anyone pay attention to their resting heart rate?

[Happy Antelope]

If anyone is curious Miguel Indurain had a resting heart rate of 28. Something to strive for I guess

 

[Marbles]

The data on endurance training and long term health is pretty minimal and flawed. Almost all of it looks at intermediate markers that were never validated in endurance athletes. This is like saying a power lifter is obese based on BMI.

Based on current data, it is certainly debatable, and as with any poorly researched area, one can find scientifically valid arguments for either position. Some of the evidence for harm (increased rate of pacemaker implantation) probably more reflects a lack of understanding and research in the medical community than an actual increased need for intervention.

As for low resting heart rates, this is pretty normal in well trained athletes. Younger age of starting endurance activity likely leads to more profound and durable changes. It is also seen in people whole have recently undergone a large amount of weight loss.

I do not have an impressively low resting rate, usually on the 50s, I have seen it around 45, but this was while I was restricting calories and pushing training. It came back up into the 50s as soon as I hit goal and stopped counting calories.

 

[Gorp2007]

My overnight averages are in the 40s and I can tell you that the HR monitor at most dentists' offices will set off an alarm when you get below 50 bpm. Makes for a nice way to keep your mind off the dental work and practice deliberate relaxation techniques at the minor expense of making some of the staff nervous.

 

[Leverwalker]

I used to pay attention to resting heart rate but that was long ago, when I was young and a distance swimmer. IIRC it hovered in the low 30's. But then, I was young and swimming 20K daily during peak training (summers) and the rest of the time anywhere from 8-10K daily.

I've long relied more on heart rate recovery.

 

[mtbraun]

Garmin’s heart rate monitor is not accurate. You need a chest strap. Wetting your skin and the back of your watch can produce more accurate results. If you see a low or high HR i would verify it by counting your beats.

Agree, more margin of error in the Garmin, but I have found it to not be that far off. It's within a couple bpm of my 8 sleep which is very accurate.

 

[mtbraun]

I like the combination of RHR and HRV. Those two together are a very good indicator of your heart's health.

 

[Dos XX]

According to my Garmin, my Average Resting HR is 51. It often shows a low of 48 when I am sleeping. I have seen it show as low as 45. I'm 61 years old, 5'9" and 170 lbs. I am pretty fit.

 

[Laramie]

My resting is usually right around 60. I am 48, 6'2" and currently 235 lbs. My doctor is generally happy but would prefer I stay under 220. I am a big framed guy.

As a college athlete running 30 miles a week, my lowest recorded was 55.

Hydration plays a role as do other factors like caffeine, alcohol, stress, etc.

I have a buddy that is similar sized that drinks daily and his resting rate is rarely below 75. That's over 20,000 beats more a day... not good.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

I have a family member with a RHR low 50. He does ZERO cardio, BMI is not ideal, enjoys caffeine, and has stressful job. Genetics definitely play a role.

My genetic base is low 60. Moderate to heavy cardio I can get to 52-56 range. Extreme cardio I can get into upper 40s.

 

[mtbraun]

The data on endurance training and long term health is pretty minimal and flawed. Almost all of it looks at intermediate markers that were never validated in endurance athletes. This is like saying a power lifter is obese based on BMI.

Can you offer some more detail here? I'm genuinely curious of the data you reference on endurance training and long term health.

 

[Wrench]

I'm a statistical anomaly in heart rate and lung capacity. I average mid to low 40's but have a higher BMI than should reflect that. I am more like a freight train than sprinter.

I have never smoked and don't drink, only eat wild meats....but more of a fat kid than gazelle....but my heart and lungs treat me really well.

I do find myself very cold though. I get super cold extremities easily.

 

[Marbles]

Can you offer some more detail here? I'm genuinely curious of the data you reference on endurance training and long term health.

So, this quickly spins into a large project, I keep trying to boil it down, but I keep having long paragraphs just to lay the foundation.

Here is a decent article written at a more accessable level. You can follow the links to other articles and summaries if interested.

There’s New Evidence on Heart Health in Endurance Athletes

After years of debate on the dangers of “too much exercise,” researchers sum up the state of current knowledge

www.outsideonline.com

If you don't already have specific questions, that should give you something to form questions from, which will give some direction other than just talk about everything.

 

[mtwarden]

So, this quickly spins into a large project, I keep trying to boil it down, but I keep having long paragraphs just to lay the foundation.

Here is a decent article written at a more accessable level. You can follow the links to other articles and summaries if interested.

There’s New Evidence on Heart Health in Endurance Athletes

After years of debate on the dangers of “too much exercise,” researchers sum up the state of current knowledge

www.outsideonline.com

If you don't already have specific questions, that should give you something to form questions from, which will give some direction other than just talk about everything.

I think the takeaway (for me anyways) is

One other point worth noting: if you skip the flawed studies where you try to guesstimate how much people exercise based on a brief questionnaire, and instead put them on a treadmill and measure their VO2 max to get an unambiguous assessment of aerobic fitness, the outcome is clear. The fitter you are, the longer you’re expected to live, and there’s no evidence whatsoever that the pattern reverses once you get really, really fit. You do get diminishing returns as you get fitter and fitter, but it’s always better to be a little more fit rather than a little less fit.

