

The athlete’s mind is monitored while running on the treadmill. (Photo of GORODENKOFF of Shutter Stock)
Researchers believe that smartwatches should be able to provide consumers with ‘heartbeat consumption’ data.
Simply speak
- Researchers have tested new indicators that count every day, such as calories.
- Athletes saved to 11,500 bits every day because of the low heart rate.
- Tour de France riding a bicycle was an average of 35,000 bits per race.
- This concept is promising, but it’s still exploratory and not yet prepared for health apps.
Melbourne- Australian researchers propose a deceptive simple health indicator that athletes and daily activists can change their way of monitoring training.
This concept, called “heartbeat consumption,” treats each bit of your heart as a limited resource that consumes all day, and lends it from the old idea that we have too many heartbeats in our lifetime. Just as the fitness app burns stairs or calories, this metrics add all heartbeats while resting, exercise and everything between them. For researchers studying elite bikers, numbers revealed unexpected things about extreme endurance training.
Scientists at the St. Vincent Medical Research Institute in Melbourne surveyed 109 young athletes who wore 24 -hour monitoring devices and 38 healthy control data. Athletes had an average of 11,520 heartbeats per day than non -athletes.
However, another picture appeared when the team analyzed the public heart rate data of 57 pro cyclists from 2023 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes. The elite rider has accumulated an average of 35,177 heartbeats at each stage of the race. After taking into account the heart rate that had been rested all day, racing pro cyclists at this robber seemed to spend much more heartbeat than recreation athletes or sitting people.


The reason why heartbeat consumption is an important knowledge for athletes
The heartbeat consumption model offers that there is no fitness metrics. This is a single number that captures both the benefits of slow rest heart rate and the cost of intense training sessions.
The current smartwatch already tracks rest heart rate, active heart rate and heart rate volatility. But these measurements are separated. Heart -bit consumption combines a cumulative daily number, similar to the way bank apps show total spending on multiple accounts.
Competition players may be especially valuable. Training plans generally measure exercise intensity through heart rate zones, duration and recognized efforts. However, these metrics do not explain the amount of work in the heart for 22 hours of the day. Athletes with a 45 -bit heart rate per minute accumulate about 64,800 bits for a complete break for 24 hours. Add a two -hour training session to 150 bits per minute, and the gun goes up to 82,800 bits a day.
The calculation itself is simple. Multiply your heart rate for each activity and add a total. The latest wearable devices already collect this data. Technology exists. Missing is a framework for interpreting numbers.
The researchers said, “Considering the use of ubiquitous use of smartwatches that enable certain heart rate acquisition, this seems to be a health indicator worth further evaluation. JACC: Development.
Find Sweet Spot
This study is a hint of athletic physiologists who have long been suspicious but have difficulty quantifying. There is an ideal area for exercise benefits, and more than that can be made by metabolic costs.
The players of this study showed clear evidence of cardiovascular adaptation. The average 24 -hour heart rate of 68 bits per minute was compared to 76 bits per minute observed in the control group. Most of these differences have been lowered during the inactive period.
Tour de France data has been proposed to limit this efficiency. Pro Cyclists have a much higher average daily heart rate than expected in recreation athletes or sitting individuals. The two -hour exercise is only 8% of the day, but the strength of the two hours can surpass some of the lowest benefits for the remaining 92%.
The study also showed unexpected discoveries about gender differences. Men and Women’s Tour de French bicycle cyclists consume almost the same heart beat per stage despite racing different streets. The woman dealt with a short stage, but the average heart rate was high, and the men rode longer with lower intensity. The final results were balanced with about 35,000 heartbeats per stage for both groups. Researchers pointed out that this study is not enough to officially test sex differences.


