Understanding and Using Performance Readiness Scores
NNOXX's unique Performance Readiness scores accurately evaluate your current physiological state, offering precise predictions for immediate exercise activity and helping you optimize training.
Over the past two years, my team and I at NNOXX have developed a groundbreaking wearable sensor, accompanied by an iOS/Android app and a cloud-based performance analytics platform. Our unique feature set has quickly gained traction in the human-performance space, earning us early adoption by NHL, NBA, FIFA, MLB, and Olympic teams, as well as CrossFit Games champions and professional cycling teams competing in the Grand Tours. These high-level users have relied on our platform for insights they can't get anywhere else. However, something important has been missing—until now.
That missing element is an easy-to-use feature tailored for everyday athletes, recreational competitors, and even elite athletes who don't have access to a team of sports scientists, expert coaches, or data analysts. To address this, my team and I have been working on new features that allow users to gain actionable insights into their physiology and training without needing to spend time learning to analyze their data. We're envisioning a world where users can access self-contained mini-apps within the NNOXX mobile app, where they can press a button, perform a standardized assessment, AI-guided workout, or unguided training session, and instantly receive detailed reports, recommendations, or insights.
The first feature of this kind that we're introducing is our new Performance Readiness assessment. In this article, you'll learn what this new feature is, how it works, and the kind of information it can provide.
Why Start With A Readiness Assessment?
Athletes have limited time and energy, so it’s crucial to schedule high-intensity workouts when they are most prepared to perform at their best. However, many current wearables fall short in accurately assessing an athlete’s readiness to exercise, leading to wasted time on ineffective training sessions and missed opportunities for performance gains.
At NNOXX, we recognized this gap and set out to create a Performance Readiness metric that not only assesses your current state but also helps forecast your future performance. Our users have been leveraging our technology to guide training volume and intensity in real-time, and to monitor their bodies' responses to training. However, they lacked a reliable way to look ahead and predict how their performance would unfold in upcoming sessions.
This is where our new Performance Readiness feature comes into play. Unlike other devices that offer backward-looking readiness and recovery scores, NNOXX evaluates your current physiological function to provide the most accurate prediction for your immediate exercise potential. This forward-looking approach allows athletes to optimize their training by scheduling high-intensity workouts when they’re truly ready, leading to faster and more significant performance improvements.
Moreover, while other wearables rely on general metrics like heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate to assess readiness—often missing the mark on local muscle recovery—NNOXX takes it a step further. Our technology differentiates between aerobic and muscle readiness, providing two distinct scores. When combined, these scores offer a more comprehensive view, enabling athletes to make more informed adjustments to their workouts and achieve better results, as described in the next section
Interpreting Performance Readiness Scores
Understanding the distinction between performance readiness and performance potential is crucial for athletes using NNOXX’s readiness tool to optimize their training. Here’s a clear explanation of how performance readiness metrics should be interpreted:
Low Readiness Scores: A low score in aerobic readiness or muscle readiness indicates that your body is not in an optimal state for performance. However, it’s important to remember these scores are not deterministic. For example, a 20% aerobic readiness score does not mean you will perform at 20% of your peak potential. Instead, it signifies that there is a 20% chance you will perform at your best in aerobic endurance activities, given your current physiological state.
High Readiness Scores: A high score in aerobic readiness or muscle readiness suggests that your body is well-prepared for performance. For example, a 90% muscle readiness score means you have a high chance of performing at your full potential in sprint or power activities. However, it does not guarantee that you will perform at 90% of your best.
By understanding and appropriately interpreting these readiness scores, athletes can tailor their training to match their body’s current state, thus optimizing performance. Additionally, properly your performance readiness scores, and understanding how they reflect the physiologic cost of pushing yourself, can help you better balance intensity and recovery in your training plan, as explained below:
Low Readiness Scores: When your readiness is low, even if you manage to perform well, the effort required will be much higher. This increased effort translates to greater physiological cost, such as heightened fatigue longer recovery times. Essentially, pushing yourself when readiness is low can lead to diminished returns and potential setbacks in your overall training progress.
High Readiness Scores: When your readiness is high, you are more likely to perform well with less physiological cost. This means you can achieve optimal performance without excessively taxing your body, allowing for better long-term progress and reduced risk of overtraining.
Practical Implications for Athletes
Understanding and utilizing readiness scores effectively can significantly enhance your training regimen. Here’s how you can use NNOXX’s readiness scores to make informed training decisions:
Training Adjustments: Use readiness scores to tailor your training sessions. On days with low readiness, consider focusing on less intensive workouts, such as active recovery sessions. On days with high readiness, plan for more intense or high-volume training to maximize performance benefits. If you’re not sure how to best adjust training, NNOXX’s mobile app will provide you with recommendations based on your aerobic readiness, muscle readiness, and how they are trending over the past 7 days.
Performance Expectation Management: Understand that a low readiness score is not an indicator of inevitable poor performance, but rather a signal to manage expectations and adjust efforts accordingly. Recognize that pushing through on low readiness days can have long-term impacts, and sometimes, it's beneficial to listen to your body and take a step back.
Recovery Strategies: Prioritize recovery when readiness is low. Implement strategies such as proper sleep, nutrition, hydration, and stress management to improve future readiness scores and enhance overall performance potential.
By accurately interpreting readiness scores and adjusting training plans accordingly, athletes can optimize their performance, reduce the risk of injury, and improve long-term athletic development.
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