Does Having A Lower Heart Rate Make You Fitter?

My resting heart rate is 52 since increasing the intensity of my 2 hour biking sessions, and I am 170 kilos obese, I feel fit for obese, my legs are muscly.

Remember hard fart training strengthens your abs and blasts through the finish line faster. Always trust a hard fart.

My resting pulse never went below 55

My heart rate was 100-110 bpm 5 year ago..After i started regular running,cycling and swimming days turned to years..The result today..Heart rate when im relaxed is 32bpm..Its usually around 50bpm..

I just got a smartwatch and it says that when I'm cycling my heart rate is at 190bpm (I'm 23 years old 1,88cm 77kg) I think that that is almost dangerously high

Any chance to do a video on carbon dioxide? I do believe my limiting factor, particularly with climbing, is my inability to manage my CO2 levels. I can cheat if I blow off CO2, but that’s quite a seen & sound! A vid on how to improve CO2 would be fantastic!

I have a resting heart rate below 50bpm which means I struggle trying to get my heart rate in conjunction with my ability to cycle that fast

I managed to get my resting heart rate down to 48 again last year. It's generally been around 48 to 56 since I was 8. Started out as something to confuse my science teachers with when I first had it measured.
My threshold should be around 206.
Don't normally get to do that on bikes but I ran for almost an hour at 206bpm according to my Garmin watch.
My highest recorded was 230 while sprinting once. Also the only time I managed to run faster than 40kph.

Wahoo at 59 my resting HR is 41 its pretty much been there or lower for the past 40 years, exercise whatever you do do it for life don't let up ever

I recently went for my yearly check-up and the doc after seeing my resting HR of 54bpm the doc asked me 2 questions - #1 "Have you had a heart attack?" #2 "Do you participate in sport?"

Me - You could have asked me the second question first. You almost gave me a heart attack.

I was recently in a bike vs car crash, and the hospital kept me in for observation as my heart rate dropped below 36. The doctors kept saying it was normal for an "extremely fit athlete" which I'm not. I do have a high VO2 Max, but I've always had a low resting rate of around 53, it just happens to have dropped even more since cycling to an average of 46. Hot tip: Show your garmin results for average resting hr for the previous week to doctors to avoid unnecessarily long hospital stays.

Great video. I have a high heart rate. Usually average 150~160 on a high intensity group ride. Usually info I see about heart rate is that lower is better and I can't get my heart rate to fit the usual zones. Not even close. I do see lower heart rates as my fitness improves but it is always high. Even though I have a good resting heart rate.

My HR is quite high I assume. 33 years old, having 188 bpm of LTHR 198 max HR. My HR could easily go over 130 bpm after 5 minutes of a slow ride, I just realized after 3 years of intense training without an HR monitor.
I am 56ish kg & 168cm.
I can't tell if I am good or bad.

Until 2012 my resting heart rate was 35-37, with the max I'd ever seen of 120. Then in 2012 I had a full pulmonary thrombosis that almost killed me. My heart was affected. My resting heart rate is now 55-60, and my the max heart rate I have seen, after a week of total stress, then taking part in an interval Zwift training session a few weeks ago, was 151. I am now 63 and have enjoyed endurance as well as high impact sports all my adult life.

Heart rate is perculiar to your own physiology. Hr reserve is max-resting. Many people have maximums well off what is predicted for age. Mine is 13 beats lower than 220-age. However my resting hr is 38. The way people tespond at different %s of max hr varies. For some the heart responds slowly at lower intensities of exercise and more quickly as intensity increases. For others, it's the other way around. One person's 70% can seem a lot easier ir tougher than another persons.

220 bpm is considered the normal upper limit and > 210 bpm is often seen in young people (the 200 - age formula for max predicted HR and setting training zones is set to ensure that the vast majority do not push too hard. It means that many, many people are short changed of correct intensity training). Max intervals are definitely the way to go for best athletic fitness but are not necessary for good health. Elite athletes do not live longer than average athletes.

My resting heart rate was 45 a month ago. Was having an issue during workouts and went to my doctor, turned out I had heart disease and about 10 days ago had a triple bypass and the doctor said about 50% of my heart wasn’t doing anything. So I would question that a lower heart rate really equates to a healthy heart. Of course I’m recovering now, but my resting heart rate now is about 85.

