A simple number that moves for many reasons
Resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you're fully at rest, usually measured overnight by a watch or ring. It's easy to track and it changes with many everyday things:
- hard training days and heavy training blocks;
- short or poor sleep;
- stress, travel and heat;
- alcohol, caffeine timing and big late meals;
- getting sick.
Your baseline is what matters
Typical values vary a lot from person to person, so comparing yourself with a friend tells you very little. What's useful is your own baseline, the range you usually sit in, and how far today is from it.
- A short bump after a big session or a bad night is common.
- A rise that holds for several days is worth noticing, especially with poor sleep or feeling run down.
- A slow drift over months can follow changes in fitness or routine.
If anything about your heart rate worries you, talk to your GP.
Read it with sleep and HRV
Resting heart rate makes more sense next to sleep and heart rate variability (HRV). Together they give a fuller picture of how you're recovering than any one number on its own.
Where the app comes in
Biohack Tracker brings resting heart rate in automatically from Apple Health or Health Connect, alongside your sleep and HRV. You can see each one as a trend over days, weeks and months, next to your training and routine. You can also ask the coach why a week felt heavy, and it will look at your own data.
