Target Heart Rate Zones

Training zones from age, optional resting pulse, Fox or Tanaka max HR, and Karvonen when rest is entered

100% free. Runs entirely in your browser - your files and data never leave your device and nothing is uploaded to any server.

Leave resting at 0 to use percent of max HR. A morning pulse after sitting quietly is the usual rest value.

Max HR formula

Estimated max HR184 bpmKarvonen (heart-rate reserve)
Zone 1 · Recovery / warm-up122-134 bpm
Zone 2 · Easy aerobic / fat burn134-147 bpm
Zone 3 · Tempo147-159 bpm
Zone 4 · Threshold159-172 bpm
Zone 5 · VO2 max172-184 bpm

Estimates only. Not medical advice and not a diagnosis. Talk to a clinician about your own numbers. Stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness or unusual shortness of breath.

About this tool

Training zones are percentages of max heart rate, or of heart-rate reserve when you enter a resting pulse (Karvonen). Max HR here is either Fox (220 minus age) or Tanaka (208 minus 0.7 times age). Both are population estimates; a lab test or a recent hard effort is better. Chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness is a reason to stop and get care. Estimates only. Not medical advice.

How to use this tool

  1. Enter ageMax HR formulas are age-based. Tanaka is the default.
  2. Optional: resting pulseA morning seated pulse makes Karvonen zones. Set it to 0 to use percent of max only.
  3. Read zones 1 to 5Zone 2 is the easy aerobic / fat-burn band people usually mean.

Key features

  • Fox and Tanaka max HR side by side as a choice.
  • Karvonen when rest HR is entered, percent of max when it is not.
  • Zones labelled recovery, fat burn, tempo, threshold and VO2 max.
  • Private in your browser.

Common uses

  • Setting a watch's fat-burn or zone 2 alert.
  • A walk/run plan that wants an easy aerobic cap.
  • Comparing 220-minus-age with Tanaka before a coaching session.

Tips for better results

  • Measure rest HR seated, after waking, before coffee.
  • Zone 2 should feel like you can talk in sentences.
  • Beta blockers and some other medicines change heart-rate training. Ask the prescriber.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Living in zone 4 every session because the watch looks exciting.
  • Using a standing or post-coffee pulse as rest HR.
  • Ignoring symptoms because the number is "in zone 2".

Frequently asked questions

Zone = rest + percent of (max minus rest). It personalises the band if your resting pulse is low from fitness or high from stress.

It is a rough average. Tanaka is slightly better for many adults. A lab test or a recent hard effort is better still.

This page uses 60 to 70 percent of max (or of heart-rate reserve on Karvonen) as zone 2. Fat is still used at other intensities. The zone is about sustainable aerobic work.

Yes. It is free for normal use with no account required.

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