Your Resting Heart Rate (RHR)

I am hoping that everybody knows that the heart is a muscle. If you didn't know that, you do now. Like all skeletal muscles, your heart responds to physical activity. One of the benefits of being active and living a healthy active lifestyle is a low resting heart rate.

What is your RHR? Your RHR is how many beats per minute that your heart pumps when you are not doing anything physcial. So basically, it is how many beats per minute when you are in "rest" mode.

If you want to test your RHR, the best time to do so is upon waking in the morning. I also recommend you test for minimum 3 days, and do an average to get an accurate RHR. The lower your RHR the healthier your heart is.

I am 31 years old, my ideal RHR should be 55 to 61 beats per minute. That defines me as in excellent cardio shape. To be considered athletic my RHR should be 49 to 54 beats per minute. If you want to see where you should be you can google resting heart rate and a few hundred accurate charts will appear.

So now that you know what your RHR is, and you know where you "should" be on that RHR chart, how do we lower our RHR. Easy, activity. The more physical activity you involve yourself in, the lower your RHR will be. Here is a note of caution though, over training can lead to an increased heart rate, so don't forget your relaxation time, and try to aim for 8 hours of sleep, which is optimal for your health in general.

Here are a few ways to guarantee a lower RHR, and these will also help prevent coronary disease and will make you feel better, and look better too. Not on the list but most important is walk as often as possible!!!

1) Eat a diet low in saturated fat, but get your daily doses of poly and mono unsaturated fats. Foods like salmon, olive oil, peanuts and avacado are essential in your diet.

2) Remember to relax and enjoy leisurly activities such as movies, or reading.

3) Try and swim at least once a week for about 30 minutes. If you cannot swim skating, tennis, aerobics, spinning, dancing are all great ideas.

4) Get involved in training or a specific sport and go at it like you are a pro. Give 110% all the time, and great results will follow.

5) As mentioned, sleep. Try and get about 8 hours of sleep if possible. If not, try and get a short nap during the day. The benfits of proper sleep are endless.

6) Sex. It is a great stress reliever, and it is good for the heart and the brain. It also leads to better focus in individuals who have sex 3 times a week or more.

Having a low RHR can lead to feeling better, having more energy, and not having to worry about heart disease. If you need ideas on how to lower your RHR, or want more information about this topic,please feel free to contact me.

http://www.mytraineroz.com/ or http://www.ozzieocean.com/