Guide
Heart Rate Zones
Quick answer
A heart-rate zone is a range of beats per minute. The common version takes a percent of an estimated max heart rate. The Karvonen version uses heart-rate reserve: max minus resting, then a percent of that reserve, added back to the resting rate.
Two estimates of max are on the calculator. 220 minus age is the old rule of thumb. Tanaka, Monahan, and Seals (2001) published 208 minus 0.7 times age. Neither one is your measured max. If you have a real max from a test supervised by someone qualified, use that instead.
Not medical advice. Estimates of max heart rate are rough. Stop if you have chest pain, and talk to a qualified professional before a new conditioning program if you have a health condition.
Heart rate zone calculatorPercent of max and Karvonen bands from age and resting heart rate.Open →On this page
- Which max heart rate should you use?
- How are the bands built?
- How does this apply to lifting?
- What are the limits?
- Key takeaways
- FAQ
Which max heart rate should you use?
The one you measured, if you have it. Otherwise pick an estimate and stay with it so the zones do not jump around. Tanaka's equation was a regression on a large set of studies, not a promise for one person. The DOI is in the sources. 220 minus age is widely repeated. We are not attaching a fake paper to it.
Medications, especially ones that blunt heart rate, make both estimates the wrong tool. That is a conversation with a clinician, not with a calculator.
How are the bands built?
Percent of max is the simpler one. Fifty percent of 190 is 95 beats. Seventy percent is 133. The labels people stick on those bands (easy, tempo, threshold) are conventions. The calculator shows the beats. It does not prescribe a training plan.
Karvonen's reserve method, from the 1957 paper by Karvonen, Kentala, and Mustala, pulls the zones up if your resting heart rate is higher, because the reserve is smaller and the resting rate is the floor. Enter a true resting rate, taken on a calm morning, not a number you typed after walking up the stairs.
How does this apply to lifting?
Lifting heart rates spike during a set and fall during the rest. A zone chart built for steady running will not describe a set of five squats. Use the zones for the conditioning you do beside the lifting: a bike, a row, a jog.
If you only lift, you do not need a zone to get stronger. You need the loads in the log to move. Conditioning is a separate job. VO2 max estimates are a different question and a different formula.
What are the limits?
Wrist sensors drop out during gripping. A noisy reading is not a zone. Chest straps are usually steadier for intervals. Either way, how the work feels and whether you can speak still matters. A number that says 'easy' while you are gasping is wrong for that day.
Do not use this page to decide whether chest pain is acceptable. Stop and get medical help. The calculator is arithmetic.
Treat the zones the way the FFMI page treats the number 25: a published estimate, not a personal cutoff. Easy conditioning still belongs in a deload.
Key takeaways
- 220 minus age is a rough estimate, not a measurement.
- Tanaka's line is 208 minus 0.7 times age.
- Karvonen uses the gap between max and resting heart rate.
- A zone chart does not describe a heavy set of squats.
FAQ
Is 220 minus age accurate?
It is a rough estimate. Tanaka's 208 minus 0.7 times age is another estimate, from a 2001 paper. A measured max beats both.
What is heart-rate reserve?
Max heart rate minus resting heart rate. Karvonen zones take a percent of that span and add the resting rate back.
Which zone burns more fat?
A low zone uses a higher share of fat as fuel and less total fuel. This page will not promise fat loss from a zone.
Can I use the zones for rest periods between sets?
You can watch your heart rate fall. A specific zone is not required before the next set. Bar speed and the reps you want are the better signal.
Does caffeine change this?
It can raise heart rate. The zones do not know what you drank. Judge the session, not only the watch.