Target Heart Rate

Methodology

Maximum heart rate = 220 − age. Heart-rate reserve = maximum − resting. Target = reserve × intensity + resting, rounded to a whole beat. The zone edges are 50, 70, 85 and 100% of the reserve. The American Heart Association describes moderate activity as about 50 to 70% and vigorous activity as about 70 to 85% of maximum heart rate. The default heart-rate reserve method applies those percentages to the reserve, so its numbers come out higher than the AHA chart for the same age. The Percent of maximum option applies them to the maximum alone (target = maximum × percentage, rounded to a whole beat), which gives the AHA chart’s figures. The maximum can instead be 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka, Monahan and Seals, 2001) or a measured value of 100 to 250 bpm, which replaces either formula. Five zones splits 50 to 100% into 10-point bands with the Cleveland Clinic’s labels (moderate-low, moderate, moderate-high, high, very high); the Cleveland Clinic gives them as percentages of maximum, and in the reserve method the tool applies them to the reserve.

Frequently asked questions

What is my target heart rate for my age?

With a resting heart rate of 70 bpm, the 50 to 85% range by the Karvonen method is 135 to 181 bpm at age 20, 125 to 164 at 40 and 115 to 147 at 60. Enter your own resting rate, because it moves the numbers: at age 40, a resting rate of 50 gives 115 to 161 and a resting rate of 90 gives 135 to 167. By percent of maximum, the American Heart Association’s method, the 50 to 85% range is 95 to 162 bpm at 30, 90 to 153 at 40 and 85 to 145 at 50.

What is the Karvonen formula?

Target heart rate = (maximum heart rate − resting heart rate) × intensity + resting heart rate. The difference between maximum and resting is called the heart-rate reserve. The method is named after a 1957 study of training and heart rate by Karvonen, Kentala and Mustala.

Why are these zones higher than the American Heart Association chart?

The AHA chart takes 50 to 85% of maximum heart rate, which is 95 to 162 bpm at age 30; choose Percent of maximum to get those numbers. The default reserve method takes the same percentages of the reserve and adds the resting rate back, which gives 130 to 172 bpm at age 30 with a resting rate of 70. The American College of Sports Medicine cautions that the methods cannot be assumed to be equivalent, so do not mix numbers from one with labels from the other.

Is 220 minus age accurate?

It is an average, and individuals differ from it. A 2001 analysis of 351 studies found that maximum heart rate follows 208 − 0.7 × age and that 220 − age underestimates it in older adults. At 60 the two formulas give 160 and 166 bpm, at 30 they give 190 and 187. The calculator offers both, and a measured maximum from a test replaces either.

Does medication change my target heart rate?

It can. The American Heart Association notes that some drugs lower the maximum heart rate and the target zone, and advises asking a health care professional what your heart rate should be if you have a heart condition or take medication. The calculator cannot adjust for this.

What are the five heart rate zones?

Five equal bands from 50 to 100%: zone 1 moderate-low (50 to 60%), zone 2 moderate (60 to 70%), zone 3 moderate-high (70 to 80%), zone 4 high (80 to 90%) and zone 5 very high (90 to 100%), the labels the Cleveland Clinic uses. As a share of a 190 bpm maximum (age 30) they are 95 to 114, 114 to 133, 133 to 152, 152 to 171 and 171 to 190 bpm. With the reserve method and a resting rate of 70 they are 130 to 142, 142 to 154, 154 to 166, 166 to 178 and 178 to 190 bpm.