How do you calculate heart rate zones?

Estimate your maximum (220 − age, or 208 − 0.7 × age), then take percentages of it: 50–60% zone 1, 60–70% zone 2, 70–80% zone 3, 80–90% zone 4, 90–100% zone 5. For a 40-year-old, max 180, zone 3 is 126–144 bpm. If you know your resting rate, use Karvonen: rest + percentage × (max − rest).

What is my zone 2 heart rate?

60–70% of your maximum, or with a resting rate, rest + 60–70% of your reserve. At age 35 (max 185) that is 111–130 bpm by the plain method, or, with a resting rate of 55, 133–146 bpm by Karvonen. Zone 2 is the easy conversational pace most endurance plans spend the most time in.

What is the Karvonen formula and why is it different?

Target = resting HR + intensity × (max HR − resting HR). It scales the zones to your heart rate reserve rather than to your maximum alone, so two people of the same age with resting rates of 50 and 75 get different zones — the fitter one's are higher. Plain percentages of maximum ignore that difference.

Is 220 minus age accurate?

Roughly, for younger adults, and less so with age. Tanaka's 2001 analysis of nearly 19,000 people found the true relationship closer to 208 − 0.7 × age, which agrees with 220 − age at 40 and is about 6 bpm higher at 60. Either way the spread between individuals is around ±10 bpm, so treat both as a starting point.

What heart rate is 'moderate' exercise?

The American Heart Association calls 50–70% of maximum moderate and 70–85% vigorous. For a 50-year-old (max 170) that is 85–119 bpm moderate and 119–145 vigorous. The page shows both bands under the zones.

Heart Rate Zones Calculator (Max HR, Karvonen & Target Heart Rate)

Five training zones from your age, with your resting heart rate (Karvonen) if you know it.

Inputs

Age(years)

10 years100 years

Max heart rate formula

Resting heart rate, if known(bpm)

0 bpm120 bpm

Measured on waking. With it, the zones use heart rate reserve (Karvonen); at 0 they are plain percentages of the maximum.

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Max heart rate

190 bpm

Zone 1 (warm-up): 95–114 bpm
Zone 2 (fat burn): 114–133 bpm
Zone 3 (aerobic): 133–152 bpm
Zone 4 (threshold): 152–171 bpm
Zone 5 (max): 171–190 bpm
Working: 220 − 30 = 190; zone 2 = 60–70% × 190 = 114–133 bpm
Moderate exercise (AHA 50–70%): 95–133 bpm
Vigorous exercise (AHA 70–85%): 133–162 bpm

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What each Heart Rate Zones input means

Age: Your age in years, which sets the predicted maximum heart rate.
Max heart rate formula: 220 − age (Fox), or Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age, which predicts maximum heart rate better for older adults.
Resting heart rate, if known: Optional: your resting heart rate, taken on waking. Enter it to get Karvonen zones from your heart-rate reserve; leave at 0 for plain percentages of maximum.

Heart Rate Zones formula

Max HR = 220 − age (Fox) or 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka) · Zone = max HR × % · With resting HR (Karvonen): zone = rest + % × (max − rest)

\text{HR}_{\text{target}} = \text{HR}_{\text{rest}} + p\,(\text{HR}_{\text{max}} - \text{HR}_{\text{rest}})

Training zones are bands of heart rate expressed as a share of your maximum. The maximum is estimated from age: the familiar 220 − age is a rule of thumb that was never fitted to data, while Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age came from a meta-analysis of 18,712 people and gives a higher figure for anyone over 40. The five zones — 50–60% up to 90–100% — are the convention most watches and training plans use. If you know your resting heart rate, the Karvonen method places the same percentages on your heart rate reserve, the gap between resting and maximum, so a fit person with a low resting rate gets higher zone boundaries than the plain percentages give; the American College of Sports Medicine prefers it for that reason. The AHA's moderate (50–70%) and vigorous (70–85%) bands are shown too, since that is how public-health guidance is phrased.

Heart Rate Zones worked example

Age 30 with the 220 − age rule: maximum 190 bpm. Zone 2 is 60–70% of that, 114–133 bpm; zone 4 is 80–90%, 152–171 bpm. Tanaka's formula gives 208 − 21 = 187 instead. With a resting rate of 60 the Karvonen version uses the reserve of 190 − 60 = 130: zone 2 becomes 60 + 0.6 × 130 = 138 up to 60 + 0.7 × 130 = 151 bpm — twenty beats higher, because the resting rate is already 60 of the 190.

Where the Heart Rate Zones calculator can give the wrong answer

Every formula here is a population average with a standard deviation of about 10 bpm, so an individual's true maximum can be 20 bpm either side of the estimate. A measured maximum from a hard test or a race beats any formula; enter it by choosing the formula that lands closest, or work the zones from it by hand.
220 − age underestimates the maximum in older adults — that was Tanaka's finding — so a 60-year-old's zones from it sit lower than they should. Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age is the better default past about 40.
Resting heart rate has to be a true resting figure, taken lying still on waking, not a sitting-at-a-desk reading. Ten beats of error in the resting rate moves every Karvonen zone by several beats.
Beta-blockers and some other medicines lower the maximum heart rate, and neither formula knows that. Zones for anyone on such medication should come from a clinician or a supervised test.
Zone names differ between plans. 'Fat burn' for zone 2 describes the fuel mix at that intensity, not the fastest way to lose fat; harder zones burn more calories per minute.

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Heart Rate Zones FAQ

: Estimate your maximum (220 − age, or 208 − 0.7 × age), then take percentages of it: 50–60% zone 1, 60–70% zone 2, 70–80% zone 3, 80–90% zone 4, 90–100% zone 5. For a 40-year-old, max 180, zone 3 is 126–144 bpm. If you know your resting rate, use Karvonen: rest + percentage × (max − rest).
: 60–70% of your maximum, or with a resting rate, rest + 60–70% of your reserve. At age 35 (max 185) that is 111–130 bpm by the plain method, or, with a resting rate of 55, 133–146 bpm by Karvonen. Zone 2 is the easy conversational pace most endurance plans spend the most time in.
: Target = resting HR + intensity × (max HR − resting HR). It scales the zones to your heart rate reserve rather than to your maximum alone, so two people of the same age with resting rates of 50 and 75 get different zones — the fitter one's are higher. Plain percentages of maximum ignore that difference.
: Roughly, for younger adults, and less so with age. Tanaka's 2001 analysis of nearly 19,000 people found the true relationship closer to 208 − 0.7 × age, which agrees with 220 − age at 40 and is about 6 bpm higher at 60. Either way the spread between individuals is around ±10 bpm, so treat both as a starting point.
: The American Heart Association calls 50–70% of maximum moderate and 70–85% vigorous. For a 50-year-old (max 170) that is 85–119 bpm moderate and 119–145 vigorous. The page shows both bands under the zones.