Heart Rate Zone Calculator

Training by heart rate only works if the zone boundaries are actually yours. This calculator estimates your maximum heart rate from age and lays out the five classic training zones — recovery, easy, aerobic, threshold and maximum — as color-coded bands with exact beats-per-minute ranges.

The primary estimate uses the Tanaka formula (208 − 0.7 × age), which tracked measured values better than the folklore 220 − age rule in a study of thousands of adults; the classic number is shown alongside for comparison. Honesty matters here: both are population averages with a standard error around 10 bpm, so treat the zones as a starting point, not a medical measurement.

If you know your resting heart rate — measure it in bed before getting up — the calculator adds Karvonen zones based on heart rate reserve. Because they account for your fitness at the bottom end of the range, Karvonen targets are usually a better fit for trained athletes than plain percentages of max.

Zones answer where to train; pair them with our running pace calculator to plan how fast, and the calorie calculator to keep the energy side of endurance training in check. This tool provides general fitness information, not medical advice.