How to Calculate Heart Rate Zones

Heart rate is one of the most important factors in determining how hard you can push yourself during a workout. But if you’re new to exercise and you’re wondering how to calculate heart rate zones, heart rate training can seem a little overwhelming. Simply put, heart rate training keeps tabs on your physical activity and you can use it to gauge your fitness levels.

However, it’s not always easy to figure out what your heart rate is doing during the course of a workout. That’s where heart rate zones come in.

In this post, we’ll discuss how to calculate heart rate zones and how they can help you reach your goals, as well as the benefits of training with a heart rate monitor.

What are Heart Rate Zones?

Heart rate zones refer to five intensities of exercise, each more vigorous than the last. They are intended to be used as a framework to complement your fitness routines, allowing you to achieve greater control over how much energy you exert and when.

The intensity of the five heart rate zones is determined by how fast your heart is beating. This is measured in beats per minute, also known as BPM. The five heart rate zones are as follows:

• Zone 1, Very Light: This is intended to be used as a rest stop between high-intensity workouts during HIIT training. Your BPM should be 50-60% of your maximum heart rate
• Zone 2, Light: This is comparable to a brisk walk. While in zone 2 you should still be able to hold a conversation comfortable. Zone 2 can also be used as a warm-up before a more intense workout. Your BPM should be around 60-70% of your maximum heart rate
• Zone 3, Moderate: This is where things start to get a little heated. You should be able to maintain an exercise in zone 3 for around 30 minutes. Your BPM should be around 70-80% of your maximum heart rate
• Zone 4, Intense: This is where the work really kicks in. Your respiratory system will be working extra hard to ensure your blood remains oxygenated, meaning you will be breathing hard and your heart will be pumping. Your BPM should be around 80-90% of your maximum heart rate
• Zone 5, Maximal Effort: This zone is usually reserved for professional athletes, and should never be completed for more than a few minutes at a time. In this zone, you are pushing your body to its limits. Your BPM will be around 90-100% of your maximum heart rate

By incorporating a mixture of these zones into your fitness regimes, you can build up your body’s endurance in multiple areas rather than focusing on just one. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a good example of how to use heart rate zones to maximise your routine, cycling between zones 4 or 5 and resting at zone 1 repeatedly.

Why Calculate Your Heart Rate Zones?

Knowing your heart rate zones is a highly effective way to mix up your exercise, so you have a balance between intense and more laid-back routines. This is beneficial for your body as it allows you to recover properly without putting too much strain on your muscles. This lessens the chance of burnout or injury.

Everyone’s heart rate zones are slightly different based on numerous factors. These include age, current fitness, and any medical conditions an individual may possess. To see where you fall within the 5 heart rate zones, you first need to calculate your own maximum heart rate.

How Do You Calculate Your Maximum Heart Rate?

There are many equations out there that you can use to calculate your maximum heart rate and, therefore, calculate where you fall within each of the 5 zones. However, there are certain variables you should keep in mind before completing these equations.

Namely, age is a very important factor here. One of the most popular ways to calculate an estimate of your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220. For example, let’s imagine a 35-year-old is wanting to work out their maximum heart rate. They would use the following equation:

220 – 35 = 185

Therefore, their maximum heart rate sits at 185. Pretty simple, right? But this equation is far from perfect, and its simplicity is part of its downfall. 

How Does Age Affect Your Maximum Heart Rate?

As we know, the health of your heart deteriorates as you get older. If you are above the age of 40, subtracting your age from 220 is not going to provide you with an accurate reading of your maximum heart rate. 

Thankfully, there are numerous online calculators designed to do the maths for you and some are designed with the over-40s in mind. We recommend using one of those rather than attempting to complete the equation yourself and potentially miscalculating your capabilities. This could lead to injury as you may overexert yourself in the higher zones.

Alternatively, there is general guidance out there for you to work with that could provide a basis for your training. For example, the American Heart Association recommend the following parameters:

Age	Target HR Zone 50-85%	Average Maximum Heart Rate
20 years	100-170 bpm	200 bpm
30 years	95-162 bpm	190 bpm
35 years	93-157 bpm	185 bpm
40 years	90-153 bpm	180 bpm
45 years	88-149 bpm	175 bpm
50 years	85-145 bpm	170 bpm
55 years	83-140 bpm	165 bpm
60 years	80-136 bpm	160 bpm
65 years	78-132 bpm	155 bpm
70 years	75-128 bpm	150 bpm

It is important to keep in mind that these are rough estimates of the average population. They are not specifically calculated for you personally, which means they should only be used to provide a loose framework. It is fine to use these figures to work out your own heart rate zones, but you won’t have absolute accuracy.

So What is the Most Accurate Way to Calculate Your Heart Rate Zones?

As we stated before, there are multiple equations out there for working out your heart rate zones. Each formula works slightly differently, but you should only need one to get the figures you are after.

It could be beneficial to complete numerous equations to see if the numbers correlate. If you find that your heart rate zones don’t alter significantly between equations, then you can rest assured your figures are pretty accurate. To help you with this, we have listed a few popular equations below for you to use.

Gulati’s Formula

206 subtract (age x 0.88) = Your maximum heart rate

Confused? Don’t worry, it’s surprisingly simple. All you need to do is multiply your age by 0.88, then subtract 206. This will provide your maximum heart rate. Let’s apply this formula to a 30-year-old.

206 subtract (30 x 0.88) = 174

So their maximum heart rate would be 174. To calculate your heart rate zones using this formula, you would halve 174 to give you your 50% BPM. You could then calculate 10% of 174 and add that value to the maximum heart rate to incrementally provide your 5 heart rate zones.

Tanaka’s Formula

208 subtract (age x 0.7) = Your maximum heart rate

So you would multiply your age by 0.7 and then subtract 208. The resulting amount is your maximum heart rate. Let’s try this again with the same 30-year-old.

208 subtract (30 x 0.7) = 187

So their maximum heart rate would be 187. The difference between Gulati’s formula and Tanaka’s formula in these findings is ten BPM, which may not sound significant, but could make a big difference to your heart training. 

So, How Do You Achieve a Truly Accurate Measuring?

Simply put, the answer is a heart rate monitor. While averages provided by health organisations and online equations can be helpful in providing a rough framework, they don’t possess true accuracy. For that, you need to bring in some technology.

There are numerous heart rate monitors on the market right now, with new ones released all the time. Whether you want a simple device or a full health smartwatch is up to you, but the only way to truly know your maximal heart rate and anaerobic capacity is with a specialised monitor.

These come in all shapes and sizes, from chest straps to wristwatches, so you should find it relatively simple to find something you like. With the help of a heart rate monitor, you can accurately see your BPM in real-time throughout your workout, altering you to what zone you are currently operating in. 

Final Thoughts: How to Calculate Heart Rate Zones

If you are serious about implementing heart rate zones into your workout routine or interval training, you should invest in a heart rate monitor. The equations are a great place to start, however, they just may not satisfy the needs of athletes that desire specificity.

All you really need to get started with heart training is a rough guideline of what your BPM should be hitting for each zone. Knowing the difference between zones 1 through 5, and understanding when to hit each one, is more important than knowing the exact figures. Just remember, don’t overdo it! Overexertion never helped anybody, but commitment will.