How it works
What the heart rate zone calculadora does
A heart rate zone calculadora turns your age (or a measured max heart rate) into five training zones coaches use to structure runs, cycling sessions and gym work. Zones let you train with intent: enough easy aerobic volume to build endurance without overtraining, plus deliberate high-intensity blocks to raise your ceiling.
British Cycling, UK Athletics and most Couch-to-5K programmes use either a 5-zone or a 3-zone model — both map directly onto a percentage of HRmax.
Two ways to estimate HRmax
- Simple: 220 − age. Fine as a first approximation but tends to under-estimate for older athletes.
- Tanaka (2001): 208 − (0.7 × age). Meta-analysis of 351 studies; most accurate for adults.
- Gellish: 207 − (0.7 × age). Near-identical to Tanaka, popular with cyclists.
- Measured: an all-out hill rep, park run or ramp test under medical supervision gives the most reliable number.
Three worked examples
1. 35-year-old beginner runner
Tanaka HRmax = 208 − 0.7 × 35 = 183.5 bpm. Zone 2 (easy conversational): 60–70% × 183.5 = 110–128 bpm. This is where most of your weekly running should happen.
2. 50-year-old cyclist on a sportive plan
Tanaka HRmax = 208 − 35 = 173 bpm. Threshold (Zone 4): 80–90% × 173 = 138–156 bpm. A 20-minute effort at the top of this band approximates your FTP in heart-rate terms.
3. 22-year-old footballer doing intervals
Tanaka HRmax = 208 − 15.4 = 192.6 bpm. VO₂ max (Zone 5): 90–100% × 192.6 = 173–193 bpm. 4 × 4-minute Norwegian intervals prescribed at 90–95% land around 173–183 bpm.
What each zone is for
- Z1 (50–60%) — walking, warm-up, active recovery between harder efforts.
- Z2 (60–70%) — conversational endurance; fat oxidation peaks; spend 70–80% of weekly training hours here.
- Z3 (70–80%) — tempo pace; "comfortably hard" — sustainable for 45–60 min in trained athletes.
- Z4 (80–90%) — threshold (FTP/lactate turn-point); 20-minute repeats; biggest bang for the buck for 5–10 km performance.
- Z5 (90–100%) — VO₂ max intervals, 3–5 min on / 2–3 min off; 1–2 sessions/week max.
Heart-rate variability and resting HR
Resting heart rate and HRV are quicker markers of fatigue than zones. If your morning resting HR is > 7 bpm above your normal for two days, or your HRV drops 15% below your rolling average, take a recovery day regardless of what the plan says.
When zones don't apply
- Beta-blocker medication — suppresses heart rate; use rate of perceived exertion (RPE) or power instead.
- Pregnancy — use RPE or the "talk test"; absolute HR is unreliable.
- Atrial fibrillation or arrhythmias — zones are meaningless; train by feel under medical guidance.
- Hot or humid conditions — add 5–10 bpm to any given effort; reduce target by 5% or use RPE.
Works well with
- **BMR calculadora** — baseline metabolic need for recovery nutrition.
- **TDEE calculadora** — factor in training volume for daily calories.
- **Water intake calculadora** — training bumps fluid needs.
- **Body fat percentage** — track body composition changes while training.
How we check the numbers
Tanaka HJ, Monahan KD, Seals DR. "Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited" (JACC 2001) is the source formula. We cross-reference the British Heart Foundation, NHS activity guidance and the ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing. See our editorial policy and corrections policy. Every calculation happens in your browser — no data leaves your device.
Percentage of max vs percentage of heart rate reserve (Karvonen)
Most simple calculators use %HRmax — Zone 2 = 60–70 % of 180 bpm = 108–126 bpm. Coaches who want more personalised zones use the Karvonen method, which works on heart rate reserve (HRR) — the difference between your max and resting heart rates.
Zone 2 by Karvonen is resting HR + 60–70 % of (HRmax − resting HR). For a 35-year-old with HRmax 183 and resting HR 60, HRR = 123; Zone 2 is 60 + 0.6 × 123 = 134 bpm to 60 + 0.7 × 123 = 146 bpm. The Karvonen figures are higher because they account for your fitness — a fitter heart has a lower resting rate and more reserve, so the zones shift up.
Either method works for structured training. Beginners typically find %HRmax easier to follow; experienced athletes with well-known resting figures often prefer Karvonen for its personalisation.
