The Happy Heart: Decoding My Garmin Sleep-Time Stress

A single night's Garmin Sleep-Time Stress chart showing the average stress score and HRV-based recovery bars.

Tracking my sleep isn’t just about how long I was “out”; it’s about what my Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) was doing while the lights were off. As a coach who preaches Physiology First, the Garmin Sleep-Time Stress metric is one of the most honest looks into my recovery. Let’s break down the data from my […]

My Morning Ritual: The 3-Minute Test That Dictates My Entire Training Day

Garmin Connect Sleep Stress timeline showing high stress spikes during the first half of the night and subsequent recovery.

After over 20 years of chasing wattage and focusing on what my power meter says I can do, I’ve realized the real secret to long-term gains is knowing when to pull back. It’s about listening to the engine. Today, I’m breaking down one of the most underutilized tools in the Garmin ecosystem: the HRV Stress […]

Garmin Connect HRV Status Update

28 day Garmin Connect HRV Status April 26 through May 23rd 2023

Garmin Connect HRV Status Is FINALLY Showing Some Improvement – And I’m Feeling It! This Garmin Connect HRV based Ecosystem Is really getting interesting. I’m literally using just about everything Garmin; The Scale, the Watch, and the Head Unit. I probably ought to buy a Neo 2t and a pair of pedals, but I’m fine […]

3 Weeks of HRV Stress Readings

3-Minute HRV Stress Test Fenix Watch

HRV Stress Readings Can Help You Look at the Holistic Fitness Picture I’m now 3 weeks in to taking a morning HRV Stress reading, and I’ve missed just a few days so far. It’s not fun, it’s probably 3 minutes where I wish I was doing something else or warming up for a bike ride, […]

DFAA-1 On a BIG SCREEN!

DFAA-1 with ECG is Now Available On a BIG SCREEN! I’ve been working with two professionals now for several months on a project, and we are ready to start releasing it in ALPHA. DFAA-1 (Detrended Fluctuation Analysis – Short Term Variable #1) is a way to look at Heart Rate Variability and Cardio-Vascular Health. Dr. […]

Testing For DFAa1 to Determine Lower Threshold Power

Richard Wharton Runalyze HRV DFAa1 Test Results

The DFAa1 Ramp Test Helped Me Set A More Accurate Lower Threshold Power The DFAa1 Ramp Test is a protocol that shows cyclists where their bodies begin to change biologically when under strain. It uses Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and I have studied it since at least 2004, when I wrote a pocket book for […]