Yesterday, I had the
opportunity to meet with a nurse for a health screening. She took my heart rate
and it turned out to be 56 beats per minute (bpm), which means my heart is
pumping less than once per second. But what did it really mean? I asked her if
that was good. She stated that the average person’s heart rate is between 60 to
100 bpm, but it’s normal for someone who gets a lot of physical activity to
have a resting heart rate of less than 60 bpm because the heart doesn’t need to
pump as hard, and yes it was a good thing in this case.
I was happy to hear this
and found it to be an excellent example of a non-scale victory. Like many of
you might know, I didn’t start this journey to look good, which of course doesn’t
hurt and is a great benefit, but I truly wanted to get to a place where I was
consciously thinking about and taking care of my health for the sake of my
family. These little things that I learn along the way help me remember why I
started this process in the first place.
If you want to learn more, here’s an article from the Mayo Clinic. They state that “generally a lower heart rate
at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular
fitness.”
What’s your resting heart
rate?
No comments:
Post a Comment