Resting Heart Rate
Why measure your resting heart rate?
Resting heart rate is a person's heart rate when they are at rest: awake but lying down, and not having immediately exerted themselves. Typical healthy resting heart rate in adults is 60–80 bpm, with rates below 60 bpm referred to as bradycardia and rates above 100 bpm referred to as tachycardia. Note however that conditioned athletes often have resting heart rates below 60 bpm. Tour de France cyclist Lance Armstrong has a resting HR around 32 bpm, and it is not unusual for people doing regular exercise to get below 50 bpm. It should also be noted that children and small adults frequently have higher heart rates, so this is normal.
How to measure your resting heart rate.
It is best to measure your resting heart rate just after you have woken in the morning and just before getting out of bed. The lower it is in beats per minute, the fitter you are. You can find out how best to do this by following the directions at this link and also watch this short video.
The following chart gives an indication of typical resting heart rates.
| Age | Beats Per Minute (BPM) |
| Babies to age 1: | 100–160 |
| Children ages 1 to 10: | 60–140 |
| Children age 10+ and adults: | 60–100 |
| Well-conditioned athletes: | 40–60 |
In general, the lower your resting heart rate, the more efficient your heart is and the healthier you are.
It is best to take a record of your resting heart rate on 3 separate days just after waking and before getting out of bed. Make a careful note of these 3 readings and calculate an average reading.
On this measure then, who is the fittest in your class and why do you think this might be?
Click on the next tab to examine your Cardiovascular Fitness.