Resting Heart Rate

Your resting heart rate is your heart rate when you are sitting still. Your heart rate, also known as your pulse, is the number of times your heart beats per minute.

Ideally, your resting heart rate should be between 60 and 90 beats per minute. If you're physically fit or genetically predisposed to a low heart rate it may be slower. It may be faster if you're scared or nervous or have recently consumed caffeine. Certain medications and stress can also speed up your heart rate.

To calculate your resting heart rate, take your heart rate first thing in the morning before consuming any food or drink for three consecutive days and find the average.

After a few months of exercising your resting heart rate should drop. This means that your heart has become more efficient. It may need to beat only 80 times per minute to pump the same amount of blood that it used to pump in 90 beats. In the long run, this saves wear and tear on your heart.

The simplest place to take your own pulse is at your wrist. Rest your middle and index fingertips (not your thumb) lightly on your opposite wrist, directly below the base of your thumb. Most people can see the faint bluish line of their artery, place your fingertips here. Count the beats for one minute.

An even easier and faster way to measure your pulse is to strap on a heart rate monitor watch. Your heart rate also can tell you a lot about your recovery from day to day. Keep your monitor by your bed and strap it on first thing in the morning on a daily basis. If your heart rate is 10 beats higher than usual, you probably haven't recovered from yesterday's workout.

You can test your aerobic fitness by using a heart rate monitor watch. Follow these steps:

1. Time yourself as you walk or run a mile as fast as you can. As you finish your mile make note of your heart rate and how long it took you to complete your mile.

2. One minute after you finish the mile, make note of your heart rate again. See how far your heart rate dropped from when you checked it at the completion of your mile.

3. Do this test again after two months of exercising. Make note of how much faster you can complete the mile and how much quicker your heart rate drops at the completion of your mile.

The better shape your in the faster your heart rate drops. Ideally, your heart rate should drop at least 20 beats in the first minute. People in really good shape drop 40 beats or more. Keep track of this measure and you should see a gradual improvement over a period of weeks and months. (Taking prescription or over-the-counter medication may affect the way your heart and blood pressure respond to exercise. Check with your doctor about this.)