Your Resting Heart Rate
Your resting heart rate is the number of times that your heart beats each minute when it is exerting no effort, such as when you first wake up from sleeping. It can be a valuable tool to aid in determining your overall level of fitness. An average, healthy adult will generally have a resting heart rate between 60 and 80 bpm, while an athlete's resting heart rate may be closer to 35-50 bpm.
If you do not own a heart rate monitor, it is still possible to calculate your resting heart rate manually. Simply put gentle pressure on the neck, clavicle, or one of your wrists until you can feel a pulse. Using a watch as a timing aid, count the number of beats that you feel until you have completed one minute. You can also count for 30 seconds, and multiply your result by two. During this time, breathe normally and avoid tension. Generally speaking, the lower your result, the higher your level of physical fitness. If your resting heart rate is over 85 bpm, you may wish to consult with a doctor, as a high resting heart rate can potentially signify a problem.
The second way that your resting heart rate can be used to track your level of fitness is by keeping track of the amount of time that it takes to return to your resting heart rate following a training session. The more quickly your heart rate returns to normal, the more healthy your heart is. This is known as the recovery heart rate. To find your recovery heart rate, check your pulse immediately after you have finished an exercise session, then check it again one minute later. A heart rate monitor will make this process much more exact than checking your pulse manually. Take the first number that you recorded, and subtract the second number from it. The difference between the two numbers is your recovery heart rate. Generally, a higher number indicates better physical health.
Keeping track of your resting heart rate can be a useful way of tracking the health of your heart, and your level of physical fitness. However, it can also be extremely worthwhile to check your resting heart rate periodically during a training program, to gauge whether you are allowing your body adequate time to rest between workouts. When difficult workout sessions are spaced too close together, you will find that you eventually reach a point where you stop seeing performance gains, and in fact will see your performance begin to decrease. This phenomenon is known as overtraining. Overtraining must be avoided at all costs, because if your body is severely damaged by it, it can take many months to fully recover. If you are overtraining, you will find that your resting heart rate is suddenly beginning to rise, even though you are physically fit. If this is the case, you need to set aside several days for rest or a lowered level of activity until your resting heart rate returns to normal.
NOTE: Do not attempt to use your resting heart rate as a way to diagnose or treat any disease. The information above is presented as a general guideline. Always consult a doctor before beginning any new exercise program.
