Heart Rate Recovery Calculator (1-Minute HRR)

Heart rate recovery at 1 minute (HRR1)

HRR1 is the number of beats per minute your heart rate falls during the first minute after you stop a hard effort. HRR1 = HRpeak − HR1 min after. That drop tracks how quickly vagal tone kicks back in, which is a window into autonomic health. The reference values come from ergometric testing (Cole et al., NEJM 1999): anything > 18 bpm is good, while ≤ 12 bpm has been linked to a higher risk of dying from any cause. Well-trained athletes routinely clear 25 bpm. Apps like Garmin Connect and Polar Flow log this for you after every workout. Example: peak HR of 180, dropping to 150 a minute later, gives HRR1 = 30 bpm, which is excellent.

Clinical and training context

You'll find it in cardiovascular assessment, in treadmill stress testing with the Bruce or Naughton protocols, in post-infarction prognosis, and in overtraining monitoring. If your HRR1 keeps sliding from one session to the next, that's often a sign of piled-up fatigue or not enough recovery. In cardiology, a slow recovery predicts mortality on its own, even once you account for ejection fraction and exercise capacity.

FAQ

What counts as a good HRR1? Above 18 bpm reads as healthy, and once you're past 25 bpm you're in the range trained athletes usually hit.

How should I measure it? Cut the exercise off sharply at peak effort, stay standing or seated, then read your HR exactly 60 seconds later. A wearable handles all of that on its own.

Why is low HRR1 bad? A small drop points to reduced parasympathetic activity, and that has been tied to higher cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

Can I improve HRR1? Yes. Steady aerobic training, particularly zone 2 work and intervals, tends to push HRR1 up within a few weeks.