Target heart rate calculator
Enter your age and, if you like, your resting heart rate. See your estimated maximum heart rate and your training zones by intensity.
Optional. Count for a minute in the morning before you get up.
Your estimated maximum heart rate
–bpm
–
Heart rate zones by intensity
Heart rate zones by intensity
- –LightYou can talk easily
- –ModerateYou can talk, but not sing
- –VigorousMore than a few words gets hard
- –Near maximalShort intervals, needs experience
This is an estimate for healthy adults, not a medical assessment. If you take medication that affects heart rate (a beta blocker, for example), have heart or vascular disease, or get chest pain, breathlessness or dizziness during exercise, talk to your physician first.
Sources
- Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2001.
- Garber CE et al. ACSM position stand: Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining fitness in apparently healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2011.
- Karvonen MJ, Kentala E, Mustala O. The effects of training on heart rate: a longitudinal study. Ann Med Exp Biol Fenn, 1957.
Start by measuring your team's fitness
We measure aerobic endurance, strength and balance in your organisation with simple tests. Individual results are never shared with the employer; your organisation sees anonymous totals only.
Common questions
How is maximum heart rate calculated?
This tool uses the Tanaka formula: 208 - 0.7 x age. For a 40-year-old that is 208 - 28 = 180 bpm. The older 220 - age formula overestimates the maximum in young people and underestimates it after 40. Any formula is an average: your real maximum may differ by around 10 beats.
Why ask for resting heart rate?
With a resting heart rate the tool uses the Karvonen method: target = resting rate + percentage x (maximum - resting rate). That fits the zones to your fitness. Without it, the zones are a share of your maximum heart rate.
Which zone should I train in?
ACSM recommends moderate and vigorous intensity for most adults. The World Health Organization likewise recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. If you are starting out, begin in the light and moderate zones and build duration before intensity.