The way we think about fitness has evolved and expanded beyond just physical strength. Many of us are far more eager to understand our wellness holistically, versus reps at the gym. Being physically strong is surely one depiction of strength, but the past few years, in particular, have taught us that we need to focus on our overall wellbeing and be strong in other areas as well.
Taking care of ourselves also means knowing when to push ourselves to go to the next level, while also having the strength to know when to rest. Investing in a fitness tracker voted as the Stuff Fitness Gadget of the Year 2021 -the Fitbit Charge 5, with the newly launched ‘Daily Readiness Score’ can give you that insight and more.
Fitbit’s Charge 5, priced at R3,999, is the most advanced health and fitness tracker yet, and helps you keep a pulse on not only your fitness levels, but your stress, heart health, sleep, and overall wellbeing. It features tools such as an on-wrist EDA Sensor to help manage stress, and an on-device electrocardiogram (ECG) app to assess heart rhythm for signs of atrial fibrillation.
The Fitbit Charge 5 has the company’s most advanced combination of sensors in a tracker to track your body’s key metrics along with the convenience features you need. Like the ability to make contactless payments and quick replies (Android only) to notifications on-wrist (when the phone is nearby). And with six months of Fitbit Premium included, you’ll get deeper insights that guide and empower you to do what’s best for your body each day.
Its new Daily Readiness Score is a Fitbit Premium experience that uses insights from your body to help you determine if you should work out or prioritise recovery. Daily Readiness uses an advanced algorithm based on well-researched physiological science that’s long been popular within the athletic community—known as “Fitness-Fatigue.” The Fitness-Fatigue principle is simple: exercise helps your body acquire fitness long-term, but it also generates fatigue in the short-term, which determines your body’s preparedness to work out.
Because we know that all parts of your health and wellness are connected, Fitbit’s Daily Readiness algorithm includes other biomarkers (like sleep and heart rate variability) to help ensure other fatigue on the body is being measured — beyond just what is related to exercise.
By wearing your Fitbit device daily, you’ll receive a personalised score each morning with details on what impacted it, along with suggestions like a recommended activity and Premium content to help you make the best decisions for your body. You’ll receive your first score four days after you start wearing your Fitbit Charge 5, helping you make more informed decisions about your workout routine. After two weeks, your algorithm further refines your customised baseline and will continue to adjust as your fitness level changes over time. It is the perfect stepping stone for those who are starting their fitness goals for the first time or athletes that are looking to better understand their optimal training and rest periods.
There are three main components that are measured against your baseline, and will continue to adapt and become more personalised over time as your fitness level changes:
Activity (Fitness-fatigue): During activity, elevated heart rates cause fatigue. Fitbit tracks heart rates around the clock with PurePulse, our continuous wrist-based heart rate technology. Every kind of effort counts—from running a 5K to running after the kids.
Sleep: Sleep has a cumulative effect on the body, meaning poor sleep from a few nights ago can bring on fatigue today. That’s why we factor in sleep from the past several nights, not just yesterday.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Calculated during deep sleep, heart rate variability (HRV) is a great measure of recovery. Higher HRV is better: This means the body can easily transition from rest to activity, and back. Sometimes stress, strain or diet can lower HRV and impact readiness to exercise.
Know your body’s optimal activity and rest periods
Each morning, you’ll receive a Daily Readiness score that’ll range between Excellent, Good, or Low. On the days where your Daily Readiness score is Excellent, your body is ready to tackle some tough exercise — get your heart rate and amp up the intensity! After reviewing your Score details, you’ll receive a personalised Active Zone Minutes (AZM) goal—based on your average AZMs, this target goal will nudge you to push yourself to your limits. You’ll receive recommended Premium workouts to achieve that goal. From boxing classes to HIIT workouts, your Daily Readiness score will help motivate you to reach your goals!
Next when you have Good Readiness, this means you’re ready to take on moderate exercise or your usual routine. And on the days where your Daily Readiness score is low, you don’t have to feel down about it. We’ve all been there! This means that your body is fatigued—either due to lack of sleep or overexertion. Maybe you did a really hard workout yesterday or are feeling stressed or lacking sleep. The Fitbit app will recommend you take on less strenuous routines instead, such as yoga, meditation, and stretching – pulled from an extensive library of content from wellness experts like Aaptiv, Aura, Breathe, Calm, Deepak Chopra and many more. You’ll be able to also check out an overview of which component is bringing your Daily Readiness score down, as well as your personal trends over the past week.
Smarter workouts that are insights led
Having a tool that tells you when you should slow down and recover based on insights from your body is exactly what you need as you embrace your fitness routine with the goal of taking a more holistic approach to your health. Daily Readiness isn’t just a reminder to take advantage of rest and recover days, it’s a tried-and-true tool that helps you optimise your workouts without overdoing it.
Daily Readiness Score is available now with a wide range of Fitbit devices including Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Charge 5, Luxe, and Inspire 2 together with Fitbit Premium. You will be able to use Daily Readiness along with Fitbit’s Stress Management and Sleep scores for a more complete look at your health and wellness each day.