Heart rate zones calculator
Training heart-rate zones tell you how hard to work for a given goal, from easy recovery to maximal effort. FitCalcs uses the Karvonen method, which is more personal than a flat percentage of your max heart rate because it factors in your resting pulse. Enter your age and resting heart rate, or your measured max, and you get five zones in beats per minute. Most endurance gains come from zone 2, an easy conversational pace. Check with a GP before hard training if you have a heart condition. This is general information.
How this is worked out
FitCalcs uses the Karvonen method, which is more personal than a flat percentage of max heart rate because it accounts for your resting pulse (your heart-rate reserve):
max HR = 220 − age (unless you enter your own)
reserve = max HR − resting HR
zone HR = (reserve x intensity %) + resting HR
The five zones run from easy recovery (50 to 60% of reserve) to maximal effort (90 to 100%). Most endurance gains come from zone 2, an easy conversational pace. The 220 minus age estimate can be 10 to 12 bpm out, so a measured max is better if you have one.
Informational only. Check with a GP before hard training if you have a heart condition. Editorially reviewed by FitCalcs, with each figure citing its source.
Common questions
How are my heart rate zones calculated?
FitCalcs uses the Karvonen method, which works from your heart-rate reserve, the gap between your resting and maximum heart rate. It applies each zone percentage to that reserve and adds your resting pulse back, giving five training zones in beats per minute from your age and resting heart rate, or your measured max if you enter one.
Why is Karvonen better than a percentage of max heart rate?
Because it accounts for your resting pulse, so it is more personal. A flat percentage of maximum heart rate ignores how fit you are, whereas the Karvonen method uses your heart-rate reserve, which reflects your resting rate. Two people the same age with different fitness get different, more individual zones.
How do I find my maximum heart rate?
The quick estimate is 220 minus your age, which this calculator uses if you do not enter your own. That estimate can be 10 to 12 beats per minute out for any individual, so a measured max from a hard test or a race is more accurate if you have one. Enter it and the zones update.
Which heart rate zone should I train in most?
Most endurance gains come from zone 2, an easy, conversational pace you could hold a chat at. Spending the bulk of your training there, with only occasional harder efforts, is the pattern most endurance coaches favour. Check with a GP before hard training if you have a heart condition. This is general information, not medical advice.
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Editor, FitCalcs
Oliver Mackman is the named editor of FitCalcs and a director of Best Business Loans Ltd (Companies House 16833937), the company that operates the site. He is accountable for its editorial standards, sourcing and corrections, and requires every result to cite the underlying equation and the named UK source behind it, with health tools carrying the appropriate not-medical-advice caveats.
Last reviewed: 12 June 2026