Health & Fitness · Fitness

Target Heart Rate Calculator — Training Zones and Max Heart Rate

Find your estimated maximum heart rate (Tanaka, classic 220 − age or Gellish) and your target heart rate for moderate (50–70 %) and vigorous (70–85 %) exercise, plus five training zones. Add your resting heart rate to use the Karvonen heart-rate-reserve method, which fits fitter people better.

Your inputs

Quick start — try a typical case

Age

years

Max Heart Rate Formula

Method

Your result Live

Moderate-intensity Target

92–128 bpm

Vigorous: 128–156 bpm · max 184 bpm

Estimated Maximum: 184 bpm — Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age)
Beats in 10 Seconds (moderate): 15–21 — handy when checking your pulse

Training zones

5 rows

Zone	% of max	Heart rate
Zone 1 — very light, warm-up and recovery	50–60%	92–110 bpm
Zone 2 — light, endurance base	60–70%	110–128 bpm
Zone 3 — moderate, aerobic	70–80%	128–147 bpm
Zone 4 — hard, threshold	80–90%	147–165 bpm
Zone 5 — maximum, short intervals	90–100%	165–184 bpm

Age formulas can be off by 10 bpm or more for an individual. Some medicines (such as beta-blockers) lower heart rate — ask your doctor for your target if you take them or have a heart condition.

Population-average estimates for healthy adults, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before major changes to diet or exercise, or if you are pregnant or have a health condition.

How this is calculated

Max HR: 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka), 220 − age, or 207 − 0.7 × age · Target = max × % · Karvonen: resting + (max − resting) × %

AHA: Moderate 50–70 %, vigorous 70–85 % of maximum

Exercise intensity is often set as a share of your maximum heart rate. The American Heart Association suggests 50–70 % for moderate and 70–85 % for vigorous exercise. The Tanaka formula predicts maximum heart rate better than the old 220 − age, especially for older adults. Karvonen's method works on the reserve between resting and maximum, so a fitter heart gets higher targets.

Assumptions & sources

Healthy adults; formulas estimate maximum heart rate from age only.

1Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited (208 − 0.7 × age) — Tanaka, Monahan & Seals — Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2001
2Target heart rates — moderate 50–70 %, vigorous 70–85 % of maximum — American Heart Association

Calculator ID HLTH-THR-001 · version 1.0.0

Common questions

What's the target heart rate for a 35-year-old?

Maximum about 184 bpm (Tanaka: 208 − 0.7 × 35 = 183.5), so moderate exercise is about 92–128 bpm and vigorous 128–156 bpm.

What is the 'fat-burning zone'?

Lower-intensity zone 2 (60–70 % of max), where a larger share of energy comes from fat — though higher intensities burn more calories in total.

Why add my resting heart rate?

The Karvonen method uses it to set zones on your heart-rate reserve, which suits fit people with low resting rates better.