Heart Rate Zones Calculator
Estimates your max heart rate and sets out five training zones around it.
Share sends a link that reopens these numbers. Copy details pastes the full breakdown as a list.
The formula
Tanaka: max HR = 208 − 0.7 × age reserve = max HR − resting HR Karvonen: target = resting HR + intensity × reserve
Reserve is the room between resting and maximum. Working from it means a lower resting heart rate is reflected in your zones.
What to watch out for
The max formula is from Tanaka, Monahan and Seals (2001). 220 − age is older and simpler, and tends to run low for older people. The target and the Karvonen column use heart rate reserve, a method from Karvonen and colleagues (1957). The last column is a plain share of max, which many watches use.
Age-based formulas can be 10 bpm or more out for one person, so if your zones feel wrong, trust the effort. A maximum measured in a supervised test is better. Zone names and boundaries vary between systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the max heart rate of a 40-year-old?
About 180 bpm by Tanaka, and 180 by 220 − age. The two meet near that age and differ further from it: at 60 they give 166 and 160.
What is 70% by the Karvonen method?
For a resting rate of 60 and a maximum of 180, it is 144 bpm. A plain 70% of max would be 126.
Which zone should most training be in?
Most easy running and riding sits in zones 1 and 2, with a smaller share of hard work in zones 4 and 5.