Target Heart Rate Calculator
Find your training heart rate zones based on age and resting heart rate.
Target Heart Rate Calculator
Enter your age and resting heart rate to find your zones.
Your Heart Rate Zones (bpm)
What This Target Heart Rate Calculator Does
This tool first estimates your maximum heart rate based on age, then calculates several specific training zones as percentage ranges of that maximum, or of your heart rate reserve if resting heart rate is included, giving you concrete target ranges to guide the intensity of different types of workouts.
How to Use the Target Heart Rate Calculator
Enter your current age, which the calculator uses to estimate your maximum heart rate. Optionally enter your resting heart rate, measured first thing in the morning before getting out of bed, for a more personalized calculation using the Karvonen formula. Your target heart rate zones for different training intensities appear instantly once calculated.
Understanding the Standard Heart Rate Training Zones
A light activity zone, typically 50 to 60 percent of max heart rate, suits warm-ups and active recovery. A fat-burning zone, typically 60 to 70 percent, is often associated with using a higher proportion of fat as fuel, though total calorie burn matters more than fuel source for overall fat loss. A cardio zone, typically 70 to 85 percent, builds cardiovascular fitness effectively. A peak zone, typically 85 to 95 percent, is reserved for high-intensity interval training and should only be sustained briefly.
Pro Tip: Check your pulse first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed, for the most accurate resting heart rate reading. Most healthy adults fall between 60 and 100 bpm.
Max HR = 220 − Age
Heart Rate Reserve = Max HR − Resting HR
Target HR = (Reserve × Zone %) + Resting HR
Karvonen Formula — more accurate than age-based max HR alone.
The Karvonen Formula and Why It Improves Accuracy
The basic max heart rate estimate, commonly calculated as 220 minus age, provides only a rough approximation that ignores individual fitness level differences. The Karvonen formula improves on this by incorporating resting heart rate, which tends to be lower in more cardiovascularly fit individuals, producing target zones that better reflect actual personal fitness level rather than age alone.
Why Training Across Different Heart Rate Zones Matters
Structuring training to include time across different heart rate zones, rather than always training at the same intensity, tends to produce more well-rounded cardiovascular fitness improvements. Lower zone training builds aerobic base and recovery capacity, while higher zone training improves peak performance capacity, and a balanced training program typically includes both.
Frequently Asked Questions
A common basic formula estimates maximum heart rate as 220 minus your age, though this provides only a rough approximation that does not account for individual fitness level differences.
The fat-burning zone, typically 60 to 70 percent of max heart rate, is associated with using a higher proportion of fat as fuel, though total calories burned matters more than fuel source for overall fat loss.
The Karvonen formula incorporates resting heart rate into the calculation, producing target zones that better reflect individual fitness level rather than relying on age alone.
Different zones develop different aspects of fitness, with lower zones building aerobic base and higher zones improving peak performance capacity, so a balanced program typically includes training across several zones.
Moderate and vigorous zones build cardiovascular fitness for most goals. The peak zone is for short, high-intensity intervals, while the light zone suits recovery days and warm-ups.