When can I see heartbeat consumption on smart watches?
Before heartbeat consumption becomes mainstream health indicators, researchers must set reference range and verify prediction value. What is a healthy daily heartbeat budget? Is the number different depending on age, fitness level or cardiovascular health?
Currently, research provides a starting point, but recognizes important limitations. The sample size was humble and there were 147 participants in the monitoring section. Researchers did not adjust confusing variables such as age, health levels, or heart rate recovery indicators. Tour de France Analysis depended on Strava’s public sharing data, not controlled measurements.
Nevertheless, the basic premise coincides with the established observation that connects low rest heart rate with the reduction of cardiovascular risk. Regular exercise generally lower the heart rate of rest over time. The problem is whether the cumulative daily heartbeat monitoring adds more meaningful information beyond what the existing Metric has already provided.
Given that millions of people already wear devices that can keep track of this data, the barriers to the concept are significantly low. Fitness apps can add heartbeat consumption with experimental features, allowing users and researchers to explore usefulness under practical conditions. Regardless of whether it is useful as a training tool and excessive training signal, another number remains.
Indemnity: This article is only for general information and not replacing professional medical advice.
Thesis summary
methodology
The researchers participated in the Australian Heart (Pro@Heart) study by examining the 24 -hour heart rate monitoring data of 109 young athletes (19 years old, 69.6% male) and 38 healthy control groups (21 years old, 68.4% male). Participants wore a hole monitor during normal daily activities, including exercise. The device recorded a heart rhythm, speed and accelerator -based activity estimates. Data quality was excellent with non -diagnostic data of less than 2% in both groups. To search for extreme sports scenarios, researchers publicly analyzed the STRAVA data of 22 men and 35 female pro -cyclists at 2023 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes. The average heart rate (except time test) during each stage multiplied the exercise period to calculate the heartbeats consumed during the race.
result
Athletes had an average 24 -hour heart rate compared to the control group (68 ± 11 vs 76 ± 8 bits per minute). This difference was converted into a few 11,520 heartbeats a day, and decreased by 10.6%. The average average was due to a decrease in the athlete’s resting heart rate, and the heart rate was more than 100 bits per minute, which is only 7.6%of the athlete’s total time. The professional tour de French bike ride an average of 35,177 ± 6,024 heartbeats per stage, and the difference between men and female riders was not a difference between men and female riders, and women were 148 ± 9 bits per minute of 148 ± 9 bits per minute to 234 ± 39 minutes to 234 ± 39 minutes to 234 ± 39 minutes to 234 ± 39 minutes per minute. ± 234 ± 39 minutes from 234 ± 39 minutes to 234 ± 39 minutes). When combined with unexpected non -exercise heart rate, a professional bicycle during a stage race seemed to exceed the heartbeat savings related to the bradycardia.
limits
This study recognizes some important limitations. The sample size was suitable with 147 participants in the monitoring part. Analysis has not been adjusted to confusing variables such as age, health levels, or heart rate recovery indicators. Tour de France data came from publicly shared Strava recording rather than controlled research, and researchers could not accurately check or explain the individual changes in health or education. The study has limited the entire PRO@Heart data set using a variety of holor monitoring devices between Australia and Belgian cohorts. The researchers stressed that their discovery should be interpreted as navigation and hypotheses. The difference between gender is required, especially in consideration of the lack of sufficient force for the formal interaction test between the gender and the athletes.
Funds and disclosure
Two researchers received scholarships for the Australian Government Research and Training Program. One researcher is Royal Australia College of Physicians Research Entry Scholarship, National Health and Medical Research Council Post Office Scholarship and Heart Foundation PHD It has been supported by Scholarship. One author was supported by the Science Research Plander Fund as a post -doctoral clinical researcher. The senior author is supported by the Australian National Health Research Committee (APP 2027105). One author reported that he is receiving research funds, speaking and consulting fees from Abbott, Biotronik, Boston Scientific and Medtronic. All other authors reported that there was no conflict of understanding.
Publishing details
Van Pyfields T, Janssens K, Spencer L, D ‘Ambrosio P, Ray M, Fourkows SJ, Haykowsky MJ, Classen G, Willems R, La Gerche A. Balanking Exerciss again. JACC: Development. 2025; 4 (10): 102140. Online publication in October 2025.