Target Heart Rate Calculator
Calculate your target heart rate training zones using age, resting heart rate, and classic methods like Karvonen and Borg RPE scales, just like the tool.
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How to Use the Target Heart Rate Calculator
Recognizing just how much effort your heart needs during exercise is one of the best methods available for training in a safe and efficient manner. This can certainly happen if you’re not pushing yourself quite hard enough during physical activity, as this can act as a setback in your training or even lead to potential health problems related to injury and fatigue. This is where training based on target heart rates can essentially provide assistance and play an important role. The Target Heart Rate Calculator allows you to compute your heart rate zones for various levels of exercise based on your age, resting heart rate, and evidence-based calculations including the Karvonen formula and the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale. These zones will lead you towards more informed exercise routines that serve as a solution for fat burning, endurance, cardiovascular, or performance training. Rather than trying to estimate the intensity you should be experiencing during exercise, this calculator offers you specific numbers corresponding to your fitness level.
How to Use
1. Choose How to Estimate Maximum Heart Rate
You can calculate your maximal heart rate by age, or you can enter your known maximal heart rate if it has been measured by your fitness test equipment or fitness tracker.
2. Enter Your Age
The age value is used in calculating your estimated maximum heart rate when you do not have a result for a test. It is on which yourheart rate zonesare established.
3. Provide Resting Heart Rate (Optional)
If you know your resting heart rate, you can enter it for a more accurate calculation. This is especially beneficial for the Karvonen formula, which modifies its training zones according to different fitness levels.
4. Adjust Training Settings
Decide which formulas and levels of intensity that you want to use. You can turn on classic percentage-based zones, Karvonen heart rate reserve zones and RPE guidance, and more.
5. Calculate Target Heart Rate Zones
Click on the calculate button to get your personal heart rate zones, which are usually shown in beats per minute for various levels of intensity.
Key Formulas Used
This widely used formula provides a general estimate of your maximum heart rate. While simple, it serves as a reliable starting point for most people.
The Karvonen method accounts for resting heart rate, making it more personalized. It is often preferred by athletes and experienced exercisers.
The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion links how hard exercise feels with heart rate intensity. It is useful when heart rate data is unavailable.
Benefits
- Helps train at the right intensity for your goals
- Supports beginner to advanced fitness levels
- Reduces risk of overtraining and burnout
- Improves cardiovascular efficiency
- Useful for fat loss, endurance, and performance
- Works with or without fitness wearables
When & Where to Use
- Cardio workout planning
- Fat-burning zone training
- Endurance and aerobic conditioning
- Interval and HIIT programming
- Heart-safe exercise guidance
- Tracking fitness improvements over time
Who Should Use This Calculator
This calculator is intended for people that exercise on a regular basis or intend on beginning a fitness program. It is particularly helpful in the early stages of fitness to guide training intensity, for athletic users targeting specific heart rate zones, as well as those concerned about cardiovascular health. Though it provides helpful advice, individuals dealing with certain health issues should consult their doctors before taking up high-intensity exercise.
Related Calculators
What is this?
This calculator estimates your maximum heart rate and builds target training zones. It follows the same formulas and concepts used by popular tools like .
How it works
You can either estimate your max heart rate from age using formulas like Haskell & Fox, Tanaka, or Nes, or use a tested max value. If you provide a resting heart rate, the Karvonen method and Borg RPE scales can calculate more personalized target heart rates.
Pro Tips
- Measure resting heart rate first thing in the morning before getting out of bed.
- Use lower zones (50–70%) for easy days, recovery, and long steady sessions.
- Use higher zones (70–90%) for tempo runs, intervals, and performance work.
- Use RPE (how hard it feels) together with heart rate to better judge training intensity.
- If you’re new to exercise or have medical conditions, talk to a healthcare provider before training in the highest zones.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is target heart rate?
Target heart rate is the range of heartbeats per minute you should aim for during exercise to train at a specific intensity. It helps improve fitness while avoiding overtraining.
What is maximum heart rate?
Maximum heart rate (MHR) is the highest number of beats per minute your heart can safely reach during intense exercise. It is commonly estimated using age-based formulas or measured during a fitness test.
Which max heart rate formula is most accurate?
No single formula is perfect for everyone. The Haskell & Fox (220 − age) formula is simple and widely used, while Tanaka and Nes formulas may be more accurate for some adults. A tested max heart rate is the most accurate option.
What is the Karvonen method?
The Karvonen method calculates target heart rate using heart rate reserve (maximum heart rate minus resting heart rate). It provides more personalized training zones than simple percentage-based methods.
What are Borg RPE and Borg CR10 scales?
Borg RPE scales measure exercise intensity based on perceived effort. The Borg 6–20 scale and the CR10 (0–10) scale estimate training intensity without relying solely on heart rate.
Do I need to enter resting heart rate?
Resting heart rate is optional but recommended. It allows more accurate calculations using the Karvonen and Borg methods. Without it, zones are based only on a percentage of maximum heart rate.
How many heart rate zones are there?
Most training systems use five zones, ranging from very light effort (Zone 1) to maximum intensity (Zone 5). Each zone serves a different training purpose.
Is it safe to train in Zone 5?
Zone 5 training is very intense and should only be done briefly and by experienced individuals. Beginners or those with medical conditions should consult a healthcare professional before training at maximum intensity.