Free max heart rate calculator
Find your maximum heart rate in two seconds. Enter your age and the calculator returns your max HR from both the classic 220 − age rule and the more accurate Tanaka formula, plus your five target training zones in beats per minute — add your resting heart rate for personalised Karvonen zones, updated live, as you type.
On this page15 sections
| Zone | % max | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Very light · Warm-up, recovery | 50–60% | 90–108 bpm |
| Fat burn · Weight management, base endurance | 60–70% | 108–126 bpm |
| Aerobic · Cardiovascular fitness, stamina | 70–80% | 126–144 bpm |
| Anaerobic · Performance, lactate threshold | 80–90% | 144–162 bpm |
| Maximum (VO2 max) · Short, intense intervals | 90–100% | 162–180 bpm |
Age formulas estimate max heart rate within about ±10–12 bpm. How accurate is this?
Results are estimates. Consult a professional.
How the max heart rate calculator works
Your maximum heart rate (MHR) is the highest number of beats per minute your heart can reach during all-out effort. It is not something you train up or down — it is set mostly by your age and your genetics, and it declines slowly over the years. Knowing it matters because every heart-rate training zone is defined as a percentage of it: get the ceiling right and your easy runs stay easy and your hard intervals stay hard. This calculator estimates that ceiling from a single input — your age — using two well-established formulas, then builds your five target training zones from the result.
What the number actually represents
The result is an estimate of the fastest your heart can beat, in beats per minute (bpm), before it can no longer pump effectively. It is a personal ceiling, not a target — you would only approach it during maximal exertion. The useful figures for everyday training sit below it, in the zones the calculator lays out: a fat-burning effort, an aerobic effort, a hard anaerobic effort, and so on, each a defined slice of your maximum.
Maximum heart rate is distinct from resting heart rate (your beats per minute at complete rest, typically 60–100 bpm) and from target heart rate (the working range you aim for during exercise). This tool estimates the maximum and derives the targets from it.220 − age vs the Tanaka formula: which is more accurate?
The famous "220 minus your age" rule is easy to remember and good enough for a rough number, which is why the American Heart Association still uses it. But it was never derived from rigorous research — it is a convenient approximation, and it carries a wide error: any individual's true maximum can sit roughly ±10–12 bpm away from what the formula predicts. It also tends to overestimate the maximum for young adults and underestimate it for older adults.
The Tanaka formula, MHR = 208 − 0.7 × age, was published in 2001 from a meta-analysis of 351 studies plus a validation group — more than 18,000 people in total. It tracks measured maximum heart rates more closely across the age span and is endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine as the better age-based estimate, particularly for anyone over 40. Notice the cross-over: for a 20-year-old, 220 − age gives a higher number (200 vs 194), but the two formulas meet near age 40, and beyond that Tanaka returns the higher, more realistic figure.
| Age | 220 − age | Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age) |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 200 bpm | 194 bpm |
| 30 | 190 bpm | 187 bpm |
| 40 | 180 bpm | 180 bpm |
| 50 | 170 bpm | 173 bpm |
| 60 | 160 bpm | 166 bpm |
| 70 | 150 bpm | 159 bpm |
Both estimates rounded to the nearest bpm. The two agree near age 40 and diverge in opposite directions either side of it. Sources: American Heart Association (220 − age); Tanaka et al., 2001 (Tanaka).
A worked example using the max heart rate calculator
Sara is 40 and has just bought a chest-strap monitor. She wants to know her maximum heart rate and the bpm range for a steady, fat-burning effort. Here is exactly what the calculator does, step by step.
- Find the maximum with each formula. Classic: 220 − 40 = 180 bpm. Tanaka: 208 − 0.7 × 40 = 208 − 28 = 180 bpm. At 40 the two agree exactly — a useful coincidence that makes the rest of the arithmetic clean.
- Pick the working percentage. A "fat-burn" effort is 60–70% of maximum. Sara uses the simple percentage-of-MHR method first.
- Multiply the maximum by the band. Lower bound: 180 × 0.60 = 108 bpm. Upper bound: 180 × 0.70 = 126 bpm.
- Read the result. Sara keeps her heart between roughly 108 and 126 bpm for a fat-burning session, and knows that anything above about 162 bpm (90%) is into her near-maximal zone.
