OwnOptimizer Trend, Stagnant State, Hard Training

Polar CS600X User Manual

Your heart rate has continuously been at a normal level for a long time now. Effective training requires both heavy training and good recovery, and this should cause variation in your heart rate results. Your OwnOptimizer result indicates that you have not had very intensive training or good recovery for a while. Perform the test again after a rest or light training day. If the recovery is effective, your result should show Good recovery.

Stagnant State (5)

Your heart rate is still at a normal level, and this has continued for a long time. The result indicates that your training has not been intensive enough to develop optimally. To improve your condition effectively, you should now include more intense or longer exercise sessions in your program.

Hard Training (6)

Your heart rate has been higher than average several times. You may have trained hard on purpose. The result indicates overloading, and you should try to recover well now. To monitor your recovery, perform the test again after one or two resting or easy training days.

Overreaching (7)

Your OwnOptimizer result indicates that you have had a very intensive training period for several days or weeks. Your heart rate has continuously remained at a high level. This seriously indicates that you should have a complete recovery period. The longer you have trained intensively, the longer the recovery period required to recover. Perform the test again after at least two days of recovery.

Sympathetic Overtraining (8)

Your OwnOptimizer result indicates that you have had a very intensive training period for several days or weeks, and your recovery has not been sufficient. This has resulted in a state of overtraining. To return to a normal training state, rest for a carefully monitored recovery period. Follow your recovery by performing the OwnOptimizer Test 2–3 times a week.

Parasympathetic Overtraining (9)

Your heart rate has stayed at a low level, which is generally interpreted as a sign of a good recovery. However, other parameters indicate parasympathetic overtraining. You may have trained with high volumes for a long time, and recovery may not have been sufficient. Check for other signs of overtraining, such as decreased performance, increased fatigue, mood disturbances, sleeping problems, persistent muscle soreness, and/or a feeling of being burnt out or stale. You may also have been subjected to other stresses.

In general, the development of parasympathetic overtraining requires a long history of heavy training volumes. To recover from a state of parasympathetic overtraining, you have to recover body balance completely. Recovering may take several weeks. You should not exercise, instead rest completely for most of the recovery period. You can possibly have a few days with some light aerobic training in short sessions, and only occasionally include short, high-intensity sessions.

You can also consider doing a sport other than your main sport. However, it should be one you are familiar and comfortable with. Monitor your recovery by performing the OwnOptimizer Test 2–3 times a week. Once you feel you have recovered your balance, and your result shows Normal State or Good recovery, preferably more than once, you can then consider resuming training. Once you start training again, begin a new testing period with new baseline measurements.

Before you radically change your training program, consider your OwnOptimizer results together with your subjective feelings and any symptoms you may have. Repeat the OwnOptimizer test if you are unsure of the standardized conditions. An individual test result can be affected by several external factors, such as mental stress, latent illness, environmental changes (temperature, altitude), and others. You should update the baseline calculations at least once a year, when you start a new training season.