OldsCOOL

75 miles=60bpm

My HR will never dip below 58, my metabolism is just too active (which is really fine by me). Those 75mi per week rides are very intense hill and speed rides with a weekend 30-40mi thrown in.

dbg

So I have a RHR in the low 40's and I'm a little curious why. I used to run marathons but haven't in 15 yrs. My bike mileage is well below 30/week and I don't do much other aerobic exercise (I do some, but not very regularly). I also have pretty low blood pressure.

How low is too low for RHR? Blood pressure?

no sweat

Pre - season, 20 years of sloth, RHR about 75 - 80 (didn't really want to check).

Early this Summer I was doing 60 - 70 miles a week, RHR 64.

I've recently increased my volume to 125 miles a week, RHR of 59.

I've just taken 3 days off and my RHR is... 53. I guess I needed the break?

Yankeetowner

I just had a physical because I was concerned that my RHR was 40-44 on my new hr monitor. I thought I might have a bad monitor or a heart problem. The doctor found my hr to be 44, and he asked about my exercise routine (150-200 miles a week cycling and running), and said as long as I didn't have syncope, dizziness, or similar symptoms that I should not worry. My BP is low, cholesterol is low, BMI is low normal and I have no dizziness. I don't use my hr monitor any more since I don't like worrying about it. My next major purchase will probably be a power meter to use for training as opposed to the hr monitor. HR monitors are great for lots of people, just not me.

surfjimc

No drugs. I can't imagine a reason for using medication to lower my heart rate. I raced for about 10 years as a Cat 2. Average weekly mileage was 250-350, including lots of climbing, intervals and multiple races every weekend during the season. Resting Heart Rate during that time was 37/38. On the top end, my max HR seemed to be lower than all my friends. My AT was about 163/64, while my training partner's was about 185. I couldn't get my heart rate to 185, on a bike or in the Dr.'s office. That was in my late 20's and into my 30's. My level of fitness was high, but I think I am just predisposed to have a lower heart rate than average.
I doubt I will get my RHR that low again unless I begin to train and race. Now I just don't feel the need to do structured intervals on my commute. That doesn't mean I don't push myself all the time, but I enjoy my commute as a ride, not as training.

marquhar

Miles/week 150 or more
HR - 44 resting

Its great to see all the posters with low HR - at least as low as mine or lower. Its rare for medical people to value this in a patient.

In 2013 I was in the hospital for a Fx Femur Neck. I was admitted at night and nothing was mentioned about HR, but in the morning the LVN, not the charge nurse rolls the EKG machine into the room and announces that I have a bad heart. She ran the EKG test twice. During the 2nd test I thought I need to speak up and let her know that there is a reason for the low resting HR: 'I'm a long distance aerobic athlete.' She didn't buy it and insisted that I needed special care.

She left none the wiser and no physician folllowed through with any heart treatment. I had crashed my bike returning from a 3 hour climb fest in the Whittier hills. My blood work showed high ketone levels (starving syndrome). Of course I was near starving since I was behind more than 2 meals, plus the 1500+ calories used during the ride by the time I got transported, admitted, and triaged. They also seemed obsessed about that too. It seems like that hospital took pleasure in stigmatising patients as challenged or near homeless, and my particular predicament didn't matter to them.

Null66

Oh, thank you guys ever so much for sharing!

This is the next challenge in recovering my health.

OldsCOOL

Back in the early days of the jogging and bike boom craze we were told lower the better. Johnny Carson had a marathon runner guest that had a resting pulse of 30 bpm. At that point I was absolutely convinced I needed a low RHR but in reality would never go below 58. It took me years to understand that RHR didnt dictate my level of conditioning and heart health as much as my physical regimen at the time. Today, I have "normal" BP, low cholelsterol (unchanged the past 25yrs) etc etc.

You just cant ***ahem*** beat the effects of physical fitness on health later on in life.

ModeratedUser150120149

Low heart rate can also be caused by an electrical conditions within the heart. A heart block is one. Without ruling out a neurological cause low heart rate is at best just a number. All this fascination of maximum and minimum heart rates may be fun. But it distracts from what is actually important, fitness for the task.

If a person wants to brag about their low heart rate they can do so only with a good cardiac workup as a base.

