MORNING HEART RATE
With proper exercise comes improved aerobic function and increased efficiency in the heart and lungs. This is reflected over time as a decrease in resting heart rate. A simple way to monitor these changes is to check your pulse in the morning. Strapping on your heart-rate monitor will assure you get an accurate reading. Checking your morning heart rate before getting out of bed provides a true resting rate and good baseline, but checking it shortly after getting up after sitting quietly for five minutes can serve the same purpose. Whichever routine you choose, use the same one each time.
The normal heart rate in the morning will vary. It should, however, be within the same range by about three to five beats on consecutive days. A change from one day to another of more than about five or six beats per minute may be an indication that some type of stress is affecting you. It may be an oncoming cold or flu, thoughts about an important business meeting later in the day, or other issues. Perhaps your diet hasn’t been as good in the past couple of days, or you’ve been allowing your heart rate to get too high on your aerobic workouts. It’s a yellow flag and it should make you think about the cause of the elevated heart rate.
There is no “normal” pulse. In a well-trained athlete, the pulse rate may be as low as the mid-30s, but many healthy athletes are in the 50s and 60s. What’s more important is how it changes over time. As you progress through your healthy training routine, the pulse will gradually get lower. It may take a few months, but if you check it two or three times a week, you’ll see the change over time. The pulse may be stable at an average of 62 for two months. Then it may suddenly drop off to an average of 56 for three weeks. It may stay there for a couple of months and then drop again. Check the pulse often, and keep a record of it.
It’s important to note that lower is not necessarily better. In some individuals, as previously discussed, a diminishing heart rate may indicate chronic overtraining.