How to Find and Train in Your Heart Rate Zones
Learn what the five heart rate zones are, how max heart rate and the Karvonen method work, and how to train in each zone.
Quick Answer
Heart rate zones split your effort into five bands, from an easy warm-up to an all-out sprint, each defined as a range of beats per minute. They are built from your maximum heart rate, which this calculator estimates from your age using either the classic 220 minus age or the more accurate Tanaka formula. Add your resting heart rate and it switches to the Karvonen method, which personalises the zones to your fitness. Zone 2, around 60 to 70 percent of your maximum, is the easy aerobic pace most endurance training should live in.
Try The Heart Rate Zone Calculator →What the Zones Mean
Each zone trains something different. Zone 1, 50 to 60 percent, is a gentle warm-up or recovery. Zone 2, 60 to 70 percent, is easy conversational effort that builds your aerobic base and is where the bulk of endurance work belongs. Zone 3, 70 to 80 percent, is a moderate, slightly harder steady effort. Zone 4, 80 to 90 percent, is hard work near your lactate threshold that raises your ceiling. Zone 5, 90 to 100 percent, is maximal effort you can only hold for short bursts, used sparingly in intervals.
Estimating Maximum Heart Rate
Every zone is a fraction of your maximum heart rate, so the estimate of that maximum matters. The familiar 220 minus age is easy to remember but rough, with real values scattered around ten beats either way. The Tanaka formula, 208 minus 0.7 times your age, tracks the population a little better, particularly for older adults. Neither is a substitute for a measured maximum from a hard supervised test or a chest-strap monitor, but for planning everyday training they are close enough.
Personalising With the Karvonen Method
A flat percentage of your maximum ignores how fit you are. The Karvonen method fixes that by working from your heart-rate reserve, the difference between your resting and maximum heart rates. It takes a percentage of that reserve and adds your resting rate back on. Because a fitter person has a lower resting heart rate and therefore a bigger reserve, their zones shift to match. Add your resting heart rate here and the zones recalculate to reflect your individual fitness.