This study was designed to assess the effects of age and physical fitness on vagal modulation of heart rate (HR) during exercise by analyzing the instantaneous R-R interval variability from Poincaré plots (SD1) at rest and at different phases of a bicycle exercise test in a population of healthy males. SD1 normalized for the average R-R interval (SD1n), a measure of vagal activity, was compared at rest and during exercise among subjects of ages 24-34 (young, n = 25), 35-46 (middle-aged, n = 30), and 47-64 yr (old, n = 25) matched for peak O2 consumption (VO2 peak) and among subjects with VO2 peak of 28-37 (poor, n = 25), 38-45 (average, n = 36), and 46-60 ml.kg-1.min-1 (good, n = 25) matched for age. SD1n was higher at rest in the young subjects than in the middle-aged or old subjects (39 +/- 14, 27 +/- 16, and 21 +/- 8, respectively; P