Good to have a low resting heart rate, but what ever you do, don’t get too close to your max !!! Years ago when I was quite fit in my mid 20s, I ran so hard up a hill at the end of a long run I went close to 220. I sh*t myself and slowly walked home. The next 3 days I was sick as a dog in bed with what felt like the worst case of flu ever. I now ride by heart rate & cadence.

My heartrate range this year has been 36 to 196. If I am going through a loading phase in training my resting will be in the mid 40's but at the end of a recovery week I am back in the 30's. I have always had a low resting however my max HR has dropped from 205 to 196 as I have gotten older. I am 45 now. Thanks for the interesting videos GCN.

My resting heart rate is typically around 50-55bpm thanks to cycling.

The last time I was in the hospital (A&E visit) they kept me in for observations due to concerns over my BP & HR being too low for a 50-year-old bloke according to their experience. I explained this was normal for me and due to decades of aerobic training.

It must be the case that hospital staff become confused when presented with a social deviant and his/her cardiorespiratory fitness compared to the social norm of carrying a few extra pounds and little physical activity. I like being a social deviant 😉

dead people actually have a very very slow heart beat.......

*fewer

My FTP increased by 20% in 7 Weeks and my Treshold heart rate increased by 2bpm at the same time.

Interesting to hear that this is because of lactate uptake.

67 years old, Ironman athlete, endurance training for 50 years now, resting hr of 32

Resting heart rate = 48 to 52 bpm. At 58. Coffee makes a difference.

If you are disciplined enough to only compare with yourself, then yes.

I remember doing some heart rate training years ago, whne the kit was really expensive so it was shared among the club.
The guy gathering the data presented our age to us based on the max HR - 221 for a laugh. The distance runners tended to be infants and some of the sprinters were yet to be born.
My average heart rate in activity hasn't changed much over my life. What I can do with that has. I go out on a ride and have an average HR or around 170 for a few hours, same as 30 years ago. But I don't get quite as far even though my bike is faster. Max HR on even a commute ride will usually be at least 200, so my face has figured out I am old, my heart hasn't yet.
Considering I am nearly 50 and can maintain an average HR that is close to my Max ARHR, based on 221 - age, I am happy with that.
Resting is in low 50s so again happy with that.
A lot of family history of heart issues, each case I could point ot lifestyle, but the sheer number means it's worth taking minimal chances. Heart attakcks are 'unpleasant' to say the least. They often don't kill and are just extended periods of your body screaming at you that you are going to die in the most painful way. A bit of effort to avoid this is worth it, just find something you enjoy so it never feels like a chore.

Nice Explain 👍 🇱🇰

Very good video and content. I have a Garmin tri watch, but I purposely bought a heart rate monitor band for better readings. I like to monitor my numbers as I work out especially when being over 50. Don't want to push too hard these days..

Regular cycling and losing weight has significantly lowered my RHR, mind you, riding up to the Westbury White Horse always raises it a little - I don't think I could have a conversation like Conor!

My resting hr is 42 when I’m training and 52 when out of shape I’m 42 and my max is about 200 bpm when I did a cyclo x race it hovered around 190 for 45 mins 184 - 190 when I used to do TTS 20 years ago it used to be between 192- 197 for 20 odd mins

I'm 53 and my rhr is around 48 and has been since high school

As a 67 year old I re-started cycling about 5 years ago and regularly do 700-800km per month, mostly on endurance rides of 90 to 160km with an average speed of 22 to 20km/h depending on length, climbing and the scottish winds-breezes or gales.
I have observed my resting HR to gradually drop down from ~60 at the start of cycling more to 48 to 50bpm and my avarage HR during the rides to slowly drop from 165 to 140 bpm while at the same time getting a bit faster and doing longer rides up to 200km.
I never push myself to maximum effort as I want to enjoy my rides and don't want to drop off the bike half way and not get home.
If, on occasion, I start to race , mostly to drop my 10 to 30 year old former colleagues and students my HR goes up to between 160 and 170 at which point I run out of steam (breath) in a few minutes and the lags start flagging.
I regularly ride the same 90km route and can compare power, HR and ave. speed directly. (power is about 120W avarage (normalised ~140W)

My Garmin tells me my Vo2max is 44 however I am doubtful if that can be correct.
By the way I had a quadruple CABG 6 years ago and took up cycling again to recover and stay fit after this (brutal) open heart surgery.
So it looks like, getting fitter leads to a lower resting HR and average HR during exercise.

