Heart Rate Zone Calculator
Find your five training zones for running, cycling, walking and other endurance exercise.
Estimated maximum heart rate
- Maximum heart rate from:
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- Method:
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What Heart Rate Zones Are
Heart rate zones divide the range between a gentle walk and an all-out sprint into five bands of effort. Training in a particular zone trains a particular ability: easy zones build endurance and help recovery, while hard zones raise speed and the ability to keep going at a high pace. Using zones keeps easy days easy and hard days hard, which is the basis of most endurance training plans, from beginners to Olympic athletes.
How the Calculator Works
First, the calculator estimates your maximum heart rate with the Tanaka formula: 208 − 0.7 × age. This formula, published in 2001 from data on thousands of adults, is more accurate for most people than the older "220 − age" rule. If you know your real maximum, for example from a hard test or a sports watch, enter it and the calculator uses that instead.
If you also enter your resting heart rate, the zones are calculated with the Karvonen method, developed by the Finnish physiologist Martti Karvonen in the 1950s, which uses your heart rate reserve, the difference between maximum and resting heart rate: target = resting + (maximum − resting) × intensity. Because it takes your fitness into account, it usually gives more useful zones than a simple percentage of maximum. Without a resting value, the zones are a percentage of maximum heart rate.
Worked Example
A 40-year-old has an estimated maximum heart rate of 208 − 0.7 × 40 = 180 bpm and a resting heart rate of 60 bpm, so the heart rate reserve is 120 beats.
| Zone | Intensity | % of maximum | Karvonen method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50–60% | 90–108 bpm | 120–132 bpm |
| 2 | 60–70% | 108–126 bpm | 132–144 bpm |
| 3 | 70–80% | 126–144 bpm | 144–156 bpm |
| 4 | 80–90% | 144–162 bpm | 156–168 bpm |
| 5 | 90–100% | 162–180 bpm | 168–180 bpm |
The Karvonen zones are higher in the lower bands because they start from the resting heart rate rather than from zero.
How to Measure Your Resting Heart Rate
Measure it in the morning, after waking and before getting up, for a full minute. Repeat for a few days and use the average. Most adults have a resting heart rate between 60 and 80 beats per minute. Regular endurance training usually lowers it, and many fit athletes are below 50. Many sports watches and fitness rings measure it automatically overnight.
How Much Time to Spend in Each Zone
Many coaches recommend that roughly 80% of weekly endurance training is easy, in zones 1 and 2, and about 20% is harder, in zones 3 to 5. This "polarised" approach is common in Nordic endurance sports. Finnish training language uses a simpler three-level system: PK (basic endurance, about zones 1–2), VK (speed endurance, about zones 3–4) and MK (maximum endurance, zone 5).
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is the estimated maximum heart rate?
Formulas describe the average. Individual maximum heart rates can differ from the estimate by 10 beats per minute or more in either direction. A supervised exercise test, or the highest value you reach at the end of a hard, all-out effort, gives a more accurate number.
Why does my sports watch show different zones?
Watches use different formulas and often adjust your maximum and resting heart rate from your own training data. If your watch has learned your real values, enter them here to compare.
Do medicines affect heart rate zones?
Yes. Some medicines, such as beta blockers, lower the heart rate and make formula-based zones unreliable. If you have a heart condition or take medicine that affects your heart rate, ask your doctor what intensity is safe for you.
Is zone 2 the best zone for burning fat?
At low intensity a larger share of the energy comes from fat, but harder exercise burns more calories in total. For long-term fitness and weight management, the total amount of regular activity matters more than the exact zone.