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Quick answer: The best-validated formula is Tanaka: 208 minus 0.7 times your age, so about 180 bpm at 40. The classic 220 minus age gives 180 at 40 too, but drifts lower than measured max as you get older. Any formula can be off by 10 bpm or more for one person. Enter your age below for your max from four formulas, your five training zones in bpm, and any target percentage, such as 70 or 80 percent of max.
Measure resting heart rate in bed after waking, before coffee. Adding it switches the zones to the Karvonen method, which fits your own fitness level.
| Zone | Intensity | Your range |
|---|
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Maximum heart rate is the highest number of beats per minute your heart reaches during an all-out effort. It falls with age, and that is what every formula uses. They differ because they were built from different groups of people:
| Formula | Built from | Equation |
|---|---|---|
| Tanaka (2001) | Meta-analysis of 351 studies and 18,712 people, checked in a lab test of 514 adults | 208 − 0.7 × age |
| Fox (classic) | A simple rule of thumb from the 1970s | 220 − age |
| Nes, HUNT study (2013) | 3,320 healthy Norwegian adults, each with a verified maximal test | 211 − 0.64 × age |
| Gulati, women (2010) | 5,437 women in the St. James Women Take Heart Project | 206 − 0.88 × age |
The calculator leads with Tanaka because it rests on the largest evidence base and, in both the original study and the HUNT study, did not differ between men and women or between active and inactive people. It also shows the other three, so you can see how much honest uncertainty there is for your age.
| Age | Tanaka | 220 − age | Nes (HUNT) | Gulati (women) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 194 | 200 | 198 | 188 |
| 25 | 191 | 195 | 195 | 184 |
| 30 | 187 | 190 | 192 | 180 |
| 35 | 184 | 185 | 189 | 175 |
| 40 | 180 | 180 | 185 | 171 |
| 45 | 177 | 175 | 182 | 166 |
| 50 | 173 | 170 | 179 | 162 |
| 55 | 170 | 165 | 176 | 158 |
| 60 | 166 | 160 | 173 | 153 |
| 65 | 163 | 155 | 169 | 149 |
| 70 | 159 | 150 | 166 | 144 |
| 75 | 156 | 145 | 163 | 140 |
| 80 | 152 | 140 | 160 | 136 |
Beats per minute, rounded. The gap between columns widens with age: by 70, the formulas span more than 20 bpm.
Good for groups, rough for individuals. In the HUNT study the typical error of a prediction was 10.8 bpm, and older formulas underestimated measured max in people over 30. A 2020 study that measured max heart rate in 99 treadmill tests and compared eight formulas found wide disagreement between predicted and measured values for all of them, and suggested that, in a general population, the simple 220 minus age was as reasonable a choice as any. The honest summary: your true max could be 10 to 20 bpm above or below any estimate.
The only way to know your real max is to measure it, ideally in a supervised graded exercise test. Hard field tests, such as repeated uphill efforts with a chest-strap monitor, come close for healthy, trained people. Watches estimate it from your workouts with mixed accuracy.
| Zone | Intensity | What it trains |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | 50 – 60% | Recovery, warm-ups, easy days |
| Zone 2 | 60 – 70% | Endurance base; conversational pace |
| Zone 3 | 70 – 80% | Aerobic fitness; comfortably hard |
| Zone 4 | 80 – 90% | Threshold; sustained hard efforts |
| Zone 5 | 90 – 100% | Peak power; short intervals only |
Percentages of max heart rate, or of heart rate reserve when you enter a resting rate (Karvonen method).
Multiply your max by the percentage. With a max of 180: 70 percent is 126 bpm, 80 percent is 144, and 85 percent is 153. If you know your resting heart rate, the Karvonen method gives a more personal number: subtract resting from max, multiply by the percentage, then add resting back. A 40-year-old resting at 60 bpm gets (180 − 60) × 0.7 + 60 = 144 bpm for 70 percent, noticeably higher than the simple method, because it accounts for a fitter heart. Type any percentage into the calculator to get both.
Max heart rate falls with age at about the same pace whether you train or not. In the Tanaka study it was not influenced by habitual activity, and in HUNT it did not vary with fitness, body mass index or activity level. Training does not raise your max; it lets you do more work at every heart rate below it and recover faster.
Tanaka and HUNT found no meaningful difference between men and women. The Gulati study, done only in women, found peak heart rate fell faster with age (206 − 0.88 × age) and that the traditional male-based formula overestimated women’s max. That is why the calculator adds it when you choose female.
Beta-blockers lower heart rate substantially. In a study of people with coronary artery disease who took their beta-blocker on the test day, max heart rate followed 168 − 0.51 × age, well below every formula above. If you take one, percentage zones from any calculator will be wrong; use perceived effort and the targets your doctor or cardiac rehab team gives you.
Heat, dehydration, caffeine, stress and poor sleep push your heart rate up at a given effort, so on those days you reach each zone sooner. Use the zones as a guide, not a rule.
A simple cross-check on any heart rate zone is the talk test: at moderate intensity you can talk but not sing, and at vigorous intensity you can say only a few words before pausing for breath. If you have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or another condition, take heart-rate-affecting medicines, or are starting after a long break, check with your doctor before training at high intensity. Stop and get help for chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness, fainting or a racing or irregular heartbeat during exercise. How regular training strengthens the heart is covered in how regular exercise improves your heart health, and how to set intensity alongside frequency and time in the FITT principle.
The best-validated formula is Tanaka: 208 minus 0.7 times your age, from a meta-analysis of 351 studies and 18,712 people. At 30 it gives 187 bpm and at 50 it gives 173. The classic 220 minus age is simpler and gives similar numbers around 40, but drifts lower than measured max in older adults.
Using Tanaka, about 194 bpm at 20, 187 at 30, 180 at 40, 173 at 50, 166 at 60 and 159 at 70. Any one person can be 10 to 20 bpm above or below these figures, so treat them as estimates rather than limits.
A study of 5,437 women found peak heart rate followed 206 minus 0.88 times age, lower than the traditional formula for older women. Tanaka’s formula, which did not differ between men and women in its own data, is also reasonable. The calculator shows both when you select female.
It is a rough rule of thumb. Larger studies found it underestimates measured max in older adults, which is why Tanaka’s 208 minus 0.7 times age is usually preferred. But no formula is precise for one person: a 2020 comparison of eight formulas found wide disagreement with measured values for all of them.
Multiply your max by 0.8. With a max of 180 bpm, 80 percent is 144 bpm. For a more personal target, use the Karvonen method: subtract your resting heart rate from your max, multiply by 0.8 and add the resting rate back. With a resting rate of 60 that gives 156 bpm.
No. Max heart rate is set mainly by age and genetics, and large studies found it does not differ meaningfully with fitness or activity level. Training lowers your resting heart rate and lets you work harder at every heart rate below max, which is what fitness improvement looks like.
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For your safety
Important: Formula estimates can be 10 to 20 bpm off for any one person. If you take beta-blockers or other heart-rate-affecting medication, have a heart condition, or are starting exercise after a long break, ask your doctor what intensity is safe for you. Stop exercising and get help for chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness, fainting, or a racing or irregular heartbeat.
This calculator is for general information and education. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
