But what exactly is a \u2018good\u2019 heart rate and what should you worry about when it comes to your resting heart rate? We chat to Dr Cath Spenser-Smith to find out\u2026<\/p>\n
What\u2019s a good resting heart rate?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\nGenerally speaking, your average resting heart rate will be a reflection of your overall cardiovascular fitness, which has many variables.<\/p>\n
Your GP will tell you that 72 beats per minute (bpm) is the average for a patient, but if you\u2019re fitter then that number drops.<\/p>\n
For example, an Olympic rower in their 20s might have a resting heart rate of under 40bpm, but a good level of fitness for your average marathoner might be around 50bpm. It\u2019s only one indicator of fitness, however, so don\u2019t panic!<\/p>\n
- The triathlete\u2019s complete guide to heart rate zone training<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Best heart rate zones for running<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Best heart rate training zones for cycling<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
How can you measure your resting heart rate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Heart rate monitors can come in the form of chest straps, watches, or forearm straps (Credit: Dave Kotinsky\/Getty Images for Orangetheory Fitness)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nYou don\u2019t need any fancy equipment to measure your heart rate \u2013 you can easily find your radial pulse on the inside of your wrist with your opposite index and middle fingers.<\/p>\n
Simply count the number of beats felt in one minute first thing in the morning, before you\u2019ve moved around much for gotten out of bed.<\/p>\n
Of course, you can also make it super-easy by using the app on your smartwatch or use a heart rate monitor<\/a><\/strong> when you train, though bear in mind that not all monitors are made equal!<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re interested in assessing your cardiovascular fitness levels, \u2018sub-maximal\u2019 exercise tests (on a bike\/ treadmill\/track) are simple to perform, or you can get an in-depth assessment with an exercise physiologist.<\/p>\n
- Polar Verity Sense Heart Rate Sensor review<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
When should you be worried about your resting heart rate?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\nIf your resting heart rate shows an elevation day to day, it can be a sign of overtraining<\/a><\/strong>, so it\u2019s still useful to measure it.<\/p>\nVery fast heart rates (e.g. well above 200bpm) tend be associated with an abnormal heart rhythm, such as ventricular tachycardia.<\/p>\n
Most of time if we\u2019re in a hard training session, we\u2019ll top out at a maximal rate, which gets lower as we age.<\/p>\n
You may have heard of the equation of \u2018220 minus your age\u2019 as being a predictor for maximal heart rate for your age, but this hasn\u2019t really borne out in the science to be very accurate and genetics may have a role to play, too.<\/p>\n
In fact, did you know that this 220 calculation actually bore conception to the 220 Triathlon<\/em> name?<\/p>\nIf you have a very elevated heart rate at rest, palpitations, breathlessness, or chest or arm pain with exercise, these are signs of a potential cardiac problem, so get it checked out \u2013 especially if you have a family history of cardiac issues.<\/p>\n
Top image credit:<\/strong> Towfiq Barbhuiya\/Unsplash<\/p>\n - How much should you worry about a high max heart rate?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Cardiac drift: what is it and how does it affect heart-rate training?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Why athletes should get their hearts checked<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- How beginning regular exercise can reverse heart damage<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Dr Cath Spencer-Smith Published: Tuesday, 19 April 2022 at 12:00 am Though some choose to measure fitness and performance on other indicators, such as pace or feel, heart rate has been a firm favourite of many when it comes to training aids. But what exactly is a \u2018good\u2019 heart rate and what should you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13752,"template":"","categories":[1,23],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Dr Cath Spencer-Smith Published: Tuesday, 19 April 2022 at 12:00 am Though some choose to measure fitness and performance on other indicators, such as pace or feel, heart rate has been a firm favourite of many when it comes to training aids. But what exactly is a \u2018good\u2019 heart rate and what should you…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13751"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
How can you measure your resting heart rate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> Heart rate monitors can come in the form of chest straps, watches, or forearm straps (Credit: Dave Kotinsky\/Getty Images for Orangetheory Fitness)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\nYou don\u2019t need any fancy equipment to measure your heart rate \u2013 you can easily find your radial pulse on the inside of your wrist with your opposite index and middle fingers.<\/p>\n
Simply count the number of beats felt in one minute first thing in the morning, before you\u2019ve moved around much for gotten out of bed.<\/p>\n
Of course, you can also make it super-easy by using the app on your smartwatch or use a heart rate monitor<\/a><\/strong> when you train, though bear in mind that not all monitors are made equal!<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re interested in assessing your cardiovascular fitness levels, \u2018sub-maximal\u2019 exercise tests (on a bike\/ treadmill\/track) are simple to perform, or you can get an in-depth assessment with an exercise physiologist.<\/p>\n
