Forums >Health and Nutrition>How do you measure your rest HR in the morning?
I currently check my rest HR in the morning simply using a watch and checking the pulse on one of my wrists.
Does anybody use a more automated way of doing this? I've also tried putting on the HR strap and checking with the Garmin. But the whole process is more time-consuming.
By accident, I came across an ad for something called a "pulse oximeter". Cost varies, but there are a few in the $20+ to $40 range. I think the primary purpose is for people who have low oxygen in their blood, but it also gives you a snapshot on your heart rate. The HR data is about the only reason I'd use it.
Any other ideason getting rest HR? Thanks.
I use the "lay in bed and pretend to say the pledge of allegiance" method. It takes approximately 10 seconds.
What is so hard about the way you are doing it that you want to replace it?
what SRL said, plus i think that the method you currently use is probably the most accurate.
Refurbished Hip
If you search for heart rate on your smart phone, you can find a free app that will measure it for you.
Running is dumb.
my wife measures it in the morning to the nearest tenth of a foot.
I use the something similar to the SRL method. I turn on the Garmin, lay the strap across my chest and hold it in place.
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
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I usually measure my "resting" HR in the am after I've been sitting for awhile. But my absolute lowest is during the middle of the night when it's 6-8 beats per min. slower. Finger/thumb on my carotid artery in the morning works well for me - it only takes me 15 seconds (I'm either 1/3 slower than, or 2/3 as fast as SRL - can't figure out which).
"I don't always roll a joint, but when I do, it's usually my ankle" - unk. "Frankly autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt". I ran half my last race on my left foot!
not bad for mile 25
What they said: Clock with seconds, pulse from wrist. But your mention of the pulse oximeter just made me wonder if it would have any application in training. Does one's resting O2 change long term w training? Would measurement before, during, after run provide anything useful?
#artbydmcbride
I wear my heart rate monitor to bed. Then when the alarm goes off and my heartrate jumps, I fumble around in the dark for my glasses and the watch, hoping to find them before the cat starts batting either onto the floor. Then I calmly read my rate. I have gotten readings ranging from 75 to 7.
Runners run
I have a Tanita pulse meter that lives on the night stand (if the cats haven't moved it). I think it cost about $20 when I got it 5 or 6 years ago. I've discovered that my RHR isn't lowest first thing in the morning but usually an hour or so later if I've been sitting quietly reading for 20 minutes or so.
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Thanks for the responses. The issue is not one of how hard it is, but rather, how accurate the measurement is.
A couple of times a year I wear my Garmin HRM to bed. I turn on my 910xt (or previously my 310xt or 305 etc.), turn off the GPS and hit the start button when I go to bed. When I get up in the morning I hit the stop button, move the "run" into history and then upload the data to Garmin Connect. (I also move it into RA, but that is not pertinent to this point.) I look for the lowest sustained heart rate that occurred during the night. It is usually a several minute period, probably occurring a bit after REM sleep. With Garmin Connect you can cursor over the heart rate at that lowest sustained rate and a popup will tell you what the rate was at at that point.
I'm due to be doing this again.
sugnim
I have gotten readings ranging from 75 to 7.
7? Really? Yikes. You were almost dead.
Serious question...
I rest my hand over my heart and count. Some of you are indicating the "proper" way is to do it at your wrist. At least one of you does the old carotid artery method.
Is there a reason why one of these (take your pick) would be better/worse than the others?
Serious question... I rest my hand over my heart and count. Some of you are indicating the "proper" way is to do it at your wrist. At least one of you does the old carotid artery method. Is there a reason why one of these (take your pick) would be better/worse than the others?
No; wherever you get a good pulse, I'd say. I don't always feel my pulse reliably on my chest. Carotid is easiest for me.
If you can sense pulse on your chest, that's fine. The only issue I've heard about the carotid method is that if you put too much pressure, you're cutting off circulation to the brain. I've never felt close to fainting, so I guess you'd have to be putting some serious pressure to cut off circulation.
BTW, I tried the heart rate app and it works. I'll just have to check accuracy against my HRM.