, measured in time rather than distance. For example, 90 seconds fast followed by 60 seconds of jogging recovery, repeated 10 times.

SCENARIO 3

You normally train in the morning, but today you had to move your workout to the afternoon. Almost all your metrics are where they should be before an active trail run over hilly terrain. Your training load is at a moderate level. In the morning, you checked the Zepp App. You need only 8 hours to recover sufficiently for a moderately intense workout. Your resting heart rate and HRV are also at their average levels from the previous weeks.

But your workday turned out to be exceptionally stressful. This is confirmed by your HybridCharge metrics, which dropped significantly over the course of several hours. There is a risk that your heart rate will rise quickly during the planned workout despite maintaining a moderate pace. Therefore, instead of an active trail run over challenging, hilly terrain, it may be worth opting for an easy run or hill repeats. The latter can help improve leg strength while giving you a chance to recover on the descents.

There can be many more scenarios like these. What matters is not being afraid to respond and modify your training plan when recovery data confirm that you are not feeling your best. Even a small adjustment can help you complete the workout without unnecessary injury risk while still providing your body with a sufficient stimulus to build fitness.

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