Heart Rate Zone Calculator

Age, years

Resting heart rate, bpm

Result

Maximum heart rate187
Zone 1 — recovery124-136
Zone 2 — fat burn136-149
Zone 3 — aerobic149-162
Zone 4 — anaerobic162-174
Zone 5 — maximum174-187

This result is informational only and is not professional advice.

Zones based on heart rate reserve, not a flat percentage

Calculate maximum heart rate and five training zones using the Karvonen method, which accounts for your resting heart rate.

This uses the Tanaka formula (208 − 0.7 × age) rather than the older 220 − age, which overestimates for younger people and underestimates for older ones.

Zones are then built from heart rate reserve — the gap between resting and maximum — so a fit person with a resting pulse of 50 gets different zones from someone at 75, even at the same age.

What this calculator shows

Estimated maximum heart rate for your age
Five zones from easy recovery through to maximum effort
Zones calculated on heart rate reserve rather than raw percentages

What to keep in mind

Age-based formulas carry roughly ±10 bpm of individual variation.
A proper lab or field test measures your true maximum; a formula only estimates it.

FAQs

Is the fat-burning zone real?

Partly. Lower intensities burn a higher proportion of fat, but higher intensities burn more total calories. For fat loss, total energy burned and diet matter more than the zone label.

Why not use 220 minus age?

It was never derived from careful research and drifts badly at the ends of the range. Tanaka's formula fits measured data better across adult ages.

How do I find my resting heart rate?

Measure it lying down before getting out of bed, across several mornings. Anything from 50 to 70 is common; well-trained endurance athletes often sit in the 40s.

What is zone 2 training?

Easy aerobic work where you can still hold a conversation. It builds endurance with low fatigue cost, which is why it dominates most serious training plans.

Worked example

A 30-year-old runner

Input: Age 30, resting heart rate 60

Output: Max around 187 bpm, zone 2 roughly 136–149

Note: Zone 2 is where most endurance base training happens, and it usually feels slower than people expect.

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Heart Rate Zone Calculator

Result

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