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>Weird, almost everyone else's goes down as the heart becomes stronger and more efficient during strenuous exercise, then that more efficient muscle is doing th

>Weird, almost everyone else's goes down as the heart becomes stronger and more efficient during strenuous exercise, then that more efficient muscle is doing the same job the older, less efficient one did When I was sedentary for years my resting heart rate was 52, now that I am exercising an hour a day or more on average it's more around 60 or slightly higher even after I am sitting or laying at rest for a few hours, and even on full rest days. ChatGPT seems to think that there are some possible reasons it could be: 1. You May Be Observing Temporary Increases Due to Training Load (Acute Stress Response) When you increase your activity levels—especially if the exercise is intense or you're doing it consistently every day—your sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) activity may remain elevated for longer periods. This leads to a temporary increase in resting heart rate, particularly on days following hard workouts. Why this happens: Exercise is a stressor, and though it’s beneficial, it still requires recovery. Your body might be in a state of acute fatigue or incomplete recovery, especially if you're training hard and not taking enough rest days. ------- 2. Your Baseline “Sedentary” Heart Rate Might Have Been Artificially Low You mentioned a resting heart rate of 52 bpm while sedentary, which is low—borderline bradycardic, in fact (clinically, under 60 bpm is considered low, though not necessarily dangerous, especially for athletes). Here’s a key insight: low doesn’t always mean "better." When sedentary individuals have low resting heart rates, it's often due to: Low overall metabolic demand (not much physical exertion). Potential autonomic imbalance, where the parasympathetic ("rest and digest") system is more dominant simply because the body isn’t being taxed. Genetic predisposition toward lower heart rate—some people just naturally run low. So it's entirely possible that your previous 52 bpm was: An artifact of a low metabolic state, not high cardiovascular fitness. Reflective of a body in conservation mode, not necessarily an efficient, strong heart. ------- 3. Your Resting Heart Rate Is Reflecting a “New Normal” of Increased Baseline Activity Now that you are exercising regularly, several things happen: Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) may increase slightly due to changes in muscle mass and hormonal shifts. Your autonomic nervous system may stay slightly more activated throughout the day. You may be experiencing increased cardiac output demand at rest due to new muscle tissue and more oxygen-hungry body mass. Put simply, your resting metabolic and cardiovascular “idle” is slightly revved up compared to before, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your heart is less healthy. In fact, it may now be more responsive, more adaptable, and faster to respond to changes in demand (a good thing). It makes me think at least that I am burning more calories at rest now than I was before. I don't think I should be concerned. I have noticed all sorts of improvements from lower blood pressure to more energy and more alertness and a clearer mind etc.

reverendsteveii 1y ago
How many measurements did you take over what course of time? 8 bpm can be explained by normal variance or any number of things that might slightly elevate your heart rate. Hell, last time I went for a physical they measured it 3 times while taking my blood pressure and I was able to generate a 15bpm difference between the first and last measurement just by sitting quietly and box breathing. I was also nowhere near as low as 50bpm despite being in the best shape of my life. Hell, my dad runs marathons like most people run to the store and he wasn't at 50bpm resting on his best day. I'd also be interested to see if it flatlines, continues to increase or decreases as you maintain this program but alas I don't think imma get a longitudinal study out of a fellow workout nerd on hackernews. edit: also for the sake of politeness let me thank you for allowing a stranger to interrogate your diet and exercise regimen on the internet. Please know that I'm not trying to call you out, the human experience is so vast that it's easy for both of our stories to be 100% true but there also has to be some sort of common element to your experience and mine
- SirMaster 1y ago
  I measure it pretty often, and consistently and I make sure to at the same times of the day and under the same conditions. I take my blood pressure often and that machine also measures it. That's actually how I first noticed it. For years my resting rate was always 52 like clockwork if I was like fully at rest for awhile and took a measurement. Now it's never lower than 60 and usually around the mid 60s. So I don't know. I went from it always being like 52-54 at rest, to I can't ever get a reading below 60 anymore, so I am pretty sure something has changed. The only thing I changed was going from an extremely sedentary lifestyle to a pretty highly active one. It's been a little over a year though since changing my activity lifestyle and noticing this change, and it hasn't seemed to change or go back down yet. I continue to take readings and use my same BP cuff so I should notice when I start getting readings into the 50s and low 50s again if I ever do. I mean I am not sure why it was ever so low before, when I was in pretty bad cardiovascular shape, but no doctor ever gave it any concern. The best I could find about how my heart behaved was something i've seen some call "aerobic deficiency syndrome". Yes my resting rate was low, but with even fairly light activity, my heart rate would skyrocket up fairly high and stay at that level while I maintained the activity. Like there was a big disconnect between how some people can use the test of whether they can easily hold a conversation to estimate their HR target level, but mine was way off that. I could easily hold a conversation yet my HR was 140+ I am 37 years old, and so Zone 1 or Zone 2 (where it's said you can comfortably hold a conversation) is around 92-110 (1) or 110-128 (2) bpm, but I could easily breathe and talk at 140+, so I knew something was up. Now after this year+ of consistent activity, my HR does not skyrocket up like this anymore under these light loads, and also comes down much faster.

reverendsteveii 1y ago

How many measurements did you take over what course of time? 8 bpm can be explained by normal variance or any number of things that might slightly elevate your heart rate. Hell, last time I went for a physical they measured it 3 times while taking my blood pressure and I was able to generate a 15bpm difference between the first and last measurement just by sitting quietly and box breathing. I was also nowhere near as low as 50bpm despite being in the best shape of my life. Hell, my dad runs marathons like most people run to the store and he wasn't at 50bpm resting on his best day. I'd also be interested to see if it flatlines, continues to increase or decreases as you maintain this program but alas I don't think imma get a longitudinal study out of a fellow workout nerd on hackernews. edit: also for the sake of politeness let me thank you for allowing a stranger to interrogate your diet and exercise regimen on the internet. Please know that I'm not trying to call you out, the human experience is so vast that it's easy for both of our stories to be 100% true but there also has to be some sort of common element to your experience and mine

SirMaster 1y ago
I measure it pretty often, and consistently and I make sure to at the same times of the day and under the same conditions. I take my blood pressure often and that machine also measures it. That's actually how I first noticed it. For years my resting rate was always 52 like clockwork if I was like fully at rest for awhile and took a measurement. Now it's never lower than 60 and usually around the mid 60s. So I don't know. I went from it always being like 52-54 at rest, to I can't ever get a reading below 60 anymore, so I am pretty sure something has changed. The only thing I changed was going from an extremely sedentary lifestyle to a pretty highly active one. It's been a little over a year though since changing my activity lifestyle and noticing this change, and it hasn't seemed to change or go back down yet. I continue to take readings and use my same BP cuff so I should notice when I start getting readings into the 50s and low 50s again if I ever do. I mean I am not sure why it was ever so low before, when I was in pretty bad cardiovascular shape, but no doctor ever gave it any concern. The best I could find about how my heart behaved was something i've seen some call "aerobic deficiency syndrome". Yes my resting rate was low, but with even fairly light activity, my heart rate would skyrocket up fairly high and stay at that level while I maintained the activity. Like there was a big disconnect between how some people can use the test of whether they can easily hold a conversation to estimate their HR target level, but mine was way off that. I could easily hold a conversation yet my HR was 140+ I am 37 years old, and so Zone 1 or Zone 2 (where it's said you can comfortably hold a conversation) is around 92-110 (1) or 110-128 (2) bpm, but I could easily breathe and talk at 140+, so I knew something was up. Now after this year+ of consistent activity, my HR does not skyrocket up like this anymore under these light loads, and also comes down much faster.