Why Peter Attia, MD, Doesn't Rely On Wearables To Guide His Training
Fitness trackers promise to tell us everything: when to work out, when to rest, how hard to push, when we're about to get sick. We've become obsessed with readiness scores, strain metrics, and recovery analytics.
But according to Peter Attia, M.D., renowned longevity medicine expert and author of Outlive, there's one simple measurement that beats all the fancy algorithms, and you don't need a wearable to track it.
On a recent episode of the mindbodygreen podcast, Attia revealed his surprisingly low-tech approach to monitoring his body's readiness: morning resting heart rate. In an age of overwhelming biometric data, his perspective offers a refreshing reality check about what actually matters when it comes to listening to your body.
Why morning resting heart rate trumps every wearable metric
Attia's stance on fitness wearables is blunt, “I don't believe there's a single wearable on the planet that can even come close to” accurately telling you when to exercise or rest. Coming from someone deeply embedded in the science of longevity and performance, this is a striking claim.
His reasoning? The body doesn't distinguish between different types of stress. Whether you're dealing with work pressure, sleep deprivation, relationship tension, or the physical demands of training, your body experiences it all as stress.
"I have four jobs, three kids, other priorities, and those things come with more stress. And that stress, the body doesn't really have a great way to distinguish between that stress and the stress of exercise. It's all stress to the body," Attia explained
This is where morning resting heart rate becomes valuable. Unlike complex algorithms trying to synthesize multiple variables, resting heart rate in the morning provides a direct window into your nervous system's state. When it starts spiking above your normal baseline, it's a clear signal that something is off. You might be getting sick. You might be overtraining. You might simply need more recovery time before your next hard session.
How to use morning resting heart rate to guide your training
Attia's approach to deciding whether to train or rest relies primarily on how he feels, combined with performance indicators. But for those who want an objective data point to support their subjective assessment, morning resting heart rate provides exactly that. Here's how to make this metric work for you:
Establish your baseline
Track your resting heart rate every morning for two to three weeks. If you have a wearable, check your overnight heart rate data first thing when you wake up. If you're measuring manually, do this before checking your phone, getting out of bed, or having coffee. Simply place two fingers on your wrist or neck, count the beats for 60 seconds, and record the number. Calculate your average over those weeks; that's your baseline.
Watch for spikes
Once you know your baseline, look for mornings when your resting heart rate is five to 10 beats higher than normal. This elevation suggests your body is under increased stress. It could mean you're fighting off an infection, haven't recovered from your last workout, or are dealing with accumulated life stress.
Pair it with how you feel
Attia emphasized that your subjective sense of readiness matters more than any number. "If you took someone like you or me, who has spent their life exercising, they're doing it based on how they're feeling and how they're performing," he noted.
Think of morning resting heart rate as a way to validate what you already sense. If you wake up feeling run down and your heart rate is five beats higher than normal, that's your body confirming you need to dial back the intensity or take a rest day entirely.
Don't overthink the technology
Professional athletes aren't relying on wearables to tell them when to back off, Attia pointed out. "I talked to them, and I talked to their coaches, and they are not relying on wearables to tell them when they should be backing off. They're doing it based on how they're feeling and how they're performing." The same principle applies to the rest of us.
Consider external stressors
Remember that your resting heart rate reflects total stress load. If you're traveling, dealing with a work crisis, or navigating personal challenges, these factors will show up in your morning measurement just as much as physical training stress does.
The takeaway
In our quest to optimize everything, we've created elaborate systems to tell us what our bodies already know. Attia's approach cuts through the noise with a simple truth: you don't need expensive technology to train intelligently. A basic understanding of your morning resting heart rate, combined with honest self-assessment, provides more actionable information than any algorithm.
It's not about dismissing data entirely; it's about recognizing that the most valuable metrics are often the simplest ones. Your body is already telling you its readiness to train. The question is whether you're paying attention to the right signal.