PaceCalc

Heart Rate Zone Calculator

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This heart rate zone calculator estimates your maximum heart rate from your age and splits it into five training zones, with the range in beats per minute (bpm) for each. If you know your maximum heart rate, enter it instead; add your resting heart rate to base the zones on your heart rate reserve.

By default it uses the formula from Tanaka, Monahan and Seals (2001): maximum heart rate = 208 − 0.7 × age. You can switch to the traditional 220 − age rule. At 40 both give 180 bpm. At 30, Tanaka gives 187 and 220 − age gives 190; at 50, Tanaka gives 173 and 220 − age gives 170.

Age formulas describe an average. Tanaka's formula has a standard error of about 10 bpm, so your real maximum can differ from the estimate by 10 bpm or more. A maximum heart rate you have measured is better than either formula.

The five zones run from 50–60% up to 90–100% of maximum heart rate, in steps of 10%. These percentages are a common convention, not a single standard. For a maximum of 180 bpm the zones are 90–108, 108–126, 126–144, 144–162 and 162–180 bpm.

With a resting heart rate, the calculator uses Karvonen's heart rate reserve method instead: each bound is the resting heart rate + (maximum − resting) × the percentage. For a maximum of 180 and a resting heart rate of 60, zone 1 is 120–132 bpm and zone 5 is 168–180. These are estimates; individual results vary. This is not medical advice: anyone with a heart condition or on medication that affects heart rate should follow their doctor's guidance.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my heart rate zones?

Estimate your maximum heart rate, then take 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% and 90% of it as the zone boundaries. At age 40, Tanaka's formula gives a maximum of 180 bpm, so zone 1 is 90–108 bpm, zone 2 is 108–126, zone 3 is 126–144, zone 4 is 144–162 and zone 5 is 162–180.

Should I use 220 − age or 208 − 0.7 × age?

208 − 0.7 × age is from Tanaka, Monahan and Seals (2001); 220 − age is the traditional rule. They agree at age 40, where both give 180 bpm. Below 40, 220 − age gives the higher estimate (190 against 187 at 30); above 40, Tanaka's does (173 against 170 at 50). A measured maximum is better than either.

What is the Karvonen formula?

It sets each zone from your heart rate reserve, the difference between your maximum and resting heart rates: target = resting + (maximum − resting) × percentage. With a maximum of 180 and a resting heart rate of 60, 70% is 144 bpm, against 126 bpm for 70% of maximum.

How accurate is an age-predicted maximum heart rate?

It is an estimate for an average person of your age. Tanaka's formula has a standard error of about 10 bpm, so your real maximum can differ by 10 bpm or more. At 35 it gives 183.5 bpm, shown as 184; the zones are worked out from the unrounded value.

Is this medical advice?

No. Heart rate zones from a formula are estimates; individual results vary. Anyone with a heart condition or on medication that affects heart rate should follow their doctor's guidance.