---
title: "Heart Rate Zone Calculator: Karvonen & Tanaka | Zigzag Pulse"
description: "Work out your five heart rate training zones in bpm with the Karvonen heart-rate reserve method, from a Tanaka, 220 − age or measured maximum."
url: https://zigzagpulse.buzz/
---

Lead I · Heart rate zones

# Heart rate zone calculator

Your five training zones in beats per minute. Choose how to find your maximum heart rate, add your resting rate for the Karvonen method, and the zones update as you type.

## How the zones are worked out

**Maximum heart rate.** A measured maximum from a supervised test or an all-out race finish beats any formula. The familiar 220 − age is usually credited to Fox and colleagues (1971), but it was never derived from a formal study. Tanaka, Monahan and Seals (2001) pooled 351 studies and found that 208 − 0.7 × age fits healthy adults better, especially past 40. Either way, a real person's maximum is often 10 bpm or more away from the prediction, so treat zone edges as approximate.

**Karvonen zones** use your heart-rate reserve, the gap between resting and maximum: each zone starts at resting + percentage × reserve, so a lower resting rate spreads the zones wider. **Percent of maximum** is simpler and ignores the resting rate.

The five 10 % bands are a coaching convention, not a clinical standard. The ACSM column compares each band with the American College of Sports Medicine's intensity classes: moderate is 40–59 % of heart-rate reserve, vigorous 60–89 %.

Heart rate lags behind short efforts, drifts up in heat and long sessions, and some medicines such as beta blockers lower it; then go by how hard the effort feels as well.

## Sources

1. Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. *J Am Coll Cardiol* 2001;37(1):153–156. [doi:10.1016/S0735-1097(00)01054-8](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(00)01054-8)
2. Fox SM 3rd, Naughton JP, Haskell WL. Physical activity and the prevention of coronary heart disease. *Ann Clin Res* 1971;3(6):404–432. [PubMed 4945367](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4945367/)
3. Karvonen MJ, Kentala E, Mustala O. The effects of training on heart rate; a longitudinal study. *Ann Med Exp Biol Fenn* 1957;35(3):307–315. [PubMed 13470504](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13470504/)
4. Garber CE, Blissmer B, Deschenes MR, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults. *Med Sci Sports Exerc* 2011;43(7):1334–1359 (Table 4, intensity classes). [doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e318213fefb](https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e318213fefb)
5. Robergs RA, Landwehr R. The surprising history of the “HRmax = 220 − age” equation. *J Exerc Physiol Online* 2002;5(2):1–10.

## More fitness calculators

Four more tools, each with its formula shown and its source cited.

- [Target heart rate calculator](https://zigzagpulse.buzz/target-heart-rate-calculator/): bpm Turn an intensity into a bpm range, with ACSM's moderate and vigorous presets and 10-second pulse counts.
- [VO₂max calculator](https://zigzagpulse.buzz/vo2-max-calculator/): mL/kg/min Estimate aerobic fitness from the Cooper 12-minute run or the Rockport one-mile walk test.
- [One-rep max calculator](https://zigzagpulse.buzz/one-rep-max-calculator/): kg · lb Epley, Brzycki and Lombardi estimates from any set, plus a 50–100 % loading chart rounded to your plates.
- [BMR & TDEE calculator](https://zigzagpulse.buzz/bmr-calculator/): kcal/day Mifflin–St Jeor resting energy and daily needs for the three FAO/WHO/UNU activity levels.

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## Questions

**Which maximum heart rate formula should I use?**

Use a measured maximum if you have one. Otherwise Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age is the better general estimate for adults; 220 − age gives the same answer at 40, more when you are younger and less when you are older.

**Why are Karvonen zones higher than percent-of-max zones?**

Karvonen counts up from your resting rate instead of from zero. With a maximum of 185 and a resting rate of 60, 60 % works out at 135 bpm by Karvonen but only 111 bpm as a percentage of maximum.

**How do I measure my resting heart rate?**

Straight after waking, before you get up or have coffee, count your pulse at the wrist or neck for 60 seconds. Repeat on three to five mornings and use the average. A wearable's morning reading works too.

**Is it safe to train in zone 5?**

Short efforts near your maximum are part of many training plans for healthy, conditioned people, but they strain the heart. This is not medical advice: talk to a doctor before starting intense exercise, especially if you have a heart condition, take heart medicine or have been inactive.