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Anne K. Reimers, Guido Knapp, Carl-Detlev Reimers | Journal of Clinical Medicine | (2018)
Primary Link Pubmed DOI Openalex Full text (OA)

Key Takeaways

Sample Definition And Size

The systematic review and meta-analysis included 191 studies with 215 samples, examining the effects of various exercise types on resting heart rate (RHR) in healthy subjects. The studies encompassed 121 trials on endurance training, 43 on strength training, 15 on combined endurance and strength training, 5 on additional school sport programs, 21 on yoga, 5 on tai chi, 3 on qigong, and 2 on unspecified types of sports.

Study Type

Systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials assessing the impact of different types of exercise on resting heart rate in healthy individuals.

Conflicts Of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Results Summary

All types of sports decreased the resting heart rate. However, only endurance training and yoga significantly decreased the RHR in both sexes. The exercise-induced decreases in RHR were positively related to the pre-interventional RHR and negatively related to the average age of the participants. These findings suggest that exercise, especially endurance training and yoga, decreases RHR, potentially contributing to a reduction in all-cause mortality due to regular exercise or sports.

Abstract

Resting heart rate (RHR) is positively related with mortality. Regular exercise causes a reduction in RHR. The aim of the systematic review was to assess whether regular exercise or sports have an impact on the RHR in healthy subjects by taking different types of sports into account. A systematic literature research was conducted in six databases for the identification of controlled trials dealing with the effects of exercise or sports on the RHR in healthy subjects was performed. The studies were summarized by meta-analyses. The literature search analyzed 191 studies presenting 215 samples fitting the eligibility criteria. 121 trials examined the effects of endurance training, 43 strength training, 15 combined endurance and strength training, 5 additional school sport programs. 21 yoga, 5 tai chi, 3 qigong, and 2 unspecified types of sports. All types of sports decreased the RHR. However, only endurance training and yoga significantly decreased the RHR in both sexes. The exercise-induced decreases of RHR were positively related with the pre-interventional RHR and negatively with the average age of the participants. From this, we can conclude that exercise-especially endurance training and yoga-decreases RHR. This effect may contribute to a reduction in all-cause mortality due to regular exercise or sports.

Referenced In

William Fan
9 months ago
William Fan's 2025 91 Day Weight Loss Challenge

Week 8: Resting and resting heart rate

  • Weight (7d avg): 186.9lbs/84.8kg, from peak -12.8lbs/-5.8kg

  • RHR (7d avg): 59.4bpm

  • Calories In (7d avg): 1686kcal

  • Exercise (7d avg): 500kcal

  • Net Deficit (total): -2300kcal

  • 2x5x500m row: 1:51.0, 1:49.6

Notes:

I saw a continued steady decline in my weight 2 weeks after my sleep apnea surgery. Recovery was slow but continual. Though I had hoped to be mostly recovered 2 weeks in, I was just starting to be able to eat normally again throughout the week. My decreased diet meant exercising was difficult. But as soon as I was able to increase my calories I was able get back to my gym routine.

One additional goal I had for this weight loss challenge was getting my resting heart rate down closer to where I was a few years prior, in the low 50s. As I entered my mid thirties, my RHR seemed to go up 1 bpm every year. It's difficult to say what caused this but I was very interested in seeing what I could do to get it back down.

Anecdotally, the more weight I lost and more exercise I got, the better my RHR. However, getting sick or recovering from surgery caused my RHR to rise within a few days. There's 3 categories I'm interested in when considering RHR impacts: weight loss, exercise, and illness.

Weight Loss

A meta-analysis from 2019 found an associated -9bpm with large median weight loss of 43kg. This ranged from 20% to 30% weight loss. In a 1 year controlled trial , RHR decreased by 4bpm with a 5-10% decrease in weight. There are several other confounding factors including diet and exercise that could also impact RHR, but generally weight loss seems to have a consistent effect.

Exercise

Easily the most well studied factor for improving RHR, a large systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2018 showed -5.2bpm from all types of sports, -6.0bpm from endurance training, and -2.5bpm from strength training. Notably, studies showed -7.2bpm from yoga specifically. These adaptations took several weeks to see drops, but I see impacts from my Fitbit within a few days of high aerobic activity.

Illness

I always see a spike in my RHR when I get sick and it can be quite discouraging. I try to keep my spirits up by reminding myself its temporary. A national US study looking at the relationship between body temperature and heart rate found a HR increase of 7bpm for every increase in T of 1.0°C or 1 .8°F. Diseases like COVID-19 saw increases of 1.8% for females and 3.4% for males on initial onset.

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