This guide outlines how to improve resting heart rate safely, and why it’s important as a gauge of your health.
A low resting heart rate protects the heart. As a rule, well-trained endurance athletes have a low heart rate. But even if you’re untrained, you can lower your heart rate without having to be an athlete. How much can the heart rate be reduced and what do you have to pay attention to?
How to improve resting heart rate: overview
The resting heart rate is the number of heart beats per minute without any stress. It depends on many influences, such as: weather, time of day, hormones, stress, infections, training or caffeine.
Therefore, you should ideally measure your resting heart rate immediately after waking up in order to get a reliable value. The level for a normal resting heart rate depends on age. You can find an approximate range of values for the optimal heart rate in the following table:
| Age | Target HR Zone 50-85% | Average Maximum Heart Rate, 100% |
|---|---|---|
| 20 years | 100-170 beats per minute (bpm) | 200 bpm |
| 30 years | 95-162 bpm | 190 bpm |
| 35 years | 93-157 bpm | 185 bpm |
| 40 years | 90-153 bpm | 180 bpm |
| 45 years | 88-149 bpm | 175 bpm |
| 50 years | 85-145 bpm | 170 bpm |
| 55 years | 83-140 bpm | 165 bpm |
| 60 years | 80-136 bpm | 160 bpm |
| 65 years | 78-132 bpm | 155 bpm |
| 70 years | 75-128 bpm | 150 bpm |
On average, the resting heart rate is 60 to 80 beats per minute. Untrained people have a higher resting heart rate than athletes. “The resting heart rate provides an indication of the heart’s functionality,” says Professor Adrian Froböse from the US Sports Institute.
However, the value depends on various factors: “The stress level, hormonal factors and excessive training can also influence the heartbeat,” says the sports scientist. Last but not least, genetic factors also affect the heartbeat.
A resting heart rate over 90 is dangerous
But why is it even necessary to know how to improve resting heart rate? “If you lower your resting heart rate from 70 to 50 beats per minute, you relieve the strain on your heart enormously,” says Froböse. This saves you a full year of heart work within three years. A research study also recently showed that a high resting heart rate is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. The risk of death triples within the next few years if the resting heart rate is over 90.
Illnesses and stress affect the heartbeat
But how do you actually determine the value? “The resting heart rate is measured directly in the morning, before getting up,” advises the sports expert. To do this, immediately after waking up, measure your pulse on your neck or wrist for 15 to 20 seconds and multiply the value by four.”
However, your resting heart rate is not the same every day. If you are under stress or have trained too hard the day before, your heart can beat even faster the next morning. An infection can also manifest itself in an increased heart rate, explains Froböse. “It’s best to measure your resting heart rate on several days in a row and calculate the average,” advises the sports scientist.
How does an increased resting heart rate arise and what effects does it have?
Even if your resting heart rate is too high without the above circumstances, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are sick. Especially when you go to the doctor and have your pulse measured, it can happen that the value is a little high because of the excitement. Only when the heart beats consistently over 100 times per minute is it referred to as tachycardia – also popularly known as palpitations.
A permanently elevated pulse can have many physical causes, such as fever, an overactive thyroid or heart failure. However, if you or your doctor can rule out all illnesses, the reason for a pulse that is too high is usually just an unhealthy lifestyle and too little exercise, which is when you need to understand how to improve resting heart rate.
The heart is a muscle that — like any other muscle — gets stronger with training and weaker without training. An untrained heart requires many more beats to pump the same amount of blood than an athlete’s trained heart. If there is too little exercise, the heart loses performance and the resting heart rate increases.
As a result, you are often out of breath and quickly sweat, even with little exertion. Significant restrictions in everyday life and a reduced quality of life are often the consequences. In addition, a high resting heart rate is often linked to high blood pressure, which can pose an enormous health risk.
How to improve resting heart rate
“Small steps are better than no steps”
Regular endurance training is crucial to lowering your resting heart rate. “The ideal would be 20 to 30 minutes five times a week,” says Froböse. With this, anyone can reduce their resting heart rate by five to ten beats within six months.
You don’t have to perform at the highest level, with exercises like interval training for running — on the contrary: “You shouldn’t train intensively, but rather run at a moderate level,” says the expert. ‘Run without wheezing’ is the motto. Instead of 30 minutes five times, you can also run 45 minutes three to four times a week. The main thing is that the training takes place regularly. In the longer term, the resting heart rate can even be reduced by 20 beats, says Froböse.
In addition to lowering your resting heart rate, your physical performance also increases in the long term — you have more endurance, your body tires more slowly and, above all, you release more happiness hormones — as you get a little closer to your goal every day.
Go for a stroll
Simply going for a walk is often underestimated. Even a daily walk of around 30 minutes strengthens your cardiovascular system sustainably and thus lowers your resting heart rate. This can be easily integrated into everyday life.
For example, if you take the tram or bus to work, get off a stop or two early on the way home and walk the rest of the way as a tactic for how to improve resting heart rate. This is not only healthy, but also brings some variety into your everyday life and improves your posture.
Ride a bike
Especially if your commute is a little longer and you use public transport, the bike is a great alternative for daily exercise. You can cover the entire route or at least part of the route by bike.
Alternatively, training on a bicycle ergometer is an easy method for how to improve resting heart rate. Not only are you independent of wind and weather, but you are also more variable in terms of load. Ergometer training at the lowest level is less strenuous for the body than simply going for a walk. This means you can lower your heart rate back to normal even without any physical fitness.
Rowing training
Rowing enables excellent whole-body training — 80-90% of the entire body muscles are supplied with blood through the movement even with the slightest strain, which offers you the best training effect in the long term. Not only are you independent of wind and weather, but you are also more variable in terms of load in the strategy for how to improve resting heart rate.
Ergometer rowing training at the lowest level is less strenuous for the body than simply going for a walk. This means you can lower your heart rate back to normal even without any physical fitness.
Conclusion
So… to lower your heart rate, you don’t have to take part in a marathon or ride a bike 30 km every day — although these will definitely help. The best results for how to improve resting heart rate are often achieved when exercise is simply and sensibly integrated into everyday life.
Photo by Jens Mahnke