I have lived in the tropics for over 25 years where it's obviously a lot hotter than the UK. My Garmin is set up based on max HR in the tropics. I recently returned to the UK and my Garmin says that based on HR my calorific burn is negligible even for very long rides (eg 108km ride burnt only 1642Cal). Since I stopped using it and rely on cadence sensor it's rocketed (75km ride burnt 2714Cal). Elevation and temperature were similar plus I tend to ride at moderate exertion levels. Is there really that big a drop in HR between the tropics and UK or is something else going wrong? Im male, ride mostly on the road, weigh 85kg and ride a cheap mountain bike. Any feedback would be appreciated?

I am 44 and have spent the last 20 months cycling again after a 12 year lay-off. I dropped about 45lbs and lower my resting HR from 60 bpm to 35-40 bpm.

I have bradycardia. My HR can go below 30 some nights. I rang Garmin to ask at what rate does the hr monitor stopped working on my Fenix and they said 30, which explained the gaps I get some nights. And I have seen a consultant cardiologist and all is ok.

Everyone is different. I think I’m unusual, not for my heart rate, but because of how long I’ve been cycling with a some intensity. That dates to about 1975. I’m 73. While I haven’t been in a sanctioned bike race in 44 years, I try to ride 50-70 miles a week. I still enjoy riding up steep hills and sprinting on flats. I think that’s why my resting heart rate this morning, while stretched out in bed, was 37 bpm. At the moment, sitting down after having lunch half an hr. ago, I’m at 45 bpm. My max is a little over 180 bpm, which I can hold for only several seconds. I know from taking time off the bike on occasion that my bpm becomes somewhat reversed. I have a higher resting heart rate and a lower maximum heart rate.

I’m 55 now and my resting HR is pretty low. It has gone up over the years, but still averages 42. 220 - age is nonsense though. I’m comfortable holding HR at 175 for an hour or so. Hit 185 and things are different though! I’ve never been able train with HR though. Always feels too easy unless I’m maxing it! Lol!

I like to check my resting heart rate. If it's higher than normal, that means I have usually done some hard training and recovery is needed.

Ive had many heart issues before. (I was in hospital with a heart rate of 16, when asleep. If the doctor didn’t arrive i would have died). So currently im trying to raise my heart rate. When i slept it use to go below 30 but after eating well and doing regular training i think its efficency has increased. Its not dropping below 50 bpm at all now which im happy about and over a year i have increased my resting hr from >40 to 55+ which is good for my heart. I still can’t get it above 180bpm when training though. Is that common?

Hank does science

I never understood the 60 to 100 being "normal".
The overwhelming majority of people i know who have regular exercise (even if moderate) are under 60.
I am 40 and weight 66kg. My RHR is around 42 to 46 depending on my training stress and other factors.
Weight is also a massive influence on HR and those wikipedia text book cliché parameters do not mention it.
Of course, if you are light and relatively fit, your heart will need much less beats to make the blood flow around your body.
I would only worry about my RHR if it's OVER 60 because i never once saw it as high.

I am 23 now and my resting HR varies, so After a decent workout in the higher 40s, whereas when well rested its at around 40bpm

So I don’t have a trainer for my bike, but I do have an “AirDyne” when I perform your workouts I do try to keep up my intensity but I fall off after a bit. Can anyone else confirm this?

I'm in my mid-50s and my ticker runs hot. Avg ride rate is 165. On big efforts I can peak at 200. The absolute numbers are scary. So I asked a cardiologist about this. He asked what my recovery heart rate and timing was. 60bpm within 10 min. He said, mate you're fine. He was more worried about my temperature maintenance during efforts. More water, more sweat is better for me. I need to increase my system cooling to counterbalance the higher heart rate. And ride evidence shows that I do consume about 2x the fluids my ride mates do.

Great info, and timely, I just noticed that my resting heart rate has dropped from the mid 80's to the high 60's in the last few years. I was rather pleased to see some positive adaptations even as a guy approaching 40

Age 65, rhr 48 max 183, and I average around 153 bpm for a good length average solo ride (50 -120km) at about 25km/hr 🇨🇦 that being said, I'm at least 30 lbs overweight cuz I like my pints.