Sometimes I wake up and see that dreaded red recovery score. Is it still okay to get in a light workout, or should I just focus on active recovery? I don’t want to derail my progress by ignoring the warning signs, but I also hate skipping my training plan.
one day of training on a red recovery day isn’t the end of the world. sometimes life happens and you’re better off just pushing through
if it happens very frequently though, you might not be making optimal progress and you should take a step back to evaluate your training, sleep and recovery plans
great question @braddurkin always go by “feel” at the end of the day you should know your body better than Whoop, if the “red” is a result of previously intense-stacked days, your legs probably feel heavy/sluggish & your body signals to you pretty loudly you should take it easy…however, “red” sometimes is an indicator you drank alcohol too close to bedtime, or you ate too close to bedtime or a combo, or your sleep may have been shi**y. I’ve worn Whoop since 2019 & have always opted to listening to my body & go off “feel” rather than basing my decision to “go hard” solely on recovery score. HTH
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I had a red recovery on Monday, and this was the advice from the Coach…
Prioritising rest today will help your nervous system rebound and reduce injury risk (…) Today, prioritise hydration, get 20 minutes of morning light and consider a gentle walk or stretching session.
However the Coach didn’t rule out a workout, as long as I wasn’t forcing myself to do it…
If you feel up for it, moderate-intensity strength work can support lean body mass, but only if you’re not feeling run down. Listen to your body.
So the answer to @braddurkin’s question is “it depends”, as @Toddseigler suggests above . A training session shouldn’t be completely ruled out, but equally it shouldn’t be forced for the sake of routine.
I say curl up with a good book and do some house chores. Red recovery days can be busywork days
As a woman, I have to deal with red recoveries for half of the month. If I followed Whoop‘s recommendations I would need to stop my training for two weeks in a row and just stick to Yoga.
If you are fine, then have fun with your activity of choice.