Resting & Recovery Heart Rates

Working out is great not just for toning our bodies and losing weight but also for our cardiovascular health. When we do cardio regularly we strengthen the heart and lungs and improve the elasticity of our blood vessels. These changes enable our cardiovascular system to do its job with ease and with each beat, our heart starts pumping a greater volume of blood. Due to this efficiency boost, our heart doesn’t need to pump blood as often as before and we experience a decrease in both our resting heart rate (the number of times our heart beats per minute while at complete rest) and our recovery rate (the amount of time it takes to return to our resting heart rate after exercise). So measuring both can give us a good idea of how fit and healthy we really are!

RESTING HEART RATE

To measure your resting heart rate, turn the palm of your left hand so that it’s facing up and place the index and middle fingers of your right hand just below the left wrist on the thumb side. Press the fingers slightly down until you can feel your pulse, start the timer and count the number of times you feel a throb in 60 seconds.
Alternatively, you can also place your index and middle fingers on the side of the neck, just below the jaw line, and check your pulse there.

These are the guidelines for the resting heart rate in women:

Age	18 – 25	26 – 35	36 – 45	46 – 55	56 – 65	65+
Athlete	54-60	54-59	54-59	54-60	54-59	54-59
Excellent	61-65	60-64	60-64	61-65	60-64	60-64
Good	66-69	65-68	65-69	66-69	65-68	65-68
Above Average	70-73	69-72	70-73	70-73	69-73	69-72
Average	74-78	73-76	74-78	74-77	74-77	73-76
Below Average	79-84	77-82	79-84	78-83	78-83	77-84
Poor	85+	83+	85+	84+	84+	84+

RECOVERY HEART RATE

To measure your recovery heart rate, do the step up exercise for 4 minutes, sit down for 1 minute and then take your pulse for 15 seconds, that’s heart rate 1. Rest for another 45 seconds and take your pulse again for 15 seconds, that’s heart rate 2. Repeat one last time for heart rate 3 and calculate the recovery heart rate using the calculator below. Start the timer and follow along.