Resting pulse…What's good ?

I’ve just had my annual medical that my employers require me to have. Everything’s peachy but the cardiograph had written on it “bradycardic”….eek. My RP was 49 BPM. I’m 48 years old, non smoker & have kept myself reasonably fit. Cycling, a little running, a bit of free diving & a heap of alcohol consumption !

Any ideas of what a “normal” baseline would be for a healthy resting pulse.

D.

Not that your going to die

No such thing.

No such thing.

Your heart rates are determined by genetic factors, something to do with relative sizes of your atria and ventricles or something like that.

You can be dead fit and have high rates and someoen else the same fitness can have lower.

It’s useless to compare them with other people – what you should do is compare them with yourself over time. So if your resting HR goes up you’ve over trained, or are ill, or something.

i think its fairly common experience for cyclists to surprise doctors with their low resting heart rates. Happened to me a few times!

When I had this type of medical I was 41bpm but I was running a couple time a week but I have never considered myself to be of olympic runner standard. When I stopped running it rose to 43bpm. Low for a femal but it is my normal rate.
It is always worth getting your heart rate checked at the doctors (the nurses) – they do this over a time frame to work out what is normal for you. I just have low blood pressure – I think if they could they would just say it was lethargic.
Worrying will only get you looking up the symptoms on the internet and finding some debilitating illness.

A very fit mate has a resting heart rate of 33bpm ! If he goes to the doctors or hospital, they freak out ! Normaly takes him 20mins of explaining for them to let him out !

Yeah as others have said there’s quite a range of resting heart rates. Mine’s 42-44 and i’m not particularly fit. Likewise my max is way higher than that 220-age.

My resting HR is currently about 48, although it has been down as low as 40.

The lowest I have seen on my HRM is 34 which was when I got knocked of at the start of an XC race some years ago in Dalby Forest. Whilst sat at the side of the track collecting my thoughts one of the medics came over to make sure I was okay.

“Is that thing accurate?” he asked, pointing at my HRM.
“Yes.” I said.
“Best you have a little go on this oxygen then.”

Had a bloke on the radio who was out for a run and then woke up in hospital.

Doctors were saying ‘We think your heart rate dropped and you passed out, it was very low when you were brought in’.

Bloke ‘No, no, I’m an athlete my resting heartrate is always low – my resting pulse is below 35’

Dr: ‘Does it normally go down to 1?’

Bloke: ‘Gulp’

he had a pacemaker fitted.

As above a specific resting heart rate is not an indication of a healthy (or otherwise) heart.

However your own resting HR will go down a bit as you get fitter…

Mine up in the 80-90s
😐

The main thing is that you have one.

Had a bloke on the radio who was out for a run and then woke up in hospital.

Doctors were saying ‘We think your heart rate dropped and you passed out, it was very low when you were brought in’.

Bloke ‘No, no, I’m an athlete my resting heartrate is always low – my resting pulse is below 35’

Dr: ‘Does it normally go down to 1?’

Bloke: ‘Gulp’

he had a pacemaker fitted.

As above a specific resting heart rate is not an indication of a healthy (or otherwise) heart.

Same happened to a friend of mine. He was a very competitive runner but started to have similar blackouts.
He had a couple which left him injured, one hospitalised when he collapsed running with friends and hit a wall at quite a speed.
He has a couple of young children so although he went through a range of tests which were inconclusive he decided to stop exercising at such an intensive level.
Shame really but he couldnt take the chance of ending up under a bus!

Mines 68/78. lowest is when sitting doing nothing about 58. It can reach high 90s just getting my bike sorted and sits ay about 120 on a 3 hour 28MPH average ride.

18MPH average.

Mine’s about 55, so high by the standards of this thread and I’m quite fit, but on the flipside I can motor along with a HR of 190 for hours and have had a max over 220 when younger – the ‘rules’ are all finger in the air stuff

Mid fifties for me these days. Isn’t fitness all about being able to maintain a high rate for a long time and having a quick return to normal when you stop.
I used to be able to hit 200 in my twenties and maintain 140+ for a couple of hours back then but now I’m in my forties I can’t get past 170 although my stamina on a fast ride is hardly reduced.

partly Mostly Balanced, but also about circulating sufficient oxygen for the lowest rate.

If I want to circulate 3 times my normal blood flow/oxygen and my resting rate is 70 I need to go to 210, if it’a 50 then it’s only 150 – the latter is sustainable for a far greater period fo time for most people. There are other factors affecting efficiency etc but this is critical.

Isn’t fitness all about being able to maintain a high rate for a long time

Fitness is loads of different things, depending on what for. A high rate is no indication of a high power output. My mate is in his mid 40s and when working flat out has a HR of 140-something. He does triathlons in the Reading area and wins them frequently.

I can motor along with a HR of 190 for hours

Seriously… 😯 that truly is remarkable….not doubting mind…good on you mate…

EhWhoMe – Member

I can motor along with a HR of 190 for hours

Seriously… that truly is remarkable….not doubting mind…good on you mate…
Rich is pretty fit and did/does a lot of rowing too so I don’t doubt it.

Mine was 110 yesterday morning! But I was in hospital about to be wheeled in for a double hernia Op…

Been taking my BP & HR today and its all over the place depending on pain levels BP 129/64 & HR 58 to BP 160/80 HR 95 ??

I ride twice a week, swim twice a week, a touch overweight, age 44. resting around 60. on a normal ride of say 3 hrs average is about 145, or 148 if not taking many breaks. I max at about 185 (used to get over 200) I asked the Doc a few yrs ago why it was so high – he said everone is different and not to worry overly about it unless it changed significantly – like stopped !

A very fit mate has a resting heart rate of 33bpm ! If he goes to the doctors or hospital, they freak out ! Normaly takes him 20mins of explaining for them to let him out !

Yeah of course it does because medical professionals can’t tell he’s ok.

I’m remarkably unfit these days and my RHR is down near 45 when truly resting, 50 when sat about the office. It’s never really changed from when I was remarkably fit. 😐

Yeah of course it does because medical professionals can’t tell he’s ok

I’ve actually had similar problems where after a visit to A&E for other reasons they were concerned that my HR was low and my blood pressure is lower than “normal” so they kept me in for observation – presumably lots of people say “yeah it’s normally that low” when it’s not/they have no idea. I generally float around 80/55 on the “home” tester we have, not sure how accurate it overall is but on this one occasion it matched fairly well.

I always get grief from the doctors on this too. Age 54, HR low 40s, BP 120/80, and they keep trying to give me pills for it. No thanks.

Always been ~60. Up to 75 when quite unfit. Worst ever was 100, but I was up at altitude in Nepal and suffering AMS at the time.

anything other than nil is all good :o)

My high resting rate was considered good at the hospital last year?
My problem is I’ve been competing since 12 county XC and road racing since 15.
In 1985 I did a full Ironman and had to have a full medical, that was the first time I noticed the high’ish rate. I think it was 72 then at age 25.
Twenty five years later it’s still the same. Evrything else is absolutely bob on.