Resting heart rate and HRV

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello docs, just a quick question about resting heart rate and hrv.
23, male, 204lbs, 37.5" waist.
i have been doing powerbuilding 1 & 2, the past 6 months.

my resting heart rate and heart rate variability seem pretty poor, which i thought is interesting as ive done 2x hiit, 2x liss, and all the rest of the workouts every week for so long.

should i have any health concerns about these numbers? I’d love to see an improvement but im afraid that i haven’t for awhile.

i do have an anxiety disorder, and take 37.5mg of venlafaxine xr daily. Thanks so much.

-Sam

2

Hi,

Venlafaxine can have effects on heart rate due to its impact on norepinephrine and dopamine signaling, but it’s not really possible for us to say exactly how much that may be playing a role here. If you feel like your conditioning could be better, it may be worth shifting more of your time/energy to lower-intensity steady state work (vs. HIIT), alongside your regular lifting. But to be clear, these numbers on their own do not raise significant concerns regarding your health.