Do males and females the same age have different resting pulse rates? Heart rate varies from person to person. Gender may play a role. You take the brachial pulse (the pulse at the inner arm) of 25 males and 25 females. Each person sits and rests for three minutes. Then you count their pulse three times at one-minute intervals. Average the three counts and multiply by four to get beats per minute. The females averaged 85 beats per minute. The males averaged 79. That six-beat gap suggests gender may affect resting heart rate.