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Coach Lesson: Trend Setting, aka What to Set, Track & Measure Yourself By
The video is live on the Coach Lesson page, and you can download the pdf there as well (link).
I discuss the role of trends; how you can identify them and ultimately how you can use them to your advantage.
I'd love to hear what trends you track or try to leverage to make yourself fitter, stronger and healthier for race day....just reply to this post!
Since @Derrek Sanks Asked, here's how you can track daily vitals in Final Surge: https://blog.finalsurge.com/daily-vital-graphing-steps-hrv/
~ Coach P
Ps, here is the video:
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Thanks @Coach Patrick for a great coach lesson. I'd love to hear what trends other folks are tracking, and also specifically where/how they get some of the physiological data. For example, I'm bought in to the idea of tracking resting heart rate and sleep quality/quantity, but I'm not at all convinced that my Fitbit Alta HR gives me reliable data for any of these metrics. So if folks don't mind sharing how they collect the data for some of these trends that would be awesome.
@John Katsoudas - I use my Garmin 735 to track resting HR and I count on it being consistent day after day. When I first started using my Garmin to track RHR, I double checked its readings with a HR strap several times as soon as waking up and the readings were the same or within 1 beat.
After several weeks of tracking, I have ways of cross checking readings. For example, I've learned that if I eat late, my RHR will be 1-2 beats higher or if I finish a workout at 8 or 9 pm, my RHR will be a couple beats higher. If I forget to make my watch band the right tightness, my HR will be 3-5 beats lower and I know to discard that reading.
I don't track sleep quality, deep sleep or light sleep but in a slight way RHR is an indicator of sleep quality. My goal is to get 7.5 hrs of sleep and my phone app gives me that information. My Garmin tracks sleep hours/quality but I don't trust it because I can lay perfectly still and be wide awake. LOL.
Thanks @Derrek Sanks ! I appreciate the insights. I've been reluctant to wear my Garmin watch 24/7 because I usually wear a "normal" watch when not working out and wearing two watches is a little funny to me. That's why the Fitbit is an attractive form factor, but I'm growing more and more skeptical of the data from the Fitbit.
@John Katsoudas - How about wearing the Garmim through the night and your normal watch during the day. By wearing your Garmin through the night, you can compare it to the Fitbit data.
@Coach Patrick Thanks for the video! Great talk.
I have a pulse ox tied to the post of my bed which is handy to use fist thing in the morning which gives me HR and oxygen saturation. I have to be careful not the skew the RHR results by deliberately trying to relax and lower the HR, which I CAN do! This caused me to abandon the practice since I could manipulate the number! I've started tracking it again when it comes to mind and now just take the number that I see at first. I'll start tracking it in earnest when I start regular training. The oxygen saturation is almost always the same except if I have bronchitis. If it is lower by 1% I march myself to the doctor! :)