- Polar Verity Sense Heart Rate Sensor review<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
When should you be worried about your resting heart rate?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\nIf your resting heart rate shows an elevation day to day, it can be a sign of overtraining<\/a><\/strong>, so it\u2019s still useful to measure it.<\/p>\nVery fast heart rates (e.g. well above 200bpm) tend be associated with an abnormal heart rhythm, such as ventricular tachycardia.<\/p>\n
Most of time if we\u2019re in a hard training session, we\u2019ll top out at a maximal rate, which gets lower as we age.<\/p>\n
You may have heard of the equation of \u2018220 minus your age\u2019 as being a predictor for maximal heart rate for your age, but this hasn\u2019t really borne out in the science to be very accurate and genetics may have a role to play, too.<\/p>\n
In fact, did you know that this 220 calculation actually bore conception to the 220 Triathlon<\/em> name?<\/p>\nIf you have a very elevated heart rate at rest, palpitations, breathlessness, or chest or arm pain with exercise, these are signs of a potential cardiac problem, so get it checked out \u2013 especially if you have a family history of cardiac issues.<\/p>\n
Top image credit:<\/strong> Towfiq Barbhuiya\/Unsplash<\/p>\n - How much should you worry about a high max heart rate?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
- Cardiac drift: what is it and how does it affect heart-rate training?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Why athletes should get their hearts checked<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- How beginning regular exercise can reverse heart damage<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
<\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Dr Cath Spencer-Smith Published: Tuesday, 19 April 2022 at 12:00 am Though some choose to measure fitness and performance on other indicators, such as pace or feel, heart rate has been a firm favourite of many when it comes to training aids. But what exactly is a \u2018good\u2019 heart rate and what should you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13752,"template":"","categories":[1,23],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Dr Cath Spencer-Smith Published: Tuesday, 19 April 2022 at 12:00 am Though some choose to measure fitness and performance on other indicators, such as pace or feel, heart rate has been a firm favourite of many when it comes to training aids. But what exactly is a \u2018good\u2019 heart rate and what should you…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13751"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/34\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1044778118-5357f24.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>You don\u2019t need any fancy equipment to measure your heart rate \u2013 you can easily find your radial pulse on the inside of your wrist with your opposite index and middle fingers.<\/p>\n
Simply count the number of beats felt in one minute first thing in the morning, before you\u2019ve moved around much for gotten out of bed.<\/p>\n
Of course, you can also make it super-easy by using the app on your smartwatch or use a heart rate monitor<\/a><\/strong> when you train, though bear in mind that not all monitors are made equal!<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in assessing your cardiovascular fitness levels, \u2018sub-maximal\u2019 exercise tests (on a bike\/ treadmill\/track) are simple to perform, or you can get an in-depth assessment with an exercise physiologist.<\/p>\n If your resting heart rate shows an elevation day to day, it can be a sign of overtraining<\/a><\/strong>, so it\u2019s still useful to measure it.<\/p>\n Very fast heart rates (e.g. well above 200bpm) tend be associated with an abnormal heart rhythm, such as ventricular tachycardia.<\/p>\n Most of time if we\u2019re in a hard training session, we\u2019ll top out at a maximal rate, which gets lower as we age.<\/p>\n You may have heard of the equation of \u2018220 minus your age\u2019 as being a predictor for maximal heart rate for your age, but this hasn\u2019t really borne out in the science to be very accurate and genetics may have a role to play, too.<\/p>\n In fact, did you know that this 220 calculation actually bore conception to the 220 Triathlon<\/em> name?<\/p>\n If you have a very elevated heart rate at rest, palpitations, breathlessness, or chest or arm pain with exercise, these are signs of a potential cardiac problem, so get it checked out \u2013 especially if you have a family history of cardiac issues.<\/p>\n Top image credit:<\/strong> Towfiq Barbhuiya\/Unsplash<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/body><\/html>\n By Dr Cath Spencer-Smith Published: Tuesday, 19 April 2022 at 12:00 am Though some choose to measure fitness and performance on other indicators, such as pace or feel, heart rate has been a firm favourite of many when it comes to training aids. But what exactly is a \u2018good\u2019 heart rate and what should you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13752,"template":"","categories":[1,23],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2022\/04\/how-to-measure-your-resting-heart-rate-and-when-you-should-be-worried-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Dr Cath Spencer-Smith Published: Tuesday, 19 April 2022 at 12:00 am Though some choose to measure fitness and performance on other indicators, such as pace or feel, heart rate has been a firm favourite of many when it comes to training aids. But what exactly is a \u2018good\u2019 heart rate and what should you…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13751"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}When should you be worried about your resting heart rate?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"