Enter your age, and your resting heart rate if you know it, to get your estimated maximum heart rate, the CDC and American Heart Association ranges for moderate and vigorous exercise, and five training zones in beats per minute.
years
bpm
Count your pulse for a minute after waking, before getting up
The simple rule the CDC and AHA use
Maximum heart rate
180 bpm
Moderate exercise (CDC 64–76%)
115–137 bpm
Vigorous exercise (CDC 77–93%)
139–167 bpm
AHA target zone (50–85%)
90–153 bpm
Training zones by % of maximum heart rate
Zone
Heart rate
Good for
1 · Very light 50%–60%
90–108 bpm
Warm-up, recovery
2 · Light 60%–70%
108–126 bpm
Easy endurance, fat burning
3 · Moderate 70%–80%
126–144 bpm
Aerobic fitness
4 · Hard 80%–90%
144–162 bpm
Threshold, faster pace
5 · Maximum 90%–100%
162–180 bpm
Short intervals, sprints
Check your heart rate during exercise
Stop briefly and count your pulse at the wrist or neck
General fitness guidance, not medical advice. Medicines such as beta-blockers lower your heart rate, and heart conditions change safe limits: ask your doctor for a personal target.
How to use the target heart rate calculator
Enter your age. Add your resting heart rate (counted for a minute after waking) for the heart rate reserve method.
Choose how to estimate your maximum: 220 − age, Tanaka's formula, Gulati's formula for women, or a maximum you measured.
Read your moderate and vigorous ranges and the zone table, and check a pulse count from your workout in the box below it.
Worked example
At 40, the estimated maximum is 220 − 40 = 180 bpm. The CDC's moderate range is 64–76% of that: 180 × 0.64 = 115 to 180 × 0.76 = 137, so 115–137 bpm. Vigorous is 77–93%: 139–167 bpm. Zone 2 (60–70%) runs from 108 to 126 bpm. With a resting heart rate of 60, the Karvonen zone 3 (70–80% of reserve) is 60 + 0.7 × 120 = 144 to 60 + 0.8 × 120 = 156 bpm.
The five zones
Zone 1 (50–60%): warm-up, cool-down and recovery days.
Zone 2 (60–70%): easy, conversational pace; builds endurance.
Zone 3 (70–80%): steady aerobic work; breathing is deeper.
Zone 4 (80–90%): hard efforts around your threshold; you can say only a few words.
Zone 5 (90–100%): short all-out intervals.
Sources: CDC, "Target Heart Rate and Estimated Maximum Heart Rate"; American Heart Association, "Target Heart Rates Chart"; Tanaka et al., J Am Coll Cardiol 2001; Gulati et al., Circulation 2010; Karvonen et al., 1957. Checked 8 October 2026. General guidance, not medical advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is my target heart rate?
For moderate exercise the CDC suggests 64% to 76% of your maximum heart rate, and for vigorous exercise 77% to 93%. With the usual estimate of 220 minus your age, a 50-year-old's maximum is 170, so moderate exercise is about 109 to 129 beats a minute. The American Heart Association uses slightly wider bands: 50–70% for moderate and 70–85% for vigorous.
Which maximum heart rate formula is most accurate?
None is exact: real maximums vary by 10 or more beats a minute between people of the same age. 220 − age is the simplest and is what the CDC and AHA charts use. Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age fitted a large set of studies better, especially over 40, and Gulati's 206 − 0.88 × age was built from exercise tests of women. A supervised exercise test gives your real maximum; enter it if you have it.
What is the Karvonen (heart rate reserve) method?
It counts intensity from your resting heart rate instead of from zero: target = resting + intensity × (maximum − resting). At 40 years old with a resting rate of 60, the reserve is 180 − 60 = 120, so 70% intensity is 60 + 84 = 144 beats a minute, higher than 70% of the maximum (126). Fitter people with low resting rates get zones that match their effort better this way.
How do I measure my heart rate during exercise?
Stop briefly and count your pulse at the inside of the wrist or the side of the neck for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4 (or 30 seconds and multiply by 2). Enter the count and the time in the check box and the calculator shows which zone you were in. A chest strap or watch gives a continuous reading.
Is it safe to exercise in zone 5?
Short efforts near your maximum are part of interval training for healthy, fit adults, but they're hard on the heart. If you're new to exercise, older, pregnant, have a heart condition or take medicine that changes your heart rate (such as beta-blockers), start in the lower zones and ask your doctor for a personal target first.
