Resting heart rate: how to measure it, and what training does to it

Your resting heart rate is how many times your heart beats in a minute when you’re sitting or lying still. It’s easy to take, it’s free, and it’s one of the two numbers the heart rate zone calculator can use. This page covers the normal range, how to measure it properly and what exercise studies found it does over time.

Normal resting heart rate

Those ranges are from the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus.¹ A number inside the range isn’t a score.

How to measure it

1. Rest first, for at least 10 minutes.¹ As a practical habit, take it at the same time each day, for example in the morning before you get up.
2. Find your pulse at the wrist. Press two fingers on the underside of your wrist, below the base of your thumb.¹
3. Count for a full minute, or for 30 seconds and double it.¹
4. Repeat on a few mornings and use the typical number, not one reading.

If you use the pulse in your neck, sit or lie down first, and don’t press on both sides of the neck at the same time.¹ A watch or a chest strap works too, under the same conditions each time.

What exercise does to it

A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis gathered 191 exercise studies with 215 groups of participants, in healthy people (some with overweight or high blood pressure were included).² Its findings:

• Every type of exercise studied lowered resting heart rate.²
• Endurance training and yoga were the only types that lowered it significantly in both men and women.²
• People who started higher dropped more: the decrease was larger the higher the resting heart rate before training.²

So if lowering it is the goal, the review’s conclusion points to exercise, especially endurance training and yoga.² Strength training lowered it significantly in women but not in men.² Zone 2 cardio is an easy way to add it, and cardio and lifting covers fitting both into one week.

Using it for cardio zones

Resting heart rate is one half of heart rate reserve: your maximum heart rate minus your resting heart rate. Moderate exercise is 40 to 59% of that reserve.³ A zone in reserve terms adds that share back on top of the resting rate. The heart rate zone calculator does the math if you enter your resting number.

When to see a doctor

A resting heart rate that stays high, one that falls below the normal range, and a pulse that feels irregular can each be a sign of a problem.¹ If yours is outside the range and you’re not a trained endurance athlete, or you have any symptoms with it, talk to a doctor. This page explains the number; it doesn’t interpret yours. I’m a fitness coach, not a doctor.

Common questions

What is a good resting heart rate?

For adults, 60 to 100 beats a minute is the normal range, and well-trained athletes are often 40 to 60.¹

How do I lower my resting heart rate?

In the 2018 review, every type of exercise lowered it, and endurance training and yoga lowered it in both men and women.² Regular cardio is the practical place to start.

Does lifting weights lower resting heart rate?

In the review, strength training lowered it significantly in women but not in men, while endurance training and yoga did so in both sexes.² Lifting plus some cardio covers both.

Why is my resting heart rate higher some mornings?

Take it under the same conditions and look at the typical number over several days rather than one reading. If it stays high, see the section above.

If you’d rather not plan it alone

Most people who lift want enough cardio to feel fit without it taking over the week. How to improve your VO2 max covers the harder side. If you want cardio and lifting built around your schedule, coaching explains how it works, and apply tells me where you’re starting.