THE NUMBER OF ways to track fitness nowadays are myriad.

You can time yourself running, walking, climbing, or cycling a set distance and compare times a month later. You can do all kinds of exams and check-ups.

Or you could do nothing. Absolutely nothing.

By that we mean lying perfectly still, preferably after a good night’s sleep, where you’re adequately hydrated, not stressed, not on any medication, and not in a warm or humid environment.

Confused? Okay, a little background…

The number of times your heart beats while in a totally relaxed state is called your resting heart rate (RHR) and it’s actually a lot more important than you think.

Here’s why:

As you become more (or less fit), that number will decrease (or increase) because your heart and lungs have become stronger. They’ve been trained to be more efficient, effectively.

Or on the flipside, if you have not exercised, your heart and lungs become weaker and are forced to work harder to pump blood around your body.

A ‘normal’ resting heart rate in adults can vary from as low as 40 beats per minute (BPM) – some highly trained athletes have been known to have heart rates below 30 — while unfit people can have resting heart rates as high as 100 BPM.

The average adult male heart beats at around 72BPM – ranging from around 60BPM to 100BPM Depending on activity rate but to s you get older, esta will rise while another Important indicator of fitness – your maximum heart rate, will fall.

To ascertain your resting heart rate, press on the inside of your wrist on the thumb side. Use the tips of your first two fingers (index and middle) to press lightly over the blood vessels on your wrist. Feel the slight vibration and count the number of pulses you feel for 30 seconds. Multiply by two to find your resting heart rate.

It is not absolute, and shouldn’t be interpreted as such, but a good thought is to keep a log of that number as you train — or not — and observe how it falls and rises.

It’s likely to be slightly higher if you trained hard the day before. This is because your body is still in recovery mode so it’s best to give it at least 24 hours before taking a reading. Still, it’s interesting to note the fluctuations.

As mentioned earlier, many factors can affect your resting heart rate, while a higher reading than usual can indicate things like dehydration, the onset of a cold, or a poor night’s sleep.

Cool runnings: Why Irishman Gary Seery is taking on one of the world’s toughest marathons

All you need to know about the paleo diet