Just curious on resting heart rate. I'm 26 and change, and reasonably fit. I've been cycling and lifting weights for about 6 months now, fairly regularly and with long and intense rides as well. Before this I was a regular smoker and did not live much of an active lifestyle except for physical type career. When sitting around doing nothing (surfing RBR etc.) I have a resting heart rate around 53 give or take a few beats Is this too low? Just looking for some other input from other cyclists to see if this is normal or something I should be concerned about.

Thanks!

Heart rates are like finger prints. Everyone's will differ. That fact that yours appears low to you should be good news. Maybe you are in the Elite category of fitness :)

Generally the more fit you are the lower your HR because one of the adaptations to endurance training is an increased stroke volume. So your heart is pumping more blood per beat, so it needs to beat less frequently for a given work load.

When I used to measure it my resting HR was somewhere around high 30's to low 40's. I think there are some elite athletes that I've seen report resting HRs in the high 20s.

Ya 30's-40's is where it's at for most athletes. Reading the OP I originally thought your resting HR was 26 and change :O. I recall that Indurain's was about 28 resting and that he could go from max to 30's in about 5 minutes cuz his heart was 1.5 times regular size.

Ya 30's-40's is where it's at for most athletes. Reading the OP I originally thought your resting HR was 26 and change :O. I recall that Indurain's was about 28 resting and that he could go from max to 30's in about 5 minutes cuz his heart was 1.5 times regular size.
Indurain?
or post-Christmas Grinch?

Indurain?
or post-Christmas Grinch?

Maybe they're one and the same! Nah Indurain's too much of a cool fellow to be Grinch like. But ya, an absolutely sick resting heart rate and general heart control.:eek:

I think there was a thread with everyone's resting HR and their ages...do a search for it.

I didn't post in it since I didn't know, but mine is 49 when first waking up, and at ~56 for lazy RBR/TV/nothing. Max is 199.

19, 5'8", 148lbs and dropping with fitness.

OK so less is better. Thanks for the relief. I thought I was going to drop dead or something. I needed to measure 3 or 4 times thinking that there was no way it could be right. After searching/looking some more online I realized its quite regular.

You're right that you're perfectly normal.

Less is better relative to your own standard -- it means you're getting fitter -- but in general person A having a resting hr of 50 and person B having a resting hr of 70 doesn't tell you anything, on its own...

I gathered that person to person numbers could be quite different. I could never remember mine being that low, then again, I don't remember checking in months, and only recently checked due to purchasing a heart rate monitor. I guess it is good if I'm "getting fitter" :D

Thanks

I add this to consider when reviewing what people have posted about RHR's on this board.
Every year, the Tour people disseminate information about the average this and that for the riders. The average RHR is typically in the mid-50's.
The average resting HR of RBR participants, if you were to accept at face value what people post, is like 40 maybe. With almost no one reporting anything over 50, but lots under 40.
I have my doubts.

I add this to consider when reviewing what people have posted about RHR's on this board.
Every year, the Tour people disseminate information about the average this and that for the riders. The average RHR is typically in the mid-50's.
The average resting HR of RBR participants, if you were to accept at face value what people post, is like 40 maybe. With almost no one reporting anything over 50, but lots under 40.
I have my doubts.


That makes me feel better. I'd like to think I'm reasonably fit, not an elite athlete, but at least somewhat in shape. With some of the numbers I've seen on here, it would lead me to believe there's something wrong with me.

That makes me feel better. I'd like to think I'm reasonably fit, not an elite athlete, but at least somewhat in shape. With some of the numbers I've seen on here, it would lead me to believe there's something wrong with me.
Don't worry about other people - RHR, etc means nothing
Example - my RHR is 39-40 when I wake up in the morning. However, according to what someone posted before me, a lot of pros have mid 50 HRs. They're faster than me, their RHR's faster.
Same thing kind of goes for MHR. My max on bike is 204 (well, the highest I've hit... maybe I can go higher. Doubt it.), off bike it's 217. I know one of the local guys has a 180 max, and he can really hurt me.

Don't worry about what other people say about their heart rates. Some people have fast hearts, some have slow hearts. As long as it gets the blood to your legs, and you know the 'habits' of yours, and how it responds to things, you're fine.
-estone2

I think the RHR tested for the tour are done on medical tests more similar to sitting around on the couch or just sat down to read RBR kind of values.

I remember mine would sometimes be in the 40s when I was completely vegitative but never under 60 if I was in some kind of non-catatonic state...