Measuring Your Resting Heart Rate

Your heart rate can be determined by counting how frequently your heart contracts during a given period and converting this number to the standard measure in beats/min. Make sure that you press just firmly enough to feel the pulse. If you press too hard, it may interfere with the rhythm.

Determination of Your Resting Heart Rate

There are many factors that influence your resting heart rate, including stress, food, excitement, room temperature, and previous physical exertion. Therefore your resting heart rate should be taken while sitting quietly and not after participating in vigorous activity. If possible, you should sit quietly for at least 30 minutes before measuring it. Take it several times to make sure it is stable.

Your resting heart rate should not be changing as rapidly as it does after exercise, so you can count for either 10 seconds and multiply by 6, 30 seconds and multiply by 2, or count for the full minute.

Most highly-trained endurance athletes have low resting heart rates. Most untrained subjects who participate regularly in a good aerobic fitness program will experience a decrease in their resting heart rates. Your score can be evaluated as follows: