# Target Heart Rate Zone Calculator Five training zones in beats per minute from maximum heart rate, estimated with both 220 minus age and the Tanaka formula. --- - **Canonical URL:** https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/target-heart-rate-zone-calculator - **Category:** Health and fitness - **Publisher:** Do The Calculation (https://dothecalculation.com) - **Cost:** Free, no account or sign-up required - **Privacy:** Runs entirely in the browser; inputs are never sent to a server - **Methodology:** https://dothecalculation.com/methodology --- ## Five heart rate zones from your age Estimate maximum heart rate with both 220 − age and the Tanaka equation, then split it into the five standard training zones as beats-per-minute ranges. - Two age formulas side by side, or your own measured maximum - Zones at 50–60, 60–70, 70–80, 80–90 and 90–100% of maximum - The simple percent-of-max method; no resting heart rate needed ## Quick Answer — What Are My Heart Rate Zones? Estimate your maximum heart rate from your age, then take percentages of it. The traditional estimate is **220 − age**. A more accurate estimate for healthy adults, from Tanaka, Monahan and Seals (*Journal of the American College of Cardiology*, 2001), is **208 − 0.7 × age**. **Worked example, age 45 with the Tanaka estimate:** maximum heart rate is 176.5 bpm, and the zones are **Zone 1: 88–106**, **Zone 2: 106–124**, **Zone 3: 124–141**, **Zone 4: 141–159** and **Zone 5: 159–177** bpm. Age formulas estimate the average for people your age, and your own maximum may be well above or below it. If you take medication that affects heart rate, such as a beta blocker, or you have a heart condition, ask your doctor what intensity is right for you before training by these numbers. ## How to Use This Calculator: Zones for a 45-Year-Old Enter an age of **45** and leave the maximum heart rate source on **Tanaka**. The calculator estimates maximum heart rate as 208 − 0.7 × 45 = **176.5 bpm** and multiplies it by each zone boundary, rounding to the nearest beat. Zone 2, the easy aerobic range most endurance plans are built on, comes out at **106–124 bpm**. Zone 4, the hard range used for threshold intervals, is **141–159 bpm**. Switch the source to **220 − age** and the maximum becomes **175 bpm**. The zones shift by a beat or two — Zone 2 becomes **105–123 bpm** and Zone 4 **140–158 bpm** — because at 45 the two formulas are only **1.5 bpm** apart. If you have done a proper maximal test and seen, say, **182 bpm**, choose **Measured** and enter it. The zones then come from your number rather than an average: Zone 2 becomes **109–127 bpm** and Zone 5 tops out at **182**. A measured maximum is always better than either formula. ## The Formulas This Calculator Uses **Traditional maximum heart rate:** HRmax = 220 − age. It is usually credited to Fox, Naughton and Haskell in 1971, but it was never derived from a formal study designed to predict maximum heart rate. It became standard because it is easy to remember. **Tanaka maximum heart rate:** HRmax = 208 − 0.7 × age. Tanaka and colleagues pooled results from 351 published studies covering 18,712 people, then checked the equation in laboratory testing of 514 healthy adults, where they found an almost identical 209 − 0.7 × age. They concluded that 220 − age underestimates maximum heart rate in older adults, and that the relationship did not differ between men and women or with habitual activity level. Below age 40 the Tanaka equation gives the lower figure of the two. **Zone boundaries:** bpm = HRmax × percentage ÷ 100, rounded to the nearest whole beat. The five zones are **50–60%** (very light), **60–70%** (light), **70–80%** (moderate), **80–90%** (hard) and **90–100%** (maximum). The top of one zone is the bottom of the next. That is everything the calculator does. It does not use resting heart rate. The [Karvonen heart rate zone calculator](/calculators/heart-rate-reserve-karvonen-calculator) is **the more precise Karvonen method**: it subtracts your resting heart rate to find your heart rate reserve and takes percentages of that, so two people of the same age with different resting pulses get different zones there, but the same zones here. ## A Second Example: Where the Two Formulas Disagree The two equations give identical answers at exactly **age 40**, where both produce 180 bpm. Move away from 40 and they separate. **At age 65**, 220 − age gives **155 bpm** and Tanaka gives **162.5 bpm**, a gap of **7.5 bpm**. Every zone moves with it: Zone 2 is **93–109 bpm** by the traditional formula but **98–114 bpm** by Tanaka, and Zone 4 is **124–140 bpm** against **130–146 bpm**. Because Tanaka and colleagues found that 220 − age underestimates maximum heart rate in older adults, an older exerciser following the traditional numbers is likely to be training easier than intended in every zone. **At age 25** the gap runs the other way. The traditional maximum is **195 bpm** and Tanaka's is **190.5 bpm**, so Zone 4 is **156–176 bpm** by 220 − age against **152–171 bpm** by Tanaka. A younger person gets slightly higher zones from the traditional formula than from Tanaka's, though the difference is smaller than at 65. Neither answer is your real maximum. The practical lesson is that the older you are, the more it matters which formula you pick, and the more worthwhile it is to check the zones against how the effort actually feels. ## What the Zones Mean, and Why Guidelines Label Them Differently Zones 1 and 2 are easy enough to hold a conversation, and they make up most of the training time in endurance plans. Zone 3 is steady and comfortably hard. Zone 4 is the range for sustained hard intervals. Zone 5 can be held only briefly. Guidelines use broader labels than training zones. The American Heart Association describes moderate-intensity activity as about **50–70%** of maximum heart rate and vigorous activity as about **70–85%**. Those ranges cut across the five zones — moderate spans Zones 1 and 2, and vigorous covers Zone 3 and part of Zone 4 — and other organisations draw the lines in slightly different places. A five-zone table lets you see where any guideline's range falls on your own numbers: at age 45 with the Tanaka estimate, the AHA's vigorous range is about **124–150 bpm**. Heart rate also lags effort. In a 30-second sprint it may never reach the zone the effort really belongs in, and on a long, hot session it drifts upward even at a constant pace. For short intervals, go by effort or pace; for steady sessions, heart rate is a good guide. Our [heart rate zone training guide](/blog/health/heart-rate-zone-training) covers how to build a week around the zones. ## Limitations **It estimates an average.** Both formulas describe the typical maximum for a given age, and individuals differ from it substantially. Two 45-year-olds can have real maximums many beats apart with no difference in fitness or health. **Medication and illness change heart rate.** Beta blockers and some other drugs blunt the heart rate response to exercise, which makes age-based zones meaningless. Fever, dehydration, heat, caffeine and poor sleep all raise heart rate at a given effort. **It is not a medical exercise prescription.** If you have heart disease, high blood pressure that is not controlled, or chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness when you exercise, see a doctor before training to heart rate targets. **Wrist sensors can be wrong.** Optical heart rate readings are less reliable during intervals and strength work than a chest strap, so a zone reading may reflect the sensor rather than your heart. ## Related Calculators If you know your resting heart rate, the [Karvonen heart rate reserve calculator](/calculators/heart-rate-reserve-karvonen-calculator) personalises these zones further, and the [recovery heart rate calculator](/calculators/recovery-heart-rate-calculator) shows how quickly your heart rate falls after a hard effort, a separate marker of fitness. To see what your aerobic capacity looks like as a number, the [VO2 max estimation calculator](/calculators/vo2-max-estimation-calculator) works from a field test, and the [pace calculator](/calculators/pace-calculator) turns a zone-based run into target pace and finish times. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I calculate my target heart rate? Estimate your maximum heart rate, then multiply it by the intensity you want. With the Tanaka equation, a 45-year-old's maximum is 208 − 0.7 × 45 = 176.5 bpm, so 70% intensity is about 124 bpm. With 220 − age the maximum is 175 bpm and 70% is about 123 bpm. ### Is 220 minus age accurate? Only roughly. It was never based on a formal prediction study. Tanaka and colleagues concluded in 2001 that it underestimates maximum heart rate in older adults. The two formulas agree at age 40, differ by 7.5 bpm at 65, and at 25 the traditional formula is 4.5 bpm higher. ### What is the difference between this and the Karvonen method? This calculator takes percentages of maximum heart rate only. The Karvonen method takes percentages of heart rate reserve, which is maximum minus resting heart rate, then adds the resting rate back. Karvonen is more personalised because it accounts for your resting pulse. ### What heart rate zone burns the most fat? Lower zones use a higher proportion of fat for fuel, but higher zones burn more total energy per minute. For weight loss, total energy spent over a week matters more than the fuel mix of any one session, so the best zone is the one you can do consistently. ### Why is my heart rate higher than my zone at an easy pace? Heat, dehydration, caffeine, stress, poor sleep and illness all raise heart rate at a given effort. Your real maximum may also be higher than the formula estimate, which would make every zone too low for you. A measured maximum solves the second problem. ### How do I find my real maximum heart rate? The reliable way is a supervised maximal exercise test. Field tests with repeated all-out efforts can come close, but they are very demanding and not advisable for anyone with heart disease, symptoms on exertion, or who has been inactive. If you have a measured maximum, enter it in the Measured option. ### What heart rate counts as moderate exercise? The American Heart Association describes moderate intensity as about 50–70% of maximum heart rate and vigorous intensity as about 70–85%. For a 45-year-old with a Tanaka maximum of 176.5 bpm, moderate is about 88–124 bpm and vigorous about 124–150 bpm. Other organisations draw these lines slightly differently. ## Related concepts - **Maximum Heart Rate** — The highest heart rate reached during all-out exercise. Age equations estimate the average; a laboratory test measures the individual value. - **Tanaka Equation** — HRmax = 208 − 0.7 × age, from a 2001 analysis of 351 studies. It gives higher estimates than 220 − age after 40 and lower ones before it. - **Heart Rate Reserve** — Maximum minus resting heart rate. It is the basis of the Karvonen method, which this calculator deliberately does not use. ## Related guides - [Heart Rate Zone Training: How to Use Intensity Zones Correctly](https://dothecalculation.com/blog/health/heart-rate-zone-training) — Learn how heart rate zones work, how to estimate target ranges, and how to use zone-based training with the right medical and practical caution. ## Related calculators - [Karvonen Heart Rate Zone Calculator](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/heart-rate-reserve-karvonen-calculator) — Estimate your target heart rate training zones using the Karvonen formula based on resting and maximum heart rate for workouts. - [Recovery Heart Rate Calculator](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/recovery-heart-rate-calculator) — One and two-minute heart rate recovery after exercise, as raw beats and as a share of heart rate reserve. - [Average Blood Sugar (A1C) Calculator](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/a1c-average-blood-sugar-calculator) — Convert an A1C percentage into estimated average glucose (eAG) in mg/dL and mmol/L using the ADA formula. - [BMR Calculator](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/bmr-calculator) — Estimate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and daily calorie needs at rest based on your age, gender, height, and weight for accurate results. - [Metabolic Age Calculator](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/metabolic-age-calculator) — Estimate your metabolic age by comparing your basal metabolic rate (BMR) to population health benchmarks for your age group. - [Push-Up & Sit-Up Fitness Test Calculator](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/pushup-situp-fitness-test-calculator) — Rate your push-up and sit-up counts against published age-and-sex normative tables, from Very Poor to Excellent. --- _This calculator estimates maximum heart rate from age using 220 − age and the Tanaka equation (Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2001;37(1):153–156), then takes fixed percentages of it. The result is an estimate for an average person of your age, not a measurement of your heart. It is not medical advice. If you take heart rate-lowering medication, have a heart condition, or notice chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness during exercise, speak to a doctor before training by heart rate zones._ --- _Source: [Do The Calculation](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/target-heart-rate-zone-calculator). Quote freely with attribution and a link to this page._