Introduction to Heart Rate Variability

Introduction to Heart Rate Variability

This course will cover the principles of balancing training and other life stresses with recovery to maximize the ability for the body to adapt and get stronger.

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About this course

Stop overtraining with heart rate variability.

Overtraining leads to injury, illness and diminished performance. The body can endure only so much continual physical stress before it begins to break down. So how do you know what to train and when to rest? The answer is heart rate variability (HRV).

This online course will cover the important principles of balancing training and other life stressors with recovery to maximize the adaptive response necessary for the body to get stronger. It will explain what HRV is, how it is measured, and how it should be used in order to time your intensive sessions to take advantage of the body’s ability to adapt. Research showing the effectiveness of training with HRV will be complemented with case studies that show what to look for in your data to get consistently good performances while remaining healthy.


What you will learn

What HRV is

Learn about the science and history behind HRV.

HRV and training

Incorporate HRV into your training and recovery plans.

Getting started

Learn about the tools and knowledge you need to begin.


Earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Complete the course and assessments to earn CEUs and make progress toward TrainingPeaks Certification.
USA Cycling - 2 CEUs

Meet your instructor

Simon Wegerif is an entrepreneur, inventor and biomedical engineer. He was previously an executive with Philips Electronics in the UK and Silicon Valley. Simon is a competitive cyclist and has also completed a number of triathlons including Ironman distance. He created ithlete, the leading, scientifically founded HRV app in 2009 after identifying an opportunity for using HRV in his own training. He is considered an expert on the topic, having read over 1000 papers and frequently consults with industry experts.

Curriculum31 min

  • Introduction to HRV 2 min
  • Why Measure HRV? 3 min
  • What Affects Recovery? 3 min
  • What is HRV? 8 min
  • Factors to Control 4 min
  • HRV Interpretation 10 min
  • Introduction to HRV Quiz

About this course

Stop overtraining with heart rate variability.

Overtraining leads to injury, illness and diminished performance. The body can endure only so much continual physical stress before it begins to break down. So how do you know what to train and when to rest? The answer is heart rate variability (HRV).

This online course will cover the important principles of balancing training and other life stressors with recovery to maximize the adaptive response necessary for the body to get stronger. It will explain what HRV is, how it is measured, and how it should be used in order to time your intensive sessions to take advantage of the body’s ability to adapt. Research showing the effectiveness of training with HRV will be complemented with case studies that show what to look for in your data to get consistently good performances while remaining healthy.


What you will learn

What HRV is

Learn about the science and history behind HRV.

HRV and training

Incorporate HRV into your training and recovery plans.

Getting started

Learn about the tools and knowledge you need to begin.


Earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Complete the course and assessments to earn CEUs and make progress toward TrainingPeaks Certification.
USA Cycling - 2 CEUs

Meet your instructor

Simon Wegerif is an entrepreneur, inventor and biomedical engineer. He was previously an executive with Philips Electronics in the UK and Silicon Valley. Simon is a competitive cyclist and has also completed a number of triathlons including Ironman distance. He created ithlete, the leading, scientifically founded HRV app in 2009 after identifying an opportunity for using HRV in his own training. He is considered an expert on the topic, having read over 1000 papers and frequently consults with industry experts.

Curriculum31 min

  • Introduction to HRV 2 min
  • Why Measure HRV? 3 min
  • What Affects Recovery? 3 min
  • What is HRV? 8 min
  • Factors to Control 4 min
  • HRV Interpretation 10 min
  • Introduction to HRV Quiz
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