Training zones
The formula
How it works
Your target heart rate zones tell you how fast your heart should beat during exercise for different goals — from an easy warm-up to a hard interval. This calculator uses the Karvonen method, which factors in your resting heart rate for a personal result.
FAQ
What is the “fat-burning zone”?
It is roughly 60–70% of your maximum effort. You burn a higher share of fat there, but harder training burns more total calories — so the best zone depends on your goal.
How do I find my resting heart rate?
Count your pulse for a full minute first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed. A typical adult sits between 60 and 100 beats per minute; fitter people tend to be lower.
How accurate is the 220-minus-age formula?
It is a population average with a fairly wide error margin — an individual’s true maximum can be 10 to 15 beats higher or lower than the estimate. It is a useful starting point for setting zones, but a lab or field max-effort test gives a more precise number.
Why use the Karvonen method instead of a simple percentage of maximum?
A straight percentage of maximum heart rate ignores how fit you already are, so two people with very different resting rates get the same targets. The Karvonen method builds in your heart-rate reserve, the gap between resting and maximum, which makes the zones reflect your own fitness rather than age alone.
What is heart-rate reserve?
It is the difference between your maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate — essentially how much your heart rate can climb from rest to full effort. A larger reserve usually reflects better cardiovascular fitness, since a lower resting rate stretches the gap.
Can medication affect my target heart rate zones?
Yes — beta blockers and some other heart or blood pressure medications lower both resting and maximum heart rate, which makes age-based formulas unreliable. If you take heart-rate-affecting medication, ask a doctor for a personalized maximum rather than relying on the 220-minus-age estimate.
Is there a way to check my zone without a heart-rate monitor?
The talk test is a simple substitute: if you can speak in full sentences you are likely in an easy zone, if you can only manage short phrases you are in a moderate zone, and if you cannot talk at all you are near your hardest effort. Perceived exertion — how hard the effort feels on a 1-to-10 scale — tracks heart-rate zones closely for most people.
About the target heart rate calculator
This calculator works out the heart-rate zones you should train in for different intensities, personalised with your resting heart rate. Exercising in the right zone makes training more effective and safer: too easy and you miss the benefit, too hard and you cannot sustain it. Heart rate is the simplest way to measure effort from the inside, which is why fitness watches and gym machines all display it.
How to use it
Enter your age and your resting heart rate in beats per minute. The calculator estimates your maximum heart rate and then shows the beats-per-minute range for each training zone, from an easy warm-up up to maximum effort. For example, a 30-year-old with a resting rate of 65 has a maximum of about 190 and an aerobic zone of roughly 152–165 bpm. Wear a heart-rate monitor during exercise to check you are in the zone you want.
The formula
This uses the Karvonen method, . The maximum heart rate is estimated as , and the difference between that and your resting rate is your heart-rate reserve. Each zone takes a percentage of that reserve and adds your resting rate back, which makes the zones personal — two people of the same age get different targets if their resting rates differ.
Where it is used
Runners, cyclists and gym-goers use heart-rate zones to structure workouts — easy days truly easy, hard intervals truly hard. Coaches prescribe training by zone to build endurance or speed without overtraining. Cardiac rehab programmes use target rates to keep patients exercising safely, and fitness trackers colour-code your zones in real time so you can adjust your effort on the move.