Usual inputs
HRV, RHR, sleep
Almost every implementation starts here. Some add respiratory rate, temperature, or prior training load.
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What is a recovery score?
Every recovery app gives you a percentage. Almost none tell you what went into it. Here is what these scores actually are, and what they can and cannot tell you.
A recovery score is a composite metric that condenses several overnight physiological signals, most commonly heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and sleep duration and quality, into a single percentage representing how ready your body is for physical stress. It is not a regulated or standardised measurement. Each app weights its inputs differently, so scores are not comparable between products, and the number should be read as one input into a training decision rather than as a verdict on your health.
Not comparable
Across apps
A 70 % in one app and a 70 % in another are different calculations. Pick one and follow its trend.
Best used as
A decision input
It should change how hard you train today. It should not be treated as a health diagnosis.
What goes into a recovery score
The specific formula differs by product, but the ingredients are broadly consistent:
- Heart rate variability against your baseline. Usually the single heaviest term. Measured overnight, compared to your own recent normal.
- Resting heart rate against your baseline. A slower-moving but very reliable signal. A resting heart rate several beats above normal is a strong indication that something is taxing your system.
- Sleep. Both how long you slept and how well: efficiency, and the share of the night spent in deep and REM stages.
Some implementations add respiratory rate, wrist temperature, or a decaying memory of recent training load. The output is normalised to a 0–100 scale, which is convenient but hides the fact that the underlying inputs are on completely different units and scales.
Why your score differs between apps
If you have ever worn two devices and seen 62 % on one and 84 % on the other, nothing is broken. There is no standard definition of recovery. The differences come from:
- Different weightings. One product may give HRV 60 % of the total; another may give it 40 % and lean harder on sleep.
- Different baselines. A 7-day flat average and a 14-day exponentially-weighted average produce different answers from identical data.
- Different sensors and sampling. A ring, a chest strap, and a watch do not sample the same way or at the same times.
- Different normalisation. Whether an average day maps to 50 %, 65 %, or 75 % is a design choice, not a physiological fact.
The practical implication: pick one system and follow its trend. Comparing absolute percentages across products is meaningless.
How to act on your score
A recovery score earns its place only if it changes what you do. A reasonable, widely used mapping:
- High. Your body has absorbed recent training and has capacity to spare. This is the day for your hardest session. These days are not frequent, so spending them on an easy jog is a waste.
- Moderate. Train, but hold the intensity where you finish feeling better than you started. Most days land here.
- Low. Easy movement only. Training hard through a genuinely low reading buys fatigue you will pay for later in the week.
Two caveats worth internalising. First, a single low score is often noise, particularly if you drank alcohol, ate late, or slept in an unusually warm room. Second, the score describes your body, not your life. It does not know you slept on a plane or that your legs are wrecked from Tuesday's session, which is why some apps, Apex Health: Recovery Coach among them, let you add a subjective check-in and flag when the two views disagree.
Common questions
Is a recovery score medically meaningful?
No. A recovery score is a wellness and fitness estimate built from consumer sensor data. It is not a diagnostic measurement, it is not regulated as a medical device, and it cannot detect or rule out illness. It is useful for deciding how hard to train today. It is not useful for deciding whether you need medical care, and it should never delay seeking it.
Why is my recovery low when I feel fine?
The measured signals often move before conscious symptoms do, so a low score can precede feeling unwell, reflect unresolved training load, or follow alcohol or a late meal. It can also simply be noise. If you feel genuinely good, start your session and let the warm-up decide: if the effort feels normal after ten minutes, proceed; if it feels unusually hard, cut it short.
Why is my recovery high when I feel terrible?
Recovery scores read cardiovascular and sleep signals. They do not measure muscle soreness, mental fatigue, motivation, or life stress, all of which affect how you feel and how well a session will go. When the number and your own sense of things disagree, the disagreement itself is the useful information.
What is a good recovery score?
Because the scale is a design choice rather than a physiological constant, there is no universal threshold. In most implementations the top third of the range indicates capacity for hard training and the bottom third indicates a need for rest. What matters is how today compares to your own typical range in the same app.
Wake up to a verdict, not a spreadsheet.
Apex Health: Recovery Coach turns the Apple Health data you already generate into one clear decision each morning. Free, private, and entirely on your device.
Apex Health: Recovery Coach provides general wellness and fitness information computed from your own data. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition. Always consult a qualified professional for medical concerns.