RP Strength Podcast The Science of Knowing When NOT to Train Hard (HRV) with Dr. Mike T. Nelson
47 snips
Mar 23, 2026 Dr. Mike T. Nelson, an exercise physiologist and biomedical engineer who studies HRV and recovery. He explains what HRV measures and how training stress changes it. He discusses using HRV to time deloads, when to intentionally train low-HRV days for resilience, and practical recovery tactics plus wearables and measurement caveats.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
How Mike Learned HRV From Old MegaWAVE Labs
- Mike tracked down MegaWAVE users like Landon and Joel and even got late-night lab testing to learn early HRV systems.
- He cobbled ~$20k of used gear and wrote MATLAB code to run his first HRV studies during grad school.
Deload Based On HRV Trends Not Fixed Weeks
- Use HRV reactively to time deloads: monitor multiple weeks and deload when HRV and performance drop, rather than always scheduling fixed deload weeks.
- Run 5–9 week blocks, progressively increase volume to find individual tolerance, then deload when HRV signals sustained stress.
Train Resilience By Simulating Low HRV Days
- Intentionally expose athletes to simulated low-HRV (distress) sessions during training so they learn to perform under sympathetic states.
- Use these sessions early (8–15 weeks out) to build competition resiliency and confidence for travel/nerves.