Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

I've been recording my resting heart rate since November 1985. Every other Wednesday, first thing in the morning, I sit quietly at my desk (before drinking coffee) and count the beats of my heart, using a digital watch. The average of 628 readings is 50.95. (The average adult's resting heart rate is 72.) This morning, I tied my record of 42. I saw 42 on 9 August 2000, 19 July 2006, 4 July 2007, and today. The lowest heart rate I've ever heard of belonged to Swiss cyclist Mauro Gianetti prior to the 1997 Tour de France: 27. Lance Armstrong's resting heart rate during the 2002 Tour de France was 32. I recall hearing that Bjorn Borg's resting heart rate was 38 during his tennis heyday. What's interesting is that I could never get my heart rate below 45 before I took up running in 1996. It appears that running and cycling together has a better effect on the heart than either of these activities alone. Maybe if I took up swimming I could get below 40!