The Relationship between Aerobic Capacity and Resting Heart Rate.

The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between aerobic capacity and resting heart rate. Sixteen recreational cyclists (18 to 65 yrs of age) underwent aerobic performance (VO₂ max) testing on a cycle ergometer, and an electrocardiograph (ECG) was used to measure resting heart rate. VO₂ max was determined by a plateau in VO₂ during the progressive incremental test until exhaustion. There was a significant (P=0.05) relationship between age (45.1 ± 10.7 yrs) and maximum heart rate (177.3 ± 11.9 beats∙min^-1). Although a significant relationship was not found between VO₂ max (44.2 ± 6.1 mL∙kg^-1∙min^-1) and resting heart rate (69.0 ± 9.0 beats∙min^-1), understanding how endurance exercise training enhances the cardiovascular and pulmonary system can be beneficial for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]