Biker395 

Miles/week: ~200
Resting HR: ~55
Pix/mile: ~0.5
Footlongs/fortnight: not nearly enough

rubic

My resting HR has always been around 60 BPM. Way back in my marathoning-running days, I could get it down to 42 BPM or so. These days, at about 100 miles per week cycling, I don't track it. If my heart is beating, I am happy.

zonatandem

Age 81.
Miles per week: 100 to 125
Resting heart rate right now at the 'puter: 56
When I was 60 local university did a stress test on me (got paid $15 per hour).
Max rate was 185; 10 minutes later: 38. Guess I'm gettin' outa shape?!

VNA

Heart rate can only be compared with your own heart rate--establish a base line and from there you can tell what shape you are in.

Heart rate can vary so much between individuals and there are so many variables.

For example hypothyroidism will lower your heart rate significantly.

John_V 

I normally don't measure my resting heart rate but last I checked it was somewhere between 56-64 bpm. I like using a before/after measurement as that gives a better picture of how well your cardio system recovers after exercise. I take my measurements before I start a ride and when I get back to the van at the end of a ride. Normally, for a 45 mile ride at a 17-19 mph, sustained speed, over 80% of the ride, my starting heart rate is between 68 and 74 and the ending heart rate is between 108 and 116 bpm. My average heart rate during my rides are between 128 and 134. Max is around 150 during sprints or faster riding. Age is 68 and I ride on average, between 200-250 miles a week. All documented daily.

Mvcrash

I checked mine this morning after walking down the stairs. It was 56. I go 50-100 miles a week. I have a physical next week so we'll see what the Doc Says. I lost 18 lbs since May just knocking off the Ice Cream. I'd like to knock off another 10.
Bottom line: I feel good.

icyclist 

I have a low heart beat rate even when I don't ride.

Age: 66

Distance: Less than 20 miles per week the last couple of months.

Waking this morning: 42

Sitting at my desk working right now: 47

Mark Stone

Miles per Week: about 40↑↓. RHR 38

nuke_diver

wow some really low HRs. Mine is really never that low. If I'm in the low 60's that's probably going to be it. It's typically in the mid 60's to low 70 though I suppose it depends on what is resting (sitting at my desk right now it is 66 so I guess that is resting...sleeping it might be lower but I can't tell ). My BP is generally low in 100/60-110/70 range though. I current ride 40-60miles/wk but exercise 6 days a week (7 if you could 4-5 miles of walking the dog on Sat). My metabolism is high I think...it is very hard for me to gain weight and I weigh the same now at 55 as I did at 20 and it has never been more than +/-10lbs.

Porschefan

You're my new role model....

Newb @ 69. Trying to get fit and healthy. Resting heart rate is currently 65-75. Long way to go!

STP

volosong

Just turned 63 a couple weeks ago.

This season has been pretty light. According to Strava, my weekly mileage over the last four weeks is only 46 and for an average of one ride per week.

RHR this morning when I woke up was 54. During the day at quiet moments it is right at 60.

OldsCOOL

My RHR is near 65.....and am in strong physical condition.

OldsCOOL

I am surely the exception. My heart rate wasnt at all affected even when I was an untreated low thyroid 54 on the scale.

Hypno Toad

RHR (first thing in the morning) is 40 and lower in the summer with 150 to 200 miles per week (600 to 650 per month).
Winter time more like 50 with 50 to 75 miles per week (185 to 250 per month)

I'm 45 years old and on no meds at all - something that seems EXTREMELY rare. Went to a new dentist office last week, they kept asking about meds (didn't believe the 'none' answer)... so I said morning meds: coffee, 2-3 doses and evening meds: beer, 2-3 doses.

BTW on the subject of heart rate, anybody know a good heart rate recovery app? I'm very interested to know more about recovery rate, but found very little info out there.

Edit: sorry, just realized I was posting in the 50+ thread... I'm not there yet, but plan to join you in a few years!

HAMMER MAN

RHR=40-42
Age 63

miles per week=100-140

I was told last year that I have Bradycardia. I really haven't worried about that until recently. My rides have gotten slower and I seem to tire more now, so I will find out more when I see my Dr. on Monday

marquhar

Unless you have an obvious contributing factor to bradycardia, don't believe the hype. Factors known to me:

1- (as another poster said) hypothyroidism
2 - metal poisoning or hemachromatosis
3 - overstimulation of Vagus nerve, such as the base of your skull applying pressure to the nerve
4 - anything that suppresses the pituatary gland, a special case is 2)

As I understand it, tachycardia is more often part of poor health, than bradycardia.