Regular aerobic exercise tends to affect resting heart rate by?

• A. Increasing it
• B. Decreasing it
• C. Not changing it
• D. Making it irregular

Answer: (B)

Regular aerobic exercise improves how the heart works at rest, making it more efficient. With consistent endurance training, the heart pumps more blood with each beat (greater stroke volume) due to a larger, stronger heart muscle and better filling. Because each beat delivers more blood, the body doesn’t need as many beats per minute to maintain resting blood flow, so resting heart rate drops. Additionally, autonomic changes occur—there is increased parasympathetic (vagal) activity and reduced sympathetic activity at rest—further slowing the heart rate. In well-trained individuals, resting heart rate can fall into the lower end of normal ranges, even into the 40s or 50s BPM, without indicating a problem.