Heart Rate Zone Calculator
Work out your five training zones from your age, and more precisely from your resting heart rate if you know it.
Estimated max heart rate
— bpm
Percent of max heart rate
- Z1Active RecoveryLow aerobic — recovery and warm-up——
- Z2EnduranceLow aerobic — the conversational base——
- Z3TempoHigh aerobic — steady, working——
- Z4ThresholdAnaerobic — threshold intervals——
- Z5MaximumAnaerobic — maximal, short bursts——
How this is worked out
Your maximum heart rate is estimated as 220 − age. That is the common shorthand and it is a rough one: real maxima vary by roughly ±10 beats either side of it, so a measured max from a hard effort or a lab test beats this every time. Beacon lets you set your own rather than assuming.
With no resting heart rate, each zone is a straight share of that maximum. Add one and the page switches to Karvonen, which works from your heart rate reserve: % × (max − resting) + resting. Karvonen reads higher at every zone, because it starts counting from your resting rate rather than from zero.
The boundaries — 45, 60, 70, 80 and 90 percent — are the ones Beacon itself scores your workouts against, not the 50/60/70/80/90 split most calculators use. That is deliberate: zones you set here should be the zones the app grades you on.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between percent of max and Karvonen?
Percent of max takes a flat share of your maximum heart rate. Karvonen works from your heart rate reserve — the gap between resting and maximum — and adds your resting rate back on. Karvonen produces higher numbers at every zone and is the more personal of the two, because two people with the same maximum and very different resting rates should not train at the same bpm.
How accurate is 220 minus age?
As a population average it is fine; for one person it can be off by ten beats in either direction. If you have ever seen a genuine maximum on a hard effort or a lab test, use that instead — it will change every zone on this page.
Why do these zones start at 45 percent?
Because that is where Beacon starts Zone 1, and zones you set from this page should match the ones the app grades your workouts against. Many calculators start Zone 1 at 50 percent, which would put every boundary in a slightly different place.
Which zone should I train in?
Most endurance plans put the bulk of the week in Zones 1 and 2 — the conversational end — with a small amount of hard work in Zones 4 and 5. The common mistake is spending the whole week in Zone 3, which is tiring without being either restful or sharp.
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