I was once told by a physical therapist that most sports injuries, at least the ones he was treating, were due to overtraining. He ate and drank too much over the weekend, got a little sluggish on Sunday night, threw himself full force into a new training plan, and ended up with an ailment a few weeks later. [Earlier this month, Fitbit launched its long-awaited Daily Readiness Score. This is a feature for premium members that looks at sleep quality, how hard you trained the day before, and heart rate variability (HRV) to assess how ready you are to push yourself that day.

I've been trying this for about 2 weeks and while this is definitely not the first time this brand has tried this, I am impressed. Getting rid of the ego and listening to my body is one of the hardest lessons I've had to learn on my own fitness journey. (If you're looking for a new Fitbit, we've hand-picked the best Fitbits to buy in 2021 here.)

Your Daily Readiness Score is a number based on your sleep, activity, and HRV. Each morning, the Fitbit app displays your score, details on the factors that affected it, and recommended workouts for the day; according to Fitbit, the score is "based on research that proves that taking time to recover can produce stronger long-term results than constantly pushing yourself. It's a thing," he says. The higher the score, the better prepared you are for harder training sessions, such as speed workouts or intense gym sessions. The lower the score, the more the body needs to recover and should opt for something more gentle like a walking or yoga class.

Fitbit also offers workout suggestions based on your score; as a Fitbit premium member, you get access to Fitbit's library of audio and video workouts, and the Fitbit app will also provide your workout suggestions based on your Daily Readiness Score.

I have been using the Fitbit Daily Readiness Score on my Fitbit Charge 5 for the past few weeks and am impressed with its ability to read my recovery. When I woke up one morning, my Daily Readiness Score was at 88 and Fitbit said, "Get ready to tackle today's workout. Your body is ready to perform," so I headed out for a 10-mile tempo run. When I woke up the next day, my Fitbit score was 51. "Plan moderate exercise, but don't overdo it," it said, so I figured I'd had enough sleep to head to the gym for some light strength training. 2 weeks is not enough time to draw conclusions about the long-term results of your training. While not, I felt that my Fitbit score reflected how I felt after the workout.

Of course, Fitbit is not the first brand to focus on recovery; brands such as Whoop and Oura have similar features in their tracking devices, and I often look at Garmin recovery data during marathon training. However, Fitbit's devices are much more affordable and versatile than some of Garmin's watches, and I feel the difference lies in the tracker itself. Unlike my Whoop 4.0 band, the Fitbit Charge 5 allows me to not only track my recovery data, but also get live feedback on my runs and Whatsapp notifications when I'm out and about thanks to the screen.

Compared to Apple, Samsung, and others, this is clearly a standout feature for the Fitbit brand, a move that shows Fitbit is moving toward a more holistic view of health. For beginners, features like the Daily Readiness Score are invaluable and help establish healthy fitness habits that look at the body as a whole, not just steps taken or calories burned.

The Daily Readiness Score is available to premium members using Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Charge 5, Luxe, and Inspire 2 devices. You will need to wear the Fitbit for at least 4 days before you get your first score, and after 14 days of use, you can expect more personalized results.