Heart rate zone calculator

General wellness information, not medical advice. Results are estimates based on published formulas and ranges; they are not a diagnosis. Read more.

How to use the heart rate zone calculator

1. Enter your age. Max heart rate is estimated from age. The default 220 − age formula is what most gyms and watches use.
2. Add your resting heart rate. Optional. With it, the calculator uses the Karvonen method, which scales zones to your personal heart rate reserve and is more accurate for fit people.
3. Pick a formula if you like. Tanaka fits large adult datasets better; Gulati was derived for women. Differences are a few beats.
4. Read the zones. Each row shows the BPM range and what that effort feels like, so you can train by feel when you have no monitor.

What the five heart rate zones mean

Zones divide effort between rest and maximum. Zone 2 is where most endurance training should happen: easy enough to hold a conversation, hard enough to build aerobic capacity. Zones 4 and 5 are for intervals. A common weekly split for recreational athletes is about 80 percent of time in zones 1 to 2 and 20 percent in zones 3 to 5.

Why the Karvonen method is more personal

Percent-of-max zones ignore how fit you already are. Two 40-year-olds with the same max of 180 but resting rates of 48 and 72 have very different reserves. Karvonen zones use max minus resting, so the fitter person's zone 2 sits higher in BPM, which matches how training actually feels.

How accurate is 220 minus age?

It is a population average with a standard deviation of roughly 10 to 12 beats, so your true max may be anywhere from about 20 BPM below to 20 above the estimate. A measured max from a supervised test is more accurate. Use the estimate for structuring training, not for medical decisions.

Wellness disclaimer. Pulse Tracker is intended for general wellness use only. It is not a medical device, is not FDA cleared or approved, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. Blood pressure shown in the app is either a value you entered from your own cuff or an estimate derived from the pulse signal after cuff calibration; it is not a measurement and must not be used to make medical decisions. Read the full wellness disclaimer. Camera readings, estimates and classifications are for general information only and can be affected by movement, lighting, skin temperature and other factors. Do not use them to diagnose, treat or make decisions about a medical condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional, and call emergency services if you have chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting or other urgent symptoms.