What is the HRV 7 Day Rolling Average and Coefficient of Variation?
7 Day Rolling HRV
The 7 Day Rolling HRV is the rolling average of your daily Morning Readiness HRV scores. It is calculated by averaging the Morning Readiness HRV scores for the current day that you are viewing/analyzing and the previous 6 days (7 days total).
The 7 Day Rolling HRV can be helpful to more easily see weekly HRV trends, especially when there is a lot of daily fluctuations that can make it difficult to determine overall trends and progress.
The 7 Day Rolling HRV is most useful when used in conjunction with the HRV CV. Keep reading to learn more about HRV CV.
What is HRV CV (Coefficient of Variation)?
Coefficient of Variation (CV) is a standard statistical method also known as relative standard deviation that looks at the magnitude of variation or fluctuation that occurs over a time period with respect to the mean value of that time period. It is usually expressed as a percentage value.
Simply put, the amount of day to day fluctuation in your HRV scores is the Coefficient of Variation (CV or HRV CV).
In the Elite HRV app, HRV CV is specifically displaying this variation in your daily HRV Morning Readiness scores for the 7 days leading up to and including the day you are viewing. So if you are viewing HRV CV for a Sunday, it calculating the variation of all the days since the previous Sunday.
For example, if your HRV CV is 10%, you have a roughly 10% change in HRV from day to day for the past 7 days. When plotted on a chart, each day is showing the HRV CV for that day, which includes the 7 days leading up to that day.
Practical Use:
The amount of day to day variability (CV), combined with the 7 Day Rolling HRV can provide additional insights into how you are adapting to training and/or other stressors that the weekly average HRV trends might miss.
A reduced HRV CV indicates that you have little day to day fluctuation in HRV. If you are training then a lower HRV CV means you are generally coping well with the training. This is especially desirable with a stable or upwards trending HRV because it indicates you are adapting well to your training program. This also applies to lifestyle stressors or changes besides training. A lower HRV CV could mean there is little day to day stressors impacting your life which will also be seen by a stable baseline and 7 Day Rolling HRV.
Contrarily, larger fluctuations in HRV indicated by an increased CV are signs that you are not adapting well to a training or other stressor. This is especially relevant when viewed in conjunction with a downward trending HRV.
Research shows that HRV CV can provide additional insight into the recovery and performance (speed, VO2max, HIIT times) of advanced trainees.
For more information, please check out our guest blog post below:
https://elitehrv.com/improving-hrv-data-interpretation-coefficient-variation