[Me23]

Hi everyone!

I hear that resting heart rate is a good measure of fitness. In the gym yesterday, I was reading Zest magazine (whilst on the cross trainer, honest! ) and it said a fit heart rate is 50-60bpm when you wake up in the morning. Well I work out three times a week (gym or swim) but mine is more than that . I'm going to add aerobic walking on the other days (don't have time for the whole go to gym, change, workout, shower, change, come back every day) but I was wondering what kind of rest heart rate I should be aiming for as I've heard mixed messages about this?
I'm 20, a girl, student, maintaining healthy weight Thanks!

[srmb60]

This is another one of those 'numbers' that can drive you nutty. Talk about mixed messages!

I have associations with three basic groups of people.
The general public have heard (as I have been taught in training) that 72 is normal ... average.
Friends and associates who have some form of medical training who think in the low 60's is fabulous.
And a very few well educated in the fitness business types who think that they should have a resting pulse of 58 but we underling, unwashed masses of wannabes should be content with something higher.

In summary ... here is Susan's humble opinion ... as you become more fit ... it'll come down. It's another excellent tool to measure your progress.

[Me23]

underling, unwashed masses of wannabes

ROTFL!
Why isn't there an icon for rolled on the floor laughing?

That's me alright, in the fitness stakes. I just say heck, I'm an academic not an athlete! When my bum becomes inextricable from the chair I'll worry.

Thanks for the info

[Mel]

There is an icon Type ":" then rofl then another ":".

The fitter you are, the lower it will get. When I did initial fitness tests on new clients, I had a certain number above which I required a doctor's note before I started working with someone, but the ranges that SusanB mentioned fit well within healthy.

Mel

[ennay]

I have no idea what mine is...I never wake up in the morning in a calm relaxed manner and remember to take it. If I could sleep in my HRM that would be interesting but soooo uncomfortable. Mine isnt super low just judging from my "sitting still" heart rate

dh's is ridiculously low. He has had it be as low as 48 and thats not even first thing in the morning. Just "sitting still".

But I dont think its something you can really "aim for". Do your workouts, and it will be what it will be.

[Lyria]

My resting heart rate just sitting still is 54bpm...I have no idea what it would be when I first wake up. My first thought on waking is usually centred around what to have for breakfast!

[janamonkey]

Hm. I never remember to do mine in the morning but I just checked and it was 64. I guess that's good?

[Me23]

yah that's about what mine is too, though it can be 66 or 62. i think we're good! i'm sure we're better than average anyway. i've made 2 new comitments tho which is to walk seriously on days i don't swim and to warm/cool down properly with stretches cos i always skimp on that

[bethel]

I started out with a resting pulse of 72 and now, after 8 months of regular exercise, is down to 52. I'm still surprised whenever I take it!

[Me23]

wow that's fabulous. what's your workout routine?

[ZedAus]

When I was larger my resting heart rate was in the low 60s and now it is in the low 40s. I have a Polar heart rate monitor (with the chest strap) and when I tested it a couple of times I came out with a resting heart rate of 41. A few times when I have just tested it by counting my pulse for a minute it has been as low as 39 and is sometimes in the 50s, dependiing on whether I have eaten recently.

The problem with such a low resting heart rate (other than feeling as though you could make a cup of coffee while waiting for the next beat) is that I don't really know where to 'push' my heart rate to when I exercise. I have what I call a 'dicky ticker' and I get ectopic heart beats and palpitations now and then, so when I use the monitor I can get a reading of 40 something one second and a reading of 180+ the next! (I am pretty sure that once it actually said that my 'high' was 252 or something like that, but I figured that this was just some kind of 'glitch'.) That can be scary at times. I wore a proper halter monitor for 24 hours last year and it showed that everything was normal, so I suppose I just keep doing what I am doing.

Zelma