Embracing fitness in the new year can be a daunting task for first-timers. There’s so much information available that it can be difficult choosing the right workout plans, nutrition, fitness routines, and so much more. Luckily, investing in a fitness tracker such as the new Fitbit Charge 5 can bring you a world of benefits, especially with the newly launched Daily Readiness Score.
The Daily Readiness Score – released with the Fitbit Charge 5 - 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 is 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. Many times, those who are new to fitness end up working out every day without any time to rest and recover, which can not only put a strain on your body, but also reduce the effectiveness of your workouts. 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, and start to learn more about how Daily Readiness can help you make 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. Daily Readiness is suited for Fitbit users of all levels - it is not only geared for athletes or people in training, making it a perfect stepping stone for those who are starting their fitness goals for the first time.
What goes into the Daily Readiness Score?
Activity (Fitness-fatigue): During activity, elevated heart rates cause fatigue. Fitbit tracks heart rates around the clock with PurePulse, our first automatic, 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 when you need to work out and when to rest
Each morning, you’ll receive a Daily Readiness score that shall 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! This is a time to elevate your heart rate and amp up the intensity. After reviewing your Score Details, you’ll receive a personalised Active Zone Minutes 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 at work and not getting enough 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.
The takeaway
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 head into 2022 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 tested 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.
