Resting Heart Rate — What It Is and How to Find It
Your Resting Heart Rate personalizes how your Exercise Points are calculated. You only enter it once. Here's what it is, why it matters, and how to find your number.
Resting Heart Rate
You enter this once during setup. After that, it’s stored in your profile and used automatically in every EP calculation.
What Is Resting Heart Rate?
Resting Heart Rate (Rest HR) is how many times your heart beats per minute when you’re completely at rest — sitting or lying quietly, not exercising, not stressed.
A typical range is 40–80 BPM for adults. Fitter people tend to have lower resting heart rates because their heart is more efficient. Elite endurance athletes can have Rest HR below 40 BPM.
NestEgg accepts values between 35 and 100 BPM.
Why NestEgg Needs It
NestEgg scores exercise intensity using Heart Rate Reserve (HRR%) — the percentage of your usable heart rate range that you worked at during a session.
HRR% = (Avg HR during workout − Rest HR) ÷ (HR Limit − Rest HR)Without your Rest HR, the intensity calculation can’t be personalized to you. Two Eggs can do the exact same workout with the same average HR — but if one has a Rest HR of 45 and the other has 75, they’re working at very different intensities.
How to Find Your Resting Heart Rate
Option 1 — From your wearable app (most accurate)
Most wearable apps track and display your average resting heart rate. Look for it in:
| App | Where to find Rest HR |
|---|---|
| Apple Health | Health → Browse → Heart → Resting Heart Rate |
| Fitbit | Today tab → Heart Rate → Resting |
| Garmin Connect | More → Health Stats → Heart Rate → Resting |
| WHOOP | Recovery tab → Heart Rate Variability section |
| Samsung Health | Home → Heart Rate → Resting |
| Oura | Home → Readiness → Resting Heart Rate |
| Zepp (Amazfit/Xiaomi) | Profile → Health Data → Resting Heart Rate |
| Polar Flow | Diary → Heart Rate → Resting |
Use your 7-day average if your app shows one — this is more reliable than a single day reading.
Option 2 — Measure it manually
If you don’t have a wearable yet or your app doesn’t show Rest HR:
- Sit or lie quietly for 5 minutes — no coffee, no recent exercise
- Place two fingers on the inside of your wrist or the side of your neck
- Count beats for 30 seconds
- Multiply by 2
Best time to measure: First thing in the morning, before getting out of bed.
Entering Your Rest HR in NestEgg
During onboarding (Photo-Upload setup): You’re prompted to enter Rest HR as part of the photo-upload setup flow. Type your number and tap Continue.
To update it later:
- Go to Settings → Profile
- Find Resting Heart Rate
- Update your value and save
Your Rest HR can change over time — especially if you become fitter. It’s worth reviewing it every few months.
Common Questions
What if I don’t know my Resting Heart Rate? Use the manual method above. If you’re genuinely unsure, 60 BPM is a reasonable starting estimate for most adults. You can always update it later in Settings.
Does my Rest HR affect my Level Score directly? It affects your Exercise Points calculation, which feeds into your Level Score. A more accurate Rest HR gives you a more accurate score — both up and down. An artificially low Rest HR will undercount your effort.
My wearable shows different values on different days. Which do I use? Use the 7-day average if your app shows one. Day-to-day variation is normal. If the average seems off (e.g. you slept with the device loose), use the manual measurement instead.
Can I set my Rest HR to a very low number to score more EP? NestEgg validates Rest HR against your actual heart rate data. Values that produce physiologically implausible results flag for review.