Resting Heart Rate question

Coyoteboy said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

Just to add to that, that was taken sitting down watching TV at about
11:30 at night.

J

Coyoteboy said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

When it drops to zero then you can worry.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Coyoteboy said:

Coyoteboy said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

Just to add to that, that was taken sitting down watching TV at about
11:30 at night.

J

You're not watching enough pr0n.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Ride-A-Lot said:

When it drops to zero then you can worry.

PMSL. Thanks 😄

Coyoteboy said:

Coyoteboy said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

Just to add to that, that was taken sitting down watching TV at about
11:30 at night.

I've found that as you get fit, your RHR drops quite a bit. As you
maintain fitness for years and years, it drops even lower. Keep in
mind I'm talking about cardiovascular fitness, not necessarily 2% body
fat and legs that would shame Lance.

FWIW, I was at a doctor once for an intestinal problem (must be the
hot food...) and he did a quick "vitals check". He was listening to
my heart, and got a concerned look on his face. He had me lay down as
he probed around my chest with the stethoscope, wrinkling his brow
(something you don't really wanna see). "I'm scheduling you for an
immediate EKG" sez he. "What's wrong?" I asked, thinking about the
heart disease that's taken out my paternal ancestors. "Your heart
rate is abnormally low" he replies. I told him "Doc, that's a
feature, not a problem - I work really hard to keep it there".

That said, I can only guess at your true situation, and it's never a
good thing to ignore potential problems. But in my case (and in the
case of normal endurance athletes, if there IS such a thing...),
training your heart to pump more blood with every stroke means it
doesn't have to beat as often to move the same amount of blood. Your
"condition" could be just an indication that your hear is "getting
it".

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

Large changes in RHR over a short period of time can be significant. If it
suddenly dropped in a day or two, I'd see your doctor. Doesn't sound like
that's the case, anyway.

It's a good idea to measure your pulse on waking every morning. By tracking
it, you can see how it improves with fitness. If it's suddenly higher in the
morning, it's time to take a rest day.

Cheers,
Paul

Coyoteboy said:

Coyoteboy said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

Just to add to that, that was taken sitting down watching TV at about
11:30 at night.

After 14 beers?

<eg>

Coyoteboy said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

Years ago when I had a (yet another) kidney stone, they actually had to put
something in my IV to /increase/ my heartbeat before starting the procedure
(lithotripsy). It was, like, 42 or something -- although that might well
have been medicated (can't remember).

I was riding a LOT back then.

Sigh.

Flutter Bill

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

It depends on why it's low. In my case it wasn't because I had got
incredibly fit, it was because I had developed heart block which caused my
heart to miss a beat, up to 1 in 4, every now and again when resting. So
now I've got a pacemaker that fires up whenever my RHR falls below 50.
Heart block is one of these things that is more common than most people
would think and I only found out about mine during a routine medical.

Coyoteboy said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

A friend of mine is female, overweight, and working out to lose weight.
She told me her RHR, which was well under 50. This was after adding a
bunch of training volume, so I was puzzled and concerned. I told her I
wouldn't work with her (as a trainer) until she got it checked out. She
did, and eventually the doc told her to knock herself out. Not
literally, of course.

Hearts vary. A low RHR may be completely normal for you. But as
mentioned, if it's not normal for you it's a sign of a potential
problem. It's always a good idea to get it checked out.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall

Conservative dictionary:
Judicial Activist: n. A judge who tends to rule against your wishes.

Joe Roach said:

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
heart to miss a beat, up to 1 in 4, every now and again when resting. So
now I've got a pacemaker that fires up whenever my RHR falls below 50.
Heart block is one of these things that is more common than most people
would think and I only found out about mine during a routine medical.

Mine does this - i often skip a beat or two when im relaxed - doctors
assured me it was perfectly normal, even when my dad had his heart
attack and it was all checked again to make sure.

J

I think I'll wear the monitor a bit more and see if it changes much. I
jump up to the usual 70/80 with the slightest movement and can get to
almost 200 when i kill myself up a hill on a bike, and i'll drop back
to <90 within 60 seconds or so.

I used to ride around 25 miles a day, just recently id started throwin
in the occasional 20 mile ride at weekends with nothing in between, or
riding 40 miles a day to work and back. Still wouldnt consider myself
athlete level. Will see how it goes i think.

J

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

http://www.cptips.com/

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

J

for the record I believe I read that L.A.'s is 38

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

D T W .../\\... said:

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

for the record I believe I read that L.A.'s is 38

That's not that outrageous - mine's been that low (a true RHR, taken
before getting out of bed). Typically when I'm sitting around and
haven't ridden in a day or two it'll drop into the mid-low 40's. But
FWIW, it is going up year to year (I'm 47).

Now Miguel Indurain had a LOW RHR - it was 28!!! Imagine counting on
two second increments and getting AHEAD of him! Even scarier, the man
would finish a hard stage at the Tour, and be below 100 bpm in a
minute or two. Mine goes that high just watching it on OLN... ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

"Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

D T W .../\\... said:

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I thought you were only supposed to have a low resting heart rate if
you are fit? I'm not what id consider fit but my RHR is average 49,
dropping to 42 at times. Now im worried lol. When i used to be really
fit it would drop to 50, average at 55.

for the record I believe I read that L.A.'s is 38

That's not that outrageous - mine's been that low (a true RHR, taken
before getting out of bed). Typically when I'm sitting around and
haven't ridden in a day or two it'll drop into the mid-low 40's. But
FWIW, it is going up year to year (I'm 47).

Now Miguel Indurain had a LOW RHR - it was 28!!! Imagine counting on
two second increments and getting AHEAD of him! Even scarier, the man
would finish a hard stage at the Tour, and be below 100 bpm in a
minute or two. Mine goes that high just watching it on OLN... ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Similar experience here. When I was in college, more than 20yrs ago, btw
(46 now), I had a resting hr of 37 for a time. Told my aerobics instructor
about it, she laughed and wouldn't believe me. So I came to class early,
sat down, calmed myself for a few minutes, waved her over and she clocked me
in around 42 at noon. At the time I was riding my 3 spd up and down hills
to and from school (WSU) every day, and training 2hrs+ of different sports
activities every night.

Recently, in a dental chair, the hygeniest took my pulse, said, "that's
odd." Whatsup Doc? She said my pulse was pretty low, but not to worry
about it. Ha! Then she took my blood pressure, and it was ~100 over 60 and
said, wow, that's pretty good. Must be good genes. Whatever, lady.

CDB