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[[File:HeartRateSimplified.pngsvg|right|thumb|500px|A simplified chart of heart rate against exercise intensity showing [[Maximum Heart Rate]], [[Heart Rate Reserve]], [[Resting Heart Rate]] , [[Orthostatic Heart Rate]], and [[Heart Rate Deflection]].]]Resting Heart Rate (HR_rest) is how fast your heart beats when you are not expending any energy beyond simply being alive. Finding your HR_rest is easy; just check your heart rate while sitting still or lying down. Early morning is a good time, before any exercise or taken [[Caffeine]]caffeine, both of which will raise your HR_rest. A low HR_rest is normally a sign of fitness, as endurance training tends to increase the size of your heart, and a large heart needs to beat less often to pump the same amount of blood. HR_rest is used to calculate [[Heart Rate Reserve]]. (Sometimes Resting Heart Rate is called Basal Heart Rate or HR_b.) 

It is possible to take your pulse with your finger, but most people find this tricky and inconvenient. A [[Heart Rate Monitor]] will provide an accurate and simple way of checking your heart rate, but putting one on first thing in the morning (possibly before you get out of bed) is a bit of a pain. A blood pressure meter will also record heart rate, but can be a little noisy and awkward to put on. My preferred approach is to use a simple [[Pulse Oximeter]], which is the easiest technique. [[Optical Heart Rate Monitors]] included in watches can be fairly accurate for resting heart rate, even if they have problems during exercise. =Testing Position=There's no consensus on which position to measure resting heart rate, with about half of studies using sitting and about half using lying down<ref name="PalatiniBenetos2006"/>.=Zero Power (Orthostatic) Heart Rate=While resting heart rate is well established, there is often a difference between this value and the heart rate when generating no power output, such as sitting stationary on a bike or standing still. While this difference is small, it does change the calculation for [[Heart Rate Reserve]].