Readiness Score: What It Is and How to Improve It
Updated: 2026-06-30
The readiness score is a composite estimate of how recovered your body is after the past night and the preceding days. It answers a simple question: how ready is the body for load today. Readiness is built from several physiological signals rather than one, so a single number hides a whole recovery picture. Below is what it is made of, why it swings, and what genuinely raises it.
What readiness is made of
Readiness combines several signals: HRV balance (heart rate variability relative to your baseline), resting heart rate, sleep quality and duration, body temperature, and the prior day's activity. Each is a "contributor," and the final score shows whether they line up toward recovery or toward stress.
A key detail: readiness reflects not just last night but a multi-day trend. One hard day won't crash the score if the baseline is good, but several in a row will. So readiness behaves more like an accumulated state than a single snapshot.
Why the score swings day to day
Variation is normal, not a sensor glitch. HRV and resting heart rate are sensitive to dozens of factors: a late bedtime, a heavy meal, a glass of wine, a flight, emotional stress, an oncoming cold. The body reacts overnight, and it shows up in the morning score.
Don't chase a perfect number every day. One low day after a celebration or a hard workout is an expected response. What matters is not a one-off dip but a sustained downward trend over a week or two.
What lowers readiness
The most common readiness killers: short or irregular late sleep, evening alcohol (sharply raises nighttime heart rate and lowers HRV), oncoming illness (often visible as rising body temperature before symptoms appear), and overtraining without recovery.
If the score is low for no obvious reason, look at the contributors individually: elevated body temperature hints at illness, a high resting heart rate at alcohol or stress, poor sleep at your schedule.
How to improve readiness
The biggest lever is sleep: a consistent bedtime (a ±30 min window) and 7–9 hours beat any supplement. A regular schedule raises the score more reliably than occasional catch-up sleep.
Manage your load: alternate hard and easy days, add recovery practices (zone 2, walks, sauna, stretching), and cut evening alcohol. It's a guide, not a verdict — treat a low score as a cue to ease off, not as a judgment.
FAQ
What readiness score is considered good?
Roughly 85+ means the body is recovered and ready for load, while below 70 is a cue for a recovery day. But "normal" is individual: compare the score to your own baseline and watch the trend rather than the absolute number.
Why is my readiness low even though I slept well?
Sleep is only one signal. The score can be dragged down by an elevated resting heart rate, lower HRV, or rising body temperature — common signs of alcohol the night before, stress, or an oncoming illness. Check the individual contributors to find the cause.
Should I skip a workout because of a low score?
Low readiness is a hint, not a ban. A one-off dip after a hard day is normal. If the score stays low for several days in a row, easing the intensity to let the body recover is the sensible call.