Body Battery - Kinda cool

Yeah it legit does seem to know how much energy you have, or should have.  It's very clever,

It's strange because I for me there is very little relationship between the BB and how I feel. Running 10K seems the same  to me with 10 BB and 70 BB.

Yes I guess that's one thing I should have said above, it certainly seems to know when I've had a good sleep and am feeling energetic, BUT I think it's still quite possible to go for a long run if you physically feel able but it says only 10.  It's one of those metrics that seems to be based in some science, whatever it may be, but one end of the scale (the low end) doesn't seem to always reflect your actual energy levels.

If anything, it's a bad thing because it allows a mentality of "Oh my BB is only 10, I'd better stay on the couch!"

muppetman said:

It's one of those metrics that seems to be based in some science, whatever it may be, but one end of the scale (the low end) doesn't seem to always reflect your actual energy levels.

If anything, it's a bad thing because it allows a mentality of "Oh my BB is only 10, I'd better stay on the couch!"

I agree 100%.  Here's a clip I saved from an online article when discussing the "negative aspects" of fitness devices.  

Obsession with Numbers. A final problem with fitness trackers is that they can lead you to focus too much on numbers and not enough on how exercise makes you feel. You rely on the device to tell you whether you’re healthy or not, rather than listening to your body. You can even lose your motivation whenever the tracker isn’t with you. If you forget your tracker one day, you could decide it isn’t worth trying to be active, because those extra steps won’t get counted. You no longer feel motivated to walk because you enjoy it; it’s just something you do to meet your daily quota.

i like this feature, that y i did not move to coros although garmin failed to give me the multiple language function

Body Battery is in no way a gimmick - it's a running total of your HRV stress, topping up when stress is low ("rest") and dropping when HRV stress is high.

Provided the watch is being worn correctly and good data is being recorded, Body Battery is a useful tool. HRV isn't a measure of psychological stress but physiological.

Go out drinking, eat greasy food, or become ill or injured and your body will have a physiological response that shows up as elevated HRV stress, and a dropping Body Battery. There's a lot of evidence backing this up. Anecdotally, I've seen Body Battery start dropping a couple of days before a major illness. It stayed flat until I'd started treatment.

HRV stress could be used on its own for the same thing but you're left to do the math yourself where Body Battery keeps the running total for you.

I agree/disagree with tess that we become overly reliant on our fitness trackers.   At first I was a bit obsessive with tracking my steps/calories/weight etc.  But now I use my fitness tracker as a guide.  I have realized that there is no nirvana in fitness, it is simply is a journey with lots of hills and valleys.  

Wolfie said:

I agree/disagree with tess that we become overly reliant on our fitness trackers.

My post wasn't meant as a blanket statement for all.  The intent was to point out that these metrics are guidelines and not gospel and there are too many who get caught up with the numbers.  There are scientific studies that back these metrics, but accepting that these metrics are 100% correct and no longer listening to your body is a bad approach to training. 

I agree with you.   I was one that got caught up with the numbers, and I got injured doing too much too soon. But I do find that fitness trackers at least keep me accountable so I don't become a couch potato again.