Resting Heart Rate

nax-ian

Couple of people asked me lately , I have no idea, btw.
Does it have any significance towards anything?
Cheers

badly_dubbed

A slower RHR can indicate overall fitness I have read, though that could be a load of bull

It said something like a more powerfull heart required less beats per min to circulate the blood around the system but produced more oxygen.. Who knows

inseine

Your resting heart should get lower as you get fitter but you can't say someone is fitter than another because their heart rate is lower.

fish156

The only person to compare your RHR with is yourself. Look at it day-to-day (usually waking RHR) and it can be a very good indicator as to whether you're rested enough to train again. It can also show if you're coming down with something.

Pokerface

If it's high - it can indicate problems. But in general - it's only relevant to you and no one else.

It can range from 30 to 70 beats per minute. If it's over 75 see a doctor to be safe.

P_Tucker

fish156 wrote:

The only person to compare your RHR with is yourself. Look at it day-to-day (usually waking RHR) and it can be a very good indicator as to whether you're rested enough to train again. It can also show if you're coming down with something.

+1

I suspect I've got a similar RHR to many pros (40-41), but put me in a race with them and you'll see precisely how little it means.

Garz

A low(er) HR is healthy but as others have said don't worry about other people's numbers but your own. If you start off with say 60 and after a couple of months get down below 50 then that great, don't get put off by seeing others having 30-40 for example.

Chiggy

Low RHR.

Problem for cyclists is....

jumping up quickly to get another beer from fridge and passing out due to slower blood flow to brain.

Cure - go to the fridge SLOWLY.

fish156

Chiggy wrote:

Low RHR.

Problem for cyclists is....

jumping up quickly to get another beer from fridge and passing out due to slower blood flow to brain.

Cure - go to the fridge SLOWLY.

Alternative cure? Drink red wine at room temperature.

Bozman

Is was in the cardio unit a few months back after an AF attack, a week or two afterwards i had a bit of an mot and my RHR was measured at 42bpm. I'm 42 and i'm not that fit, i've tried to average 20mph over an hour or two but its nearly killed me trying, i like the finer things in life too much..beer and malt.
Your RHR is a good guide but your recovery heart rate is a far better indicator of fitness(so i was told) .

ColinJ

Some typical figures for me:

Skinny, fit, well, RHR = 34 bpm
Skinny, fit, ill, RHR = 44 bpm
Fat, fit, well, RHR = 45 bpm
Fat, fit, ill, RHR = 55 bpm
Fat, unfit, well, RHR = 55 bpm
Fat, unfitfit, ill, RHR = 65 bpm

epo-aholic

i always understood it was the difference between your LOW and MAX HR that was a gauge to ones fitness, non? :?

P_Tucker

epo-aholic wrote:

i always understood it was the difference between your LOW and MAX HR that was a gauge to ones fitness, non? :?

This metric is definitely more or less accurate than a magic 8-ball, although there's only a 60% chance of that.

epo-aholic

P_Tucker wrote:

This metric is definitely more or less accurate than a magic 8-ball, although there's only a 60% chance of that.

Garz

60% of the time it works, every time!

8)

IShaggy

Chiggy wrote:

Low RHR.

Problem for cyclists is....

jumping up quickly to get another beer from fridge and passing out due to slower blood flow to brain.

Cure - go to the fridge SLOWLY.

Nice to hear i'm not the only one who suffers from this. What's SLOWLY? - doesn't compute