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Heart rate zone calculator

Karvonen zones from the rates you type

The Karvonen method builds a target heart rate from resting rate and heart-rate reserve. Reserve is max minus resting. A target is resting plus reserve times an intensity. This page fills five bands, from 50–60 percent through 90–100 percent of that reserve. It is arithmetic. It is not a training prescription, and it does not estimate your max if you leave the box empty.

Inputs

Result

Fill in the fields and press Calculate.

Disclaimer: Zones from two rates you enter. Not a training plan and not medical advice.

How to use

  1. Enter a max heart rate you are willing to use. This page will not invent one from your age.
  2. Enter a resting rate, measured when you are still. It has to be below the max.
  3. Press Calculate. The hero is the reserve, max minus resting.
  4. Read the five bands. The top of one band is the bottom of the next.

How it's calculated

Heart-rate reserve = max − resting. Zone edges use intensities 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 percent. Target = resting + reserve × intensity.

A formula such as 220 minus age is not used. If you want that estimate, compute it elsewhere and type the result, knowing it is only an estimate.

Worked example

A max of 180 and a resting rate of 60 give a reserve of 120. Zone 1 is 120–132 bpm, zone 2 is 132–144, zone 3 is 144–156, zone 4 is 156–168, and zone 5 is 168–180. The displayed beats are rounded.

Assumptions

The two rates you typed. No age, no medication, and no diagnosis. Stop and get medical help for chest pain or other warning signs. This page will not tell you which zone to train in.

FAQ

Why doesn't this ask my age?

Age formulas for max heart rate are rough, and they are a different tool. Type the max you measured or the max you were given.

What is heart-rate reserve?

Max minus resting. Karvonen applies the percent to that gap, then adds the resting rate back.

Are these the same zones my watch shows?

Maybe not. Watches pick their own edges. These five bands are the percents listed on the result.

Can resting be higher than max?

No. The page rejects that pair.

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