Why
Resting Heart Rate is simply a very general measuring stick that reflects your state of overall health. It obviously is not the end-all-be-all measurement, but it does give you a good idea of where you are.
Basically, the lower the RHR, the healthier the person. Lance Armstrong famously has a RHR of 32. His heart is such a strong, effective muscle that it pumps some SERIOUS blood through there each time it beats.
There are many factors that influence this number:
gender
age
fitness level
anxiety levels
medications
pregnancy
smoking
illness
fatigue
height (the smaller you are the higher your RHR will be)
type of training
(a long distance endurance athlete will have a lower RHR than a sprinter for example)
How
If you are a morning person (that would be me), the following exercise will be the hardest thing you will ever do. It will drive you crazy. If you hate getting out of bed in the morning and love to push snooze a million times (the Doc), this will be right up your alley.
1. When you wake up, lay there for about 15 minutes.
2. Find your pulse. You can do this by measuring your cartoid pulse or radial pulse. Or, if you are crazy like us, you can wear your heart rate monitor and measure it.
3. Measure your pulse for 20 seconds. Times that by three.
4. You’re not done. Do steps 1-3 three times in one week. Take the average of the three numbers. That is your RHR.
What Does It Mean?
Below is a RHR chart for women to see where you fall on the spectrum:
Age | RHR for Athletes | WOW! | Good | Above Average | Average | Below Average | Poor |
18-25 | <54- 60 | 61-65 | 66-69 | 70-73 | 74-78 | 79-84 | 85+ |
26-35 | 54-59 | 60-64 | 65-68 | 69-72 | 73-76 | 77-82 | 83+ |
36-45 | 54-59 | 60-64 | 65-69 | 70-73 | 74-78 | 79-84 | 85+ |
46-55 | 54-60 | 61-65 | 66-69 | 70-73 | 74-77 | 78-83 | 84+ |
56-65 | 54-59 | 60-64 | 65-68 | 69-73 | 74-77 | 78-83 | 84+ |
65+ | 54-59 | 60-64 | 65-68 | 69-72 | 73-76 | 77-84 | 84+ |
*Chart courtsey of www.buzzle.com
Again, like all numbers we’ve talked about -- the scale, BMI, HR -- this is only a guide and it is definitely not precise by any stretch of the imagination. RHR’s have a large range, as do normal heart rates.
So why even post on this? It’s just interesting that’s all. I like to just know these things about myself since I’m a weirdo. The Doc likes to test his RHR occasionally for bragging rights (his is always lower than mine :). I do think it is healthy to know what ballpark we're in on this fabulous fitness journey. And I thought you might too.
Like this? Want more? Subscribe to Trainer Momma's RSS feed by clicking here. Thanks!
1 comments:
Wheee! My RHR is always in the 50s (even in the dentist office) and sometimes the high 40s. Yay!
Post a Comment