Target Heart