Weekly training template for each level
A common mistake is doing every run or ride at moderate intensity — not easy enough to build endurance, not hard enough to provoke adaptation. Below is an 8-hour-per-week template showing the "polarised" 80/20 split championed by coaches Seiler and Magness.
| Day | Session | Zone | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Recovery walk or light spin | Z1 | 30 min |
| Tuesday | Intervals 5 × 4-min at threshold | Z4 | 60 min total |
| Wednesday | Easy run or ride | Z2 | 60 min |
| Thursday | Strength training + short Z2 | Z2 | 45 min |
| Friday | Rest or yoga | — | — |
| Saturday | Long easy ride/run | Z2 | 2 h 30 min |
| Sunday | VO₂ intervals 5 × 3-min hard | Z5 | 60 min total |
The three-zone model used by British Cycling and GB Rowing
Some coaches prefer a simpler three-zone model that maps onto lactate thresholds rather than fixed percentages.
- Zone 1 (easy) — anything below the first ventilatory threshold (VT1); can maintain full conversation.
- Zone 2 (moderate) — between VT1 and VT2; conversation becomes broken phrases.
- Zone 3 (hard) — above VT2; no conversation possible, breathing rhythmic and deep.
Common mistakes that ruin heart-rate training
Even disciplined trainees make the same five errors. Catch them early and your zones will do their job.
- Drift misread as drift — on a 90-minute Z2 run, HR naturally climbs 5–8 bpm even at the same pace because of cardiac drift. Slowing down to "keep the zone" can push effort below training load.
- Using a single max for every sport — swimming HRmax is typically 10–15 bpm lower than running; cycling 5–10 bpm lower. Set per-sport maxes on Garmin or Polar.
- Wearing the strap too loose — a chest strap reads erratically if it slips below the sternum. Moisten the electrodes before the warm-up and tighten one extra notch.
- Ignoring caffeine — a strong coffee adds 3–6 bpm to resting HR for two hours. Your "Zone 2" post-flat-white may actually be your Zone 1.
- Skipping warm-up — jumping from 0 to threshold misses the HR kick-in; the first interval reads too low, the rest too high.
How zones interact with nutrition and hydration
The fuel you use shifts across zones, and that has implications for how you eat around sessions.
Zone 1 and Zone 2
Predominantly fat oxidation; carb demand is low. A fasted walk or easy morning run under 60 minutes is well tolerated. Beyond 75 minutes, add 30 g of carbohydrate per hour to protect muscle glycogen.
Zone 3 and Zone 4
Carbohydrate demand rises steeply — 40–60 g/hour is a reasonable target for any session over 60 minutes. This is where gels, sports drinks and chews earn their keep.
Zone 5
Short, explosive — fuelled mainly by stored glycogen. Eating during a Zone 5 session is unnecessary and often uncomfortable; focus on pre-session carbs (1–2 g/kg 2 hours before).
Hydration
A loss of 2 % body mass in sweat lifts HR by 5–10 bpm at the same effort. In the UK summer or any indoor trainer session, start hydrating the hour before and sip 500–750 ml per hour of effort.
Interpreting your device data
Garmin, Polar, Apple Watch and Whoop all show heart-rate zones, but each uses slightly different defaults. Know how to read your app before trusting the colour bars.
Garmin Connect
Defaults to 5 zones based on %HRmax but can be switched to %HRR or %LTHR. Manually edit your HRmax if the "auto" value differs by more than 3–5 bpm from a measured test.
Apple Fitness
Shows five zones based on %HRmax using an iterative age-based estimate. It adapts upward as you train harder. No Karvonen option.
Whoop
Defaults to percentages of the personal HRmax it infers from your history. Focuses more on strain score than discrete zones but still displays %HRmax bars.
Polar
Offers both HRmax-based and HRR-based zones; the Polar Flow desktop app exposes the most flexibility. Chest straps remain the accuracy benchmark.
Safety, medical screening and when to see a GP
The NHS recommends a quick readiness screen before anyone new to exercise starts structured training. The PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) asks about chest pain, dizziness, joint problems and current medication. A "yes" to any red flag means booking a GP appointment before pushing into Zone 4 or Zone 5.
If you have hypertension, a family history of sudden cardiac death before age 50, or any diagnosed heart condition, ask for a referral to cardiac rehab or an exercise physiologist. They can set personalised zones based on a monitored stress test rather than age-based formulas.
Children under 16 and adults over 65 should use age-appropriate guidance rather than raw Tanaka output — British Heart Foundation provides both.
Using zones alongside rating of perceived exertion
Experienced coaches combine heart rate with RPE (the Borg CR10 scale of 1–10) for redundancy. If your HR says Zone 2 but RPE feels like a 6/10, something is off — usually fatigue, illness or heat. Trust the higher signal and back off. The reverse — RPE 3/10 but HR shows Zone 4 — often points to a device artefact such as cadence-lock on a wrist sensor.