Does A Lower Heart Rate Mean You're Fitter? | GTN Does Science

How closely do you pay attention to your resting heart rate, or monitor & compare your heart rate to others whilst you are training? To learn more about the science of heart rate, Fraser got in touch with experts David Tilbury-Davis and Jonathan Robinson to help investigate what it might mean to have a lower heart rate.

Special thanks to David Tilbury-Davis & Jonathan Robinson for their insight into this video.

How closely do you pay attention to your resting heart rate, or monitor your heart rate at all whilst you are training? And if you do then do you feel like you are getting fitter if those numbers begin to drop over time when you compare like-for-like workouts with each other?

Perhaps you find yourself examining your friends and training partners' numbers and comparing amongst yourselves, but should you - and is this even something that matters at all?

Well, to answer these issues and learn more about the complexities of heart rate, Fraser got in touch with experts David Tilbury-Davis and Jonathan Robinson to help investigate what it might mean to have a lower heart rate, what this may indicate about levels of fitness, and also what other factors could influence it.

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[gybx]

Yes. I've done various HIIT training for the past 14 years. My resting heart rate went from 72 down to 50 beats per minute. Of course, my max heart rate has declined due to the age increase. My heart recovery rate and blood pressure improved, too. Anything can happen anytime, but statistically I'm in better shape at age 62 than when I was 30.

[emersonrezende]

Glad to see Fraser. As a former obese person my HR has changed substantially since I started exercising regularly. When obese my heart was working a lot harder and I had a much higher HR when exercising. Now my efforts are much greater but my heart does not work as hard. I now run (at a moderate pace) at the same HR that it would take me when (obese) walking.

[scottcadby]

Yay - Fraser!!! Good to see you buddy!!!

[innesdunbar]

Nice to see you back Fraser. This type of video is really good. My resting heart rate is very low, it was 37 when I had a ECG a few years back and is quite often recorded at about 38-39 through the night on my Garmin. I have been doing zone 2 runs quite a bit lately and I can quite easily keep below the top of my zone 2 of 123bpm and do 8:10 - 8:20 pace per mile. If I compare that to others, they are running at higher HR, there can be big differences. One thing not mentioned was age, I’m 51 and my max HR is much lower now than before.

[callumsmith]

The swimming example that your heart rate can go up explained my heart rate when I used to swim at a national level and trained 10 times a week. Quite often I would see my heart rate spike well over 200bpm. However one thing that wasn’t mentioned was the ability for heart rate to recover as a sign of fitness. We used to do drills which would essentially be a max 100m effort 10 times where you would have to wait for your heart rate to drop below a certain number. I quite often would come in with a 200+ heart rate and yet be able to recover below 120bpm prior to someone who returned with a 175bpm heart rate. Also not to mention was an endurance swimmer who would often see my heart rate at 180bpm for 5km swims of just under an hour in length. Very interesting topic.

[Shevock]

I do use my heart rate to monitor my fitness. When I added swimming to my workout weeks (replacing two run sessions) my heart rate at rest went down between 2 and 4 points (it was usually at 60-61, and now is between 56-58) so I took that as having a mixed cardio week was better for my aerobic health.

[mwalley]

Nice to see Fraser back on the channel. 👍

[marksteffen]

Great video - love to see Fraser in these videos again! :)

Would you mind doing one regarding beginner triathletes and what to look out for on the first ever bike trainings?
Probable questions might be:
"Should I follow a structured training plan right away?", "How do I do bike training without a powermeter?", "What are non-negotiable bike accessories?" and "What should my bike maintenance look like?"
In essence one 10 - 15 min video crammed with all important tips and tricks for triathlon newbies regarding the bike part of the sport.

Your videos are really helpful, keep up the great work!

[lewisdwheeler]

Great video Fraser! Excellent to see you! :) Sounds like comparing HR with others is a waste of time as everyone is different - but looking at your OWN individual HR over time - and resting HR - and any changes is worthwhile. Thanks!

[loiskatselis]

Yeahhhh Frasier! We’re all happy to see you back and with such an interesting topic. My resting heart rate has always been my guide to see if my body is well or not. I’m a woman, 39 and usually it’s around 48-49. It can go a low as 43 but when it reaches 53-54 I take it easy for a few days.

[jeffwilliams]

Very timely as my doc has been grousing about my resting heart rate (38), now, after 10 years. Nice to see you Fraser.

[reluba]

I did some research for my degree in medicine. I looked up at the heart of 15 well trained runners and found out that their RHR is correlated with their 10 km PB (low HR, fast time). Although 15 is not a big number to be statistically significant and I didn't have a test cohort to compare, it was an interesting finding.

[DarenC]

A few days ago I had an overnight RHR of 38; the lowest I've seen since I started tracking it some years ago. Last night it was 39, while I'd set my baseline in the 40-45 range. To me that seems like improved fitness, but at 52 years old I'd guess there could be plenty of other reasons

[jonasrosenbeck]

Good to see Fraser back again. Great presenter!

[tropical_coffee]

I'd love a follow up video covering heart rate variability in a similar fashion- can you compare it? What does a low average hrv mean, etc.

And welcome back Fraser!

[shaunteasdale]

This is a subject that has always interested me.. Obviously the fitter i am the lower my RHR is (its usually around 40 to 45) however my Max HR has never ever changed (as its supposed to the older you get) I'm 48 and it still is just over 200.. more puzzling is how quick my HR increases when cycling/running.. it will literally shoot up within 5 to 10% of my max HR within a few minutes.. When racing I can usually hold my HR within 2 - 4% of my Max HR for easily over an hour.. I've done several ramp tests and there appears to be absolutely no correlation between my HR and Power Output..

[jawjuh]

My resting rate has always been in the 40’s. I was an athlete and still try to stay moderately fit. Every time I get a new Dr it freaks them out. Haha.

[chrisotc]

Hey stranger! Welcome back, great vid!👍

[kajet]

Fraser!!! Double thumbs up. One for Fraser, one for Tilburs, who I am a big fan of. And one for the production team. That would be triple thumbs up.

[Ice]

First thing, wonderful too see you Fraser. secondly this was an awesome video and super informative