It was the 26th of June, a hot Friday evening, and DHL had just delivered my Whoop. I locked onto the package, relentlessly tore it open and strapped on this new adult toy. I got it to track and improve my sleep. However, I got obsessed with HRV instead.
Whoop is a fitness and health tracking device that you wear on your wrist. It monitors heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), sleep patterns, recovery, and strain levels.
What is HRV?
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is the variation in time between each heartbeat. The heart doesn’t beat like a perfect metronome rather beats sporadically and that’s a good thing.
A higher HRV indicates a healthy and well-functioning nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system has two main parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Think of them as the gas and brake pedals for your body.
The sympathetic nervous system is the gas pedal—it revs you up when you’re stressed or excited, increasing your heart rate and getting you ready for action.
The parasympathetic nervous system is the brake—it slows everything down, helping you relax and recover.
HRV is a measure of the push and pull between these two systems. When your body can smoothly switch between them, your HRV is higher, indicating good balance and health.
If your HRV is low, it might mean your body lacks this neural harmony.
That was the case for me! My HRV was 24 ms, well below the average for my age. Which was extremely alarming!
My family has a history of terrible heart health in the males on my papa's side. Heart attacks are almost in the double digits if I’m not wrong. But the Gupta family has finally birth a fitness enthusiast who cares about his heart and yours ☺️
The above shows HRV as a function of age. This chart isn't all mighty however as HRV is incredibly personalised but being 22 years old I expected my HRV to be higher than 24 ms.
My current plan for improving HRV
The weekly goal is to spend the following duration in each zone.
Zone 2 (60-70% HR max): 180 minutes
Zone 3 (70-80% HR max): 90 minutes
Zone 4 (80-90% HR max): 60 minutes
Zone 5 (90-100% HR max): 10 minutes
I get this by following routine:
Current Progress
Zone 2 has completed changed my sleep. REM sleep on average is higher by 18% and average HRV is up by 17% last month to 28 ms with peak HRV on well recovered days being around 45ms.
It also allows me to maintain lower body fat since it is a convenient way for me to burn 300 calories every time I get on the bike. I listen to podcasts while I cycle since zone 2 is a really manageable enjoyable pace. However, for Zone 4 & 5 training I prefer a healthy dose of coked up James Brown.