Help me understand HRV etc

so for the HRV, can highly recommend to listen to the Podcast Science of Sport Podcast : Heart Rate And Exercise: Why HR Variability May Be The New Frontier - think its a super good overview, for the body battery - I suspect that it was not very accurate in the past, I always got a 100 with older devices , saying all that I currently see some strange things with HRV / Body Battery etc, I actually posted this morning since I'm not sure if its firmware related or just coincidence  

Thanks, I'll check out that podcast.

i think my point is i barely excersise, 4 days calisthenics 30min each 2 day weighted walks 30/40 min each all z2 or under and according to my HRV i need more rest, well id not be doing anything in that case! 

My training status is low indicating i need to up the intensity but HRV telling me i need more rest! 

There can be many things going on in the background in your body. Illness, ongoing injury, poor quality sleep, regardless of length. I rate it very well, it shows things that one will understand much later.

gazza81 said:

and according to my HRV i need more rest

You need longer and/or better quality sleep, or good rest, some relaxations, less stress, better nutrition,.... It does not mean you should stop exercising.

Read also this:

• What is Heart Rate Variability (HRV)? | Garmin Customer Support
• What Is the Stress Level Feature on My Garmin Device? | Garmin Customer Support
• Body Battery Frequently Asked Questions | Garmin Customer Support

Well, ive praised how accurate the heart rate has been on this watch since if had it but this morning whilst doing my calisthenics routine my hr on the watch kept spiking at ine point it got to 158! When in actual fact it was more like 120! 

Which has now made me question the HRV and everything else on the watch! 

My HRV continues to drop too according to my watch my base line is 62-67 but for the last 2 weeks ive been getting 55-58

gazza81 said:

My HRV continues to drop too according to my watch my base line is 62-67 but for the last 2 weeks ive been getting 55-58

It is possible. Have it measured in a lab, to see the accuracy. We, here on the forum, do not know what your true HRV is, and how accurately it is being detected by your watch. My HRV remains stable over many months, with the exception of around 3 weeks in July when I've been recovering from the Covid19 infection, so personally I cannot complain.

Also the HR data during different types of activities looks credible to me, and it is consistent too, regardless whether I wear the HRM-Pro belt or not. Which, of course, does not mean you cannot have a problem with the HR detection. There are many factors that play a role. The wrist optical HRM has its technological limitations, and it will never reach the reliability and accuracy of a chest belt HRM, so if you deeply rely on the HRM accuracy, I recommend getting the belt.

Yes i normally use a chest strap but the watch has been doing such a good job of being accurate when i haven't ive stopped using the strap.

Until today getting the spikes nearly 40bpm over my actual HR.

There are a lot of factors that affect HRV. The Garmin 7 day average and the recommendations that result are a simplistic view of HRV. Here's an article I found helpful that you should read; https://elitehrv.com/the-8-biggest-mistakes-made-when-measuring-hrv

And if you're into reading scientific research papers; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../10-1055-a-1494-9254.pdf

You could be experiencing 'endurance tapering' after stopping your higher intensity workouts. Also, if your workouts were high intensity during the initial  3 weeks, you could have been in 'hyper-recovery' (which I think is also called 'supercompensation' ). This is what I think happened to me. I was working out too hard before I got my Instinct 2 and during the initial HRV data collection. My HRV was high because I was in hyper-recovery. Then I started to rest more and went into 'endurance tapering'. Garmin Connect saw the drop in HRV as bad and suggested tat needed MORE rest even though my sleep score and body battery were giving good indications.

Basically, high HRV is not always good, and low HRV is not always bad. You need to consider all the factors and not simply chase higher HRV values or worry about lower HRV.

My average hrv is 53-55. 15 days ago i was ill but had to work so i was really exhausted for about 3-4 days. The hrv dropped at 20, so i think it is a valid value

I'm not saying that HRV isn't a valuable parameter to consider, I'm just cautioning over simplifying the interpretation of what it means. In your example you knew why it was low and that's important for interpreting the measurement it provided, you knew you needed to rest and recover. I had a shingles vaccine recently and the next night my HRV was 26. It was back in the 'normal' range the next night, but the seven day average remained low for days and the Garmin Connect advice was for more rest though none was needed. On the other hand, in the past my HRV has been high but it was the result of training too hard and being in 'hyper-recovery' and I really needed to rest and recover. https://elitehrv.com/the-8-biggest-mistakes-made-when-measuring-hrv

I do use HRV as an additional guide for my training, but I don't rely solely on the Garmin Connect interpretation of the results.