FREE TOOL

Heart Rate Zone Calculator.
Your 5 zones, Karvonen method.

Enter your age and resting heart rate, done. You get your heart rate zones with training effect and example sessions. Instant, free, no sign-up.

TRAINING ZONES

/ 01    CALCULATOR

Three inputs.
Five zones.

Calculated with the Karvonen method via heart rate reserve. It includes your resting heart rate, which makes it more accurate than zones derived from maximum heart rate alone.

Please enter an age between 16 and 90.

Measure in the morning before getting up, average 3 days.

Please enter a resting heart rate between 30 and 100.

Leave empty: estimate via Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age). More accurate than the old 220-minus-age rule, which runs systematically low for people over 40.

Max heart rate must be between 120 and 220 and above your resting heart rate.

TRAINING ZONES

/ 02    FAQ

What you need to know
about heart rate zones.

What is the Karvonen method?

It calculates training zones from the heart rate reserve, the span between resting and maximum heart rate: target = resting HR + percentage × (max HR − resting HR). Because your resting heart rate is included, the zones adapt to your training state. Two people with the same maximum but different resting heart rates get different, better-fitting ranges.

Why Tanaka instead of 220 minus age?

The 220-minus-age rule was never derived from a systematic study and is often far off, especially over 40. Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age) is based on a meta-analysis of more than 18,000 people and hits the average better. Both remain estimates with roughly ±10 beats of spread. A properly measured value beats any formula.

How do I get my real maximum heart rate?

Most reliably from performance diagnostics under medical supervision. Alternatively from a clean field test after a thorough warm-up, provided you are healthy and well trained. Race values with a finishing sprint come close to the maximum. The highest value your watch ever displayed is unreliable: optical sensors often misread at high intensity.

How much zone 2 training per week makes sense?

For most working people, 2 to 4 sessions of 45 to 90 minutes are realistic and effective, roughly 150 to 250 minutes in total. Endurance athletes following the 80/20 principle spend about 80 percent of their training at low intensity. Consistency over months matters more than the perfect number.

Why does zone 2 feel so slow?

Because it should. You work below the first lactate threshold. The stimulus works through duration and frequency, not effort. Going too fast means training between the stimuli: too hard for the base, too easy for the threshold. Rule of thumb is the talk test: full sentences must be possible.

Are the zones the same for running and cycling?

Not exactly. On the bike, heart rate at the same effort is typically 5 to 10 beats lower because less muscle mass is working. If you train both, adjust your cycling zones downwards or test sport-specifically.

TRAINING ZONES

/ 03    KEEP READING

Related articles
from the blog.

ONE STEP FURTHER

Zones from a formula are good.
Measured ones are better.

In the Blueprint Session we work with your actual data: performance diagnostics, blood work, load and daily life as one system.

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