Responsiveness Score

[Bobbieflynn]

The stress management technology seems flawed. The day after exercise I always get a low responsiveness score. If I don’t exercise, I get a good score.?

[N8teGee]

Hi @Bobbieflynn.

I have to agree, also there is no real way of knowing how to improve the score. Take the Exertion balance for example, am I doing too much or too little? Really it needs to be broken down further so that we can see exactly what we need to do to improve the score. 

[Bobbieflynn]

Hi. Yep, Exertion score is not clear at all. My Exertion score peaks at 36 no matter how much exercise I do

[Micsb]

That is not unusual i have found using other training programs in the past doing the same. Accumulating and aggregating all parameters into one single score that at times could mean both exhaustion or stale progress.

I mostly use the responsiveness as indicator for exhaustion. If HRV peaks, it can either be due to being fully restitued or due to positive benefit from increased training the day before. In either case, I can take on another taxing exersize

. 

Exertion balance i have found having had Sense for 6 months now, with a score 20-26 equals low activity. a Score howering around 30 equals steady training, perhaps monotously training. Above 30 equals a mix between higher intensity and restitution training intervals. Only once have i seen it drop below 30 after having pushed myself too much over a week with daily exercises which correlated to feeling exhausted. I.e. a score below 30 could mean both, however you should not be in any doubt wether it is from exhaustion or too little exercising 🙂

[t.parker]

@Micsb I agree that narrowing down so many parameters into a single number is rather a bad idea. Unfortunately, most users want the information to be simplified, best if it can be almost binary - something is good or bad. You can see that in topics about HRV where the users look at the number and want to know whether it is bad or good, that's it, whereas HRV is a lot more complex than that (it requires to be placed within a context and the number on its own is rather meaningless). Same here, there is a simplified number but no context given or taken. Fitbit likes "scores" but never really clarifies what they mean and how to respond to changes. But sometimes, an even better breakdown may become confusing at some point. Using Firstbeat, when I look at the training load it is clear to me what kind of training I'm lacking or overdoing but once I get all three types balanced (low-aerobic, high-aerobic, anaerobic) then I'm scratching my head trying to make a progress. It's not so simple. I think Fitbit is missing some wording over given scores (something I really like on Garmin where I get comments on almost everything).

[Micsb]

@t.parker you are right, however i prefer to have the data available rather than Fitbit hiding them deeper or packing them into other odd arbitary scores. I really dont hope Fitbit will start hiding the data to avoid the confusion. Used Firstbeat for a short period, brilliant tool and i found i was unable to plan my training that methodically due to work, family and other hobbies at the time. Though the idea of using your actual state of health rather than a generic fixed training programs was exciting.

Polar had a score I remember, going from 1 to 5 trying to archive the same as Fitbit now does with the exertion score, with a simple score to quickly evaluate your training impact. Again it required a baseline and you had to be disciplined taking the tests at exactly the same time of the day to be compareable. One of the scores also came up with the sugguest to change training program as it couldnt see if you were training too hard or too little.

I find the scores on Fitbit Sense useful, coming from a period not having any of these data. The convenience of having them measured automatically each night and I can accept they are not 100% accurate as other tools. No need to use chest straps or remember to take the test at the right time of the day, no need to spend time to correlate the date. For a geeky amateur like me with a busy day schedule, it it the perfect tool or toy. God tired of calibrating my foot pod, putting on chest strap and hr watch before every exercise and then spending time transfering the data afterwards. Spending more time looking at the data than training 😄

Obviously for serious sports training, a wrist optical sensor are coming up short. I would on the other hand hate having to wear a chest strap 24 hours a day. A mix of both, the right tool for the job.

[t.parker]

@Micsb this is what competitors actually give you - wrist HR 24/7 and optional chest strap when you need it. Fitbit falls short in that area. Additionally, Sense HR just doesn't work for me (very doesn't work) and I train with HR zones so the option of connecting external sensors is a must for me.

Scores are nothing bad as long as it is easy to understand what they mean and how to respond to those numbers. I use Firstbeat only as a guide mostly to balance the intensity of my workouts. I never tried any training plans, though. It helps me to decide when to change direction, do something different but it also may be sometimes confusing (I'm usually puzzled when all is in balance but no progress).

[Micsb]

I know, optical HR sensor is not useable for training by HR zones, the same applies with GPS, useless for training by pace. Nothing beats a chest strap and foot pod for that specific training, the sense is not the right tool.

I would dust off my old watch for such training sessions, nothing beats my old polar, that has foot pood, chest strap and bike sensors attached. And the best, they all last 1 to 2 years on the battery, cant beat old tech 🙂

The sense is fine for monitoring progress and my exercises at the level i am training. I dont look at the watch while running, except sometimes take a quick look at 1km split times and adjust pace accordingly for the next km. Again, no more keeping foot pod calibrated, have multiple shoe profiles depending on the surface or shoe, no more getting stressed over HR during the run. I really do love my Fitbit Sense, and before that the Inspire HR. I rarely used anything but the average HR and average pace after the exercise today.