Heart rate measurement at rest and during exercise is a reliable indicator of how hard the heart is working. All things being equal, the trained athlete has a lower resting heart rate than the untrained athlete. This is due to the
efficiency of the cardiovascular system and, particularly, a higher stroke volume.
Training decreases resting heart rate. For example, a sedentary person with a resting heart rate of 72 bpm can expect it to reduce by about one bpm, each week for the fi rst few months of training. After 10 weeks of endurance
training, the resting heart rate of the same subject should decrease from 72 to about 60 bpm. Highly conditioned endurance athletes have resting heart rates below 40 bpm and some are less than 30 bpm.
efficiency of the cardiovascular system and, particularly, a higher stroke volume.
Training decreases resting heart rate. For example, a sedentary person with a resting heart rate of 72 bpm can expect it to reduce by about one bpm, each week for the fi rst few months of training. After 10 weeks of endurance
training, the resting heart rate of the same subject should decrease from 72 to about 60 bpm. Highly conditioned endurance athletes have resting heart rates below 40 bpm and some are less than 30 bpm.