Resting heart rate
Sources:
Resting heart rate is an important metric of recovery and overall physical fitness. and discuss how excessive stress, either from psychological or physical sources, can elevate your resting heart rate over time. However, resting heart rate is not highly sensitive to smaller stressors like individual tough training sessions, and therefore it is not a primary indicator they use. Instead, heart rate variability (HRV) is considered a better biomarker, reflecting overall sympathetic or parasympathetic state 1.
A lower resting heart rate is typically seen as a positive adaptation to endurance training. For example, as endurance improves, a person's resting heart rate will decrease due to an increase in stroke volume (the amount of blood the heart pumps out with each beat). This increase in stroke volume compensates for the lower heart rate, so that the total cardiac output remains consistent with the body’s energy demands at rest. A general guideline suggests that fit individuals should have a resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute, and anything significantly higher might indicate lesser fitness levels or potential health issues 2.
However, maximum heart rate is not considered by to be a good proxy for fitness since it does not usually increase with fitness. He highlights the importance of not attempting to increase maximum heart rates 3. When looking at older, very fit individuals such as 80-90 year old Swedish cross-country skiers, they had VO2 max levels comparable to those of college-aged men, and their resting pulse rates were commonly below 60 4.
notes that heart rate variability (HRV) is a valuable tool to measure systemic recovery from different forms of exercise, including resistance training, running, and swimming. HRV is an indication of the body's parasympathetic activity and recovery state, with higher HRV reflecting a more recovered state 5.
Lastly, the relationship between breathing and heart rate is highlighted by , explaining how controlling breath can affect heart rate variability. Extended exhales can promote a decrease in heart rate due to activating the parasympathetic nervous system via the vagus nerve, while inhales can temporarily increase heart rate 6.
In summary, the resting heart rate and HRV are critical indicators of stress, recovery, and overall fitness, with a lower resting heart rate generally indicative of better cardiovascular fitness and endurance conditioning.
RELATED QUESTIONS
