# Target Heart Rate Calculator

> For a 40-year-old, the estimated max heart rate is 220 − 40 = 180 beats per minute, so the target zone for exercise (50–85% of max) is 90 to 153 bpm. Enter your age, and optionally your resting heart rate, to get your target range, moderate and vigorous limits and five training zones.

- Interactive calculator: https://calculatorswithsteps.com/target-heart-rate-calculator
- Category: Health & Fitness Calculators
- Last updated: 2026-11-10
- Publisher: Calculators With Steps (calculatorswithsteps.com)

## How to use the target heart rate calculator

1. Enter your **age**.
2. Optionally, enter your **resting heart rate**. Count your pulse for a full minute after waking, before getting out of bed. If you add it, the zones use the Karvonen method, which accounts for your fitness.
3. Pick a **max heart rate formula**: 220 − age, Tanaka, Gellish, Gulati (for women) or your own measured maximum.

The results show your target zone (50% to 85%), the moderate and vigorous ranges, and a five-zone table.

## Target heart rate formulas

**Max heart rate (classic):** 220 − age

**Tanaka:** 208 − 0.7 × age

**Gellish:** 207 − 0.7 × age

**Gulati (women):** 206 − 0.88 × age

**Target heart rate (% of max):** max HR × intensity

**Karvonen (heart rate reserve):** resting HR + intensity × (max HR − resting HR)

The American Heart Association describes moderate exercise as about 50% to 70% of your max heart rate and vigorous exercise as about 70% to 85%. Those are the ranges the calculator reports as moderate and vigorous.

## Worked example: age 40

With 220 − age, max heart rate is 180 bpm.

| Zone | Intensity | % of max | Heart rate | With resting HR 70 (Karvonen) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zone 1 | Very light | 50–60% | 90–108 bpm | 125–136 bpm |
| Zone 2 | Light | 60–70% | 108–126 bpm | 136–147 bpm |
| Zone 3 | Moderate | 70–80% | 126–144 bpm | 147–158 bpm |
| Zone 4 | Hard | 80–90% | 144–162 bpm | 158–169 bpm |
| Zone 5 | Maximum | 90–100% | 162–180 bpm | 169–180 bpm |

The Karvonen zones are higher at the low end because they start from your resting rate. Heart rate reserve is 180 − 70 = 110 bpm, so 50% intensity is 70 + 0.5 × 110 = 125 bpm.

## Target heart rate by age

Target zone is 50% to 85% of max, using 220 − age. The last two columns show max heart rate from the Tanaka and Gulati formulas for comparison.

| Age | Max HR (220 − age) | Target zone (50–85%) | Tanaka max | Gulati max (women) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 20 | 200 bpm | 100–170 bpm | 194 bpm | 188 bpm |
| 30 | 190 bpm | 95–162 bpm | 187 bpm | 180 bpm |
| 40 | 180 bpm | 90–153 bpm | 180 bpm | 171 bpm |
| 50 | 170 bpm | 85–145 bpm | 173 bpm | 162 bpm |
| 60 | 160 bpm | 80–136 bpm | 166 bpm | 153 bpm |
| 70 | 150 bpm | 75–128 bpm | 159 bpm | 144 bpm |

The formulas agree around age 40 and drift apart for younger and older people. This matters most if you are over 60: 220 − age may set your zones too low.

## Limits of age-based formulas

Age explains only part of the variation in max heart rate. Two healthy people of the same age can have maximums 20 bpm or more apart, so any formula is a starting point. For more accurate zones:

- **Measure your max.** A supervised exercise test gives the real number. You can enter it with the "I know my max heart rate" option.
- **Add your resting heart rate.** Karvonen zones reflect fitness, since a fitter heart has a lower resting rate and a larger reserve.
- **Cross-check with effort.** In the moderate range you can talk but not sing. In the vigorous range you can say only a few words without pausing for breath.
- **Check medicines.** Beta blockers and some other drugs blunt the heart rate response, which makes formula-based zones unreliable.

Check with your doctor before starting vigorous exercise if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or symptoms such as chest pain or dizziness.

## Putting your zones to work

Most of your weekly training can sit in zones 2 and 3, with short intervals in zones 4 and 5 once you have a base. US activity guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity for adults. Use the [pace calculator](https://calculatorswithsteps.com/pace-calculator) to plan runs at those efforts, and the [calories burned calculator](https://calculatorswithsteps.com/calories-burned-calculator) to estimate the energy each session uses.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I calculate my target heart rate?

Estimate your max heart rate as 220 minus your age, then take 50% and 85% of it. At 40, max is 180 bpm, so the target zone is 0.50 × 180 = 90 bpm to 0.85 × 180 = 153 bpm. Moderate exercise is 50–70% (90–126 bpm) and vigorous is 70–85% (126–153 bpm).

### What is the Karvonen formula?

Karvonen uses your heart rate reserve, the gap between max and resting heart rate. Target = resting HR + intensity × (max HR − resting HR). At 40 with a resting rate of 70, the reserve is 110 bpm, so 50% is 70 + 55 = 125 bpm and 85% is 70 + 93.5 ≈ 164 bpm.

### What heart rate burns the most fat?

Easy exercise in zone 2 (60–70% of max, 108–126 bpm at age 40) burns a higher share of fat, but harder exercise burns more total calories per minute. For weight loss, total calories burned and your diet matter more than staying in a fat-burning zone.

### What is the target heart rate for a stress test (TMT)?

A treadmill stress test is usually considered adequate once you reach 85% of your age-predicted max heart rate. At age 50 that is 0.85 × 170 = 144.5, or about 145 bpm.

### Which max heart rate formula is most accurate?

220 − age is simple but tends to overestimate max heart rate in young adults and underestimate it in older adults. Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age) and Gellish (207 − 0.7 × age) fit large data sets better. At 60, they give 166 and 165 bpm versus 160 bpm from 220 − age.

### Is target heart rate different for women?

The standard formulas are the same, but Gulati and colleagues found that 206 − 0.88 × age fits women better. At 50, it gives a max of 162 bpm instead of 170 bpm, so a woman's zones come out a little lower.

### Do beta blockers change my target heart rate?

Yes. Beta blockers and some other heart medicines lower both resting and maximum heart rate, so age-based zones can be too high. Ask your doctor for a personal target, or use how hard the exercise feels instead.

### What is a normal resting heart rate?

For adults, MedlinePlus gives a normal resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute. Well-trained athletes can be as low as 40 to 60 bpm.

## Sources

- [Tanaka, Monahan & Seals (2001). Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(00)01054-8)
- [Gellish et al. (2007). Longitudinal modeling of the relationship between age and maximal heart rate. Med Sci Sports Exerc](https://doi.org/10.1097/mss.0b013e31803349c6)
- [Northwestern Medicine – New formula for women's peak heart rate (Gulati et al., 2010)](https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2010/06/29/womens_heart_rate/)

> Disclaimer: results are estimates for information and education, not medical advice. Confirm important decisions with a qualified professional.