Alright, my friend, buckle up because we’re diving headfirst into the untamed wilderness of HRV—Heart Rate Variability—the raw nerve of your body’s performance potential.

You think you know what’s happening under the hood? Without it, you're a blindfolded drunk stumbling through a minefield of misinformation, hoping to hit the jackpot of gainZ.

And the tools? Oh, sweet mercy—the tools! ithlete, Oura, Garmin—they all claim to hold the secrets, but which one is whispering the truth?
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Let’s rip the curtain down and see what’s really going on.
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​Full disclosure, I make zero money from Garmin, Oura or Ithlete, so nothing else to disclose.

ithlete: The Purest Shot of Adrenaline-Soaked Data You’ll Ever Get​
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If you’re looking to hit the fast lane, ithlete is your high-octane fuel. It’s no-bull, straight-shooting, time-domain measurements. It doesn’t dance around the facts with sugar-coated promises—no, it’s here to serve you a cold, hard slab of reality.
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Want to know whether to unleash the beast in the gym or play it cool? ithlete’s got your answer.
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Set it up in the morning, sit your ass down, and breathe. Don’t try to outsmart it. Just let it wash over you with the kind of precision that can split atoms.

Oura: The Jack-of-All-Trades​
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Ah, Oura. The fancy multi-tool of the HRV world. It tracks HRV, multiple sleep metrics, activity, respiratory rate and more. Overall I really like it for sleep tracking, but here’s the rub: if your resting heart rate is low, the HRV component won’t move much day to day. Sure, it’ll get you in the ballpark of how your HRV is trending, but don’t expect it to give you surgical-level insight.
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You want to know if you slept well or other useful metrics like body temp and respiratory rate? Fine, Oura’s your pal. But when it comes to making those tight, daily tweaks if you are pretty well trained? It is ok on that at best.

Garmin: The Fitness Juggernaut that’s a Little Clumsy with HRV

Garmin Fenix is the Swiss Army tank of fitness trackers. This thing does it all—track your heart, count your steps, map your runs, hell, it might even pilot your drone while it’s at it, haha.
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But when it comes to HRV, it’s like watching a circus act on a tightrope. Sometimes it’s sharp, other times it wobbles, and you’re not sure if it’s going to fall into the abyss of bad data.
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After two-and-a-half years of wrestling with it, I can tell you, Garmin is good for most things, but when it comes to HRV? It’s not your North Star. Use it for all your fitness shenanigans, but don’t let it steer your HRV ship. At best, it will – like Oura- get you in the ballpark. I do love it for tracking exercise though. Hat tip – pair it to an old school Bluetooth heart strap to get the best data.

The Madness of HRV: How to Use These Tools Without Losing Your Mind​
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So, what’s the plan?
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If you want to use HRV like a pro, stick with ithlete is my recommendation. First thing in the morning, sit your ass down, breathe deep like you’re on a mountaintop with a shaman, and let ithlete show you the way.
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Oura’s fine if you’re dabbling in the waters of general health—tracking sleep, activity, all that jazz. But if you need precision to make daily training changes and you are trained, it is not super sharp.
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Garmin? Great for everything except HRV unless you only need a rough guide.

Apple watch? I honestly have no idea when they measure HRV as it appears to be all over the map. Works well for most everything else though.

Want to Go Deeper? Welcome to the HRV Rabbit Hole of Insanity

HRV is your secret weapon. It’s the key that unlocks the secrets your body is hiding—the way it reacts to stress, to life, to training, to every curveball the universe throws at you.
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HRV gives you the data to tweak your training, dial in your recovery, and avoid the catastrophic cliff of overtraining. It’s the ultimate cheat code.
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You want more muscle?
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More performance?
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Better body composition?
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You want health?
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HRV is how you get there since it is critical to have a solid physiologic marker of the stress on your system.

In my HRV Education Course, I take you on a wild ride through the labyrinth of HRV data.
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You’ll learn how to make sense of the madness, how to use it to become a performance machine, and how to navigate the chaos like a seasoned pro. While I recommend ithlete, as long as you understand the pros / cons of other systems, you can still get some use out of them as the principles covered in the course apply to every system.
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Don’t just survive—thrive. Click the link below to enroll.
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​>> HRV Education Course <<

Got questions? Fire away—unless I’m off-grid testing some new protocol or battling a large old skooool DB with blaring death metal in the Extreme Human Performance Center, you know where to find me.

Stay savage,

Dr Mike

PS – the price on the HRV Education Course does go up to $299 at midnight this Monday, but you can still get it at the cheaper price below until then!

>> HRV Education Course <<​
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Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

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​​Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health