Why is heart rate recovery important?

Since your heart is a muscle, how well your heart recovers is a good way to gauge your fitness level. The basic rule is the faster your heart rate recovers, the better cardiovascular shape you are in. This just means that your body can handle the stress of the overload you push it to, usually through a high intensity interval or activity. Using heart rate recovery during your workout can help you determine how hard and how long you should train. For example, if your heart rate usually drops 20 beats after a high intensity interval but after a series of these intervals your heart rate is now only dropping 10 beats, this is a good indicator that your body is not recovering from the stress you are putting it through. At this point you should take 2-10 minutes to let your body truly recover before starting the activity again. Your heart rate recovery can tell you a lot about the stress your body is going through, from activity and other factors such as dehydration, lack of sleep or even poor nutrition. Let your body and heart rate determine how long you will train and at what intensity.