 

[WoodBow]

I think the takeaway (for me anyways) is

One other point worth noting: if you skip the flawed studies where you try to guesstimate how much people exercise based on a brief questionnaire, and instead put them on a treadmill and measure their VO2 max to get an unambiguous assessment of aerobic fitness, the outcome is clear. The fitter you are, the longer you’re expected to live, and there’s no evidence whatsoever that the pattern reverses once you get really, really fit. You do get diminishing returns as you get fitter and fitter, but it’s always better to be a little more fit rather than a little less fit.

Peter attias book about longevity says exactly this.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[mtbraun]

So, this quickly spins into a large project, I keep trying to boil it down, but I keep having long paragraphs just to lay the foundation.

Here is a decent article written at a more accessable level. You can follow the links to other articles and summaries if interested.

There’s New Evidence on Heart Health in Endurance Athletes

After years of debate on the dangers of “too much exercise,” researchers sum up the state of current knowledge

www.outsideonline.com

If you don't already have specific questions, that should give you something to form questions from, which will give some direction other than just talk about everything.

I think I misunderstood you, assuming your point of view was a negative correlation between exercise and heart health/longevity. Due to that assumed misunderstanding, I asked for the data.

I've read the posted article some time ago, and agree its a good primer.

 

[clowncar]

Ryan shay had a heart rate as low as 17bpm. He was a really good college middle distance runner known for really long and hard workouts. He died of a heart attack during a marathon. Mine has been as low as 28 during my college running career. I was kind of trying to get that low so its was not my average rhr. 32 was my average but drinking coffee and not running anymore it is higher. Its mostly genetic but I think training/lifestyle can put you 10 bpms lower or higher.

You might want to do a study of caffeine affect , max daily intake, and affect in your overall health. While working 2 jobs and getting 6 hrs of sleep /24 my wife challenged me over loaded caffeine affects. ,Pubmed com reports since the 1970s up through 2023 more than 6 Cups of coffee and less than 1 cup of it /24 hrs will produce a constant zig-zag rate of highs and lows . That's 30 mg of caffeine per cup and it's reported that 1 cup OR 6 cups of coffee /24 hrs over 10 yrs will cause this But, only drinking one cup or 6 cups ( nothing more or less or in between these amounts ) over 10 yrs will affect you. If you'd never touched caffeine you'd have a less healthy affect on your overall health also .

 

[IBen]

You might want to do a study of caffeine affect , max daily intake, and affect in your overall health. While working 2 jobs and getting 6 hrs of sleep /24 my wife challenged me over loaded caffeine affects. ,Pubmed com reports since the 1970s up through 2023 more than 6 Cups of coffee and less than 1 cup of it /24 hrs will produce a constant zig-zag rate of highs and lows . That's 30 mg of caffeine per cup and it's reported that 1 cup OR 6 cups of coffee /24 hrs over 10 yrs will cause this But, only drinking one cup or 6 cups ( nothing more or less or in between these amounts ) over 10 yrs will affect you. If you'd never touched caffeine you'd have a less healthy affect on your overall health also .

Not sure what youre trying to say but caffeine is liquid stress it is a poison the body that produces cortisol which puts your body on high alert. It’s in no way good for you.

 

[Leverwalker]

I think the takeaway (for me anyways) is

One other point worth noting: if you skip the flawed studies where you try to guesstimate how much people exercise based on a brief questionnaire, and instead put them on a treadmill and measure their VO2 max to get an unambiguous assessment of aerobic fitness, the outcome is clear. The fitter you are, the longer you’re expected to live, and there’s no evidence whatsoever that the pattern reverses once you get really, really fit. You do get diminishing returns as you get fitter and fitter, but it’s always better to be a little more fit rather than a little less fit.

My takeaway is this: Life longevity is a crap shoot. The benefit of exercise isn't so much about extending life, but ensuring whatever years we have are lived robustly. Hopefully, a long, rich life full of vitality and good health, living in a relatively flat steady state belying our advancing years, a quick decline and a good death.

This, as opposed to the model too often given for us aging folks - the ineluctably long, slow, torturous decline into years of poorer and poorer health, a miserable arc unto death. Might be the same total years, but the former is the better model.

 

[Poser]

I don’t monitor mine, but it was 52 when I completed a colonoscopy this morning.

48y/o. 6 foot, 205# lbs (fluctuate between 200 and 220 depending on if I’m in a strength cycle or end of hunting season).

I strength training, hike/backpack and skin (uphill ski) during the winter. No running, but I often do some rowing in the winter.

 

[Poser]

I don’t monitor mine, but it was 52 when I completed a colonoscopy this morning.

48y/o. 6 foot, 205# lbs (fluctuate between 200 and 220 depending on if I’m in a strength cycle or end of hunting season).

I strength training, hike/backpack and skin (uphill ski) during the winter. No running, but I often do some rowing in the winter.