The five heart rate training zones explained
Once you know your maximum, every training intensity becomes a defined band beneath it. The widely used five-zone model splits effort from very light to maximal, each zone a 10-percentage-point slice of your maximum heart rate. Each zone trains something different — and most of your training should sit in the lower two or three.
| Zone | % of max HR | What it trains |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Very light | 50–60% | Warm-up, cool-down, recovery between hard days |
| 2 · Fat burn | 60–70% | Weight management and aerobic base — easy, conversational pace |
| 3 · Aerobic | 70–80% | Cardiovascular fitness, endurance, stamina |
| 4 · Anaerobic | 80–90% | Speed, power, and lactate-threshold work |
| 5 · Maximum | 90–100% | Short, all-out VO2-max intervals — sustainable only briefly |
Percentages are of maximum heart rate. Zone bands follow the standard five-zone training model; the American Heart Association frames the same range more simply as 50–70% (moderate) and 70–85% (vigorous) intensity.
What is a good target heart rate during exercise?
The American Heart Association recommends working at 50–70% of your maximum heart rate during moderate-intensity exercise and 70–85% during vigorous exercise. That is your target heart rate — the working range, sitting comfortably below the maximum. Beginners and anyone returning to exercise should start near the bottom of the moderate band and build up over weeks before pushing into the vigorous range.
| Age | Max HR (220 − age) | Target zone (50–85%) |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 200 bpm | 100–170 bpm |
| 30 | 190 bpm | 95–162 bpm |
| 40 | 180 bpm | 90–153 bpm |
| 50 | 170 bpm | 85–145 bpm |
| 60 | 160 bpm | 80–136 bpm |
| 70 | 150 bpm | 75–128 bpm |
Target heart-rate ranges by age, 50–85% of maximum. Source: American Heart Association, Target Heart Rates.
The Karvonen method: personalised zones with resting heart rate
Plain percentage-of-maximum zones ignore one big thing: your fitness. A trained athlete with a resting heart rate of 45 bpm and a sedentary person with a resting rate of 75 bpm should not train at the same absolute bpm, even at the same age. The Karvonen method fixes this by working from your heart-rate reserve — the gap between your maximum and your resting heart rate.
Enter a resting heart rate in the calculator and it switches automatically from plain %MHR to Karvonen, recomputing all five zones around your reserve. To measure your resting rate, take your pulse for a full 60 seconds first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed. The result is a noticeably more individualised set of training targets — usually higher bpm numbers than the plain-percentage method, because the resting rate is added back in.
Maximum, resting, and target heart rate
What affects your maximum heart rate
Age-based formulas capture the single biggest driver, but several factors mean your true maximum can differ from the estimate:
- Age — the dominant factor. Maximum heart rate falls steadily through adult life, which is why every formula subtracts something for each year.
- Genetics — two people of the same age can have maximums 20 bpm apart. This individual variation is why formulas carry a ±10–12 bpm error.
- Medications — beta-blockers and some other heart and blood-pressure drugs lower both your maximum and your target heart rate. If you take them, age formulas will not apply to you.
- Altitude and heat — environment can shift your heart-rate response, though maximum itself is fairly stable.
- Fitness — mostly not. Training dramatically lowers your resting heart rate and raises your stamina, but it does not meaningfully raise your maximum. A fitter heart pumps more blood per beat; it does not gain a higher ceiling.
When to see a doctor
Heart-rate training is safe for most people, but the numbers from this calculator are estimates, not medical advice. Talk to a healthcare professional before relying on them if any of the following apply:
- You have a heart condition, high blood pressure, or diabetes, or a family history of early heart disease.
- You take medication that affects heart rate — beta-blockers and similar drugs lower your maximum, so age formulas will overstate your true ceiling.
- You are new to exercise, over 45 (men) or 55 (women), or returning after a long break, especially if you plan vigorous training.
- You notice warning signs during exercise — chest pain or pressure, severe breathlessness, dizziness, fainting, or an irregular or racing heartbeat. Stop and seek care.
Sources and methodology
This calculator estimates maximum heart rate with two published formulas — the American Heart Association's 220 − age rule and the Tanaka regression (208 − 0.7 × age), the latter from Tanaka, Monahan & Seals, "Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited" (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2001). Training zones follow the standard five-zone model; the personalised option uses the Karvonen heart-rate-reserve method, recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine for exercise prescription. The arithmetic is exact; the formulas themselves carry a roughly ±10–12 bpm individual error.
American Heart Association — Target Heart Rates Chart.Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001;37(1):153–156.Frequently asked questions about the free max heart rate calculator
About this max heart rate calculator
This max heart rate calculator runs entirely in your browser. Your age and resting heart rate never leave your device — nothing is sent to a server, logged, or shared. It estimates your maximum heart rate from both the American Heart Association's 220 − age rule and the more accurate Tanaka formula, then builds your five training zones (switching to the Karvonen method when you add a resting heart rate), updating instantly.
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