Readiness Score
A composite measure of physical and mental preparedness for training on a given day.
Readiness scores combine multiple data points — sleep quality, resting heart rate, HRV, subjective mood, muscle soreness, and prior training load — to produce an overall assessment of training readiness. Wearable devices like WHOOP, Oura Ring, and Garmin provide automated readiness scores. While useful as a trend indicator, these scores should be one input among many in training decisions, not the sole determinant. Consistency in measurement conditions (same time, same position) improves reliability.
What a readiness score is made of
A composite figure produced by a wearable or app from some combination of overnight heart-rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep duration and quality, and recent training load. It is an attempt to compress recovery status into one number so you can decide how hard to train today. The inputs are real physiological measurements; the weighting that turns them into a single score is a vendor's proprietary judgement.
How to use it sensibly
Treat it as one input among several, alongside how you actually feel, how warm-up weights are moving, and what your programme says. It is most useful as a trend over weeks rather than as a verdict on a given morning, and it is genuinely good at flagging the accumulating fatigue and poor sleep that precede a bad training week. A single low reading after one late night is not a reason to abandon a session.
Common mistakes
Letting the number override the evidence in front of you: a green score does not make a session with grinding warm-ups a good idea, and a red score on a day you feel fine is not a reason to skip. The other is comparing scores between devices or between people, which is not meaningful given each vendor computes it differently.
Examples
- Morning readiness score from a wearable device
- Combining HRV, sleep, and soreness ratings
- Adjusting training intensity based on 7-day readiness trend
Related Terms
Compound exercises
Put this into practice with exercises from the library.
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Cross Over - With Bands
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Cuban Press
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Dead Bug
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Deadlift with Bands
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Deadlift with Chains
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Decline Barbell Bench Press
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Decline Close-Grip Bench To Skull Crusher
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