Resting Heart Rate

Your resting heart rate is often a good determination as to how fit you are, as well as indicating if you're either over training or unwell - showing up as unxplained increases in resting heart rate.

If using a heart rate monitor, make sure that there is a good connection between the chest strap and your chest, with adequate connection fluid, as often most heart rate monitors will require a little body perspiration prior to performing consistently.

Its important to remember that the best time to take this test is first thing in the morning, when you awake, as simply getting up and walking around your bedroom will cause your heart rate to rise, with other factors such as smoking or caffeine, also causing an increase.

Remember to take your resting heart rate over at least 3 days so that you can get an average reading.

For example if on day one you record 72 bpm (beats per minute) day two you record 78 bpm and on day three you record 72 bpm, then your average is 74 bpm.

Look at recording your time for a full minute to make the test as accurate as possible.

As you become fitter through aerobic exercise, your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood around the body, especially if combined with a reduction of the plaque (fatty deposits) within your arteries.

As a result you will find your resting heart rate gets lower so you will need to check your RHR on a regular basis and recalculate any target zones you have, especially if working with a heart rate monitor.

Drugs found in cold medications raise the heart rate and do not give a true indication of your resting heart rate.