Regular cardiovascular exercise strengthens not only your heart and lungs but also enhances the flexibility of your blood vessels. These positive changes facilitate the efficient functioning of your cardiovascular system, leading to a more effective pumping of blood with each heartbeat.
As a result of this increased efficiency, your heart no longer needs to beat as frequently as it did previously. This leads to a reduction in both your resting heart rate (the number of heartbeats per minute when you are completely at rest) and your recovery rate (the time it takes to return to your resting heart rate after exercising).
Discover your true level of fitness and health by following these steps: First, measure your resting and recovery heart rates. Then, input these values into the recovery heart rate calculator provided below.
Resting Heart Rate
Measure your resting heart rate when you wake up, just before you get out of bed.
Turn the palm of your left hand so that it’s facing up. Place the index and middle fingers of your right hand just below the left wrist on the thumb side. Press the fingers slightly down until you can feel your pulse. Start the timer and count the number of times you feel a throb in 60 seconds.
Alternatively, you can also place your index and middle fingers on the side of the neck, just below the jawline. Then check your pulse there.
These are the guidelines for the resting heart rate in women:
age | 18 – 25 | 26 – 35 | 36 – 45 | 46 – 55 | 56 – 65 | 65+ |
athlete | 54 – 60 | 54 – 59 | 54 – 59 | 54 – 60 | 54 – 59 | 54 – 59 |
excellent | 61 – 65 | 60 – 64 | 60 – 64 | 61 – 65 | 60 – 64 | 60 – 64 |
good | 66 – 69 | 65 – 68 | 65 – 69 | 66 – 69 | 65 – 68 | 65 – 68 |
above average | 70 – 73 | 69 – 72 | 70 – 73 | 70 – 73 | 69 – 73 | 69 – 72 |
average | 74 – 78 | 73 -76 | 74 -78 | 74 -77 | 74 -77 | 73 -76 |
below average | 79 – 84 | 77 – 82 | 79 – 84 | 78 – 83 | 78 – 83 | 77 – 84 |
poor | 85+ | 83+ | 85+ | 84+ | 84+ | 84+ |
Recovery Heart Rate
To measure your recovery heart rate, do the step up exercise for 4 minutes, sit down for 1 minute and then take your pulse for 15 seconds. That’s heart rate 1. Rest for another 45 seconds, and take your pulse again for 15 seconds. That’s heart rate 2. Repeat one last time for heart rate 3, and calculate the recovery heart rate using the calculator below. Start the timer and follow along.
Recovery Heart Rate Calculator
These are the guidelines for the recovery heart rate in women:
score | excellent | good | fair | poor | very poor |
recovery rate | >89 | 80 – 89 | 65 – 79 | 55 – 64 | <54 |
score | recovery rate |
excellent | >89 |
good | 80 – 89 |
fair | 65 – 79 |
poor | 55 – 64 |
very poor | <54 |
Measure your resting and recovery heart rates once a month, write down your results on our free template and learn how healthy and fit you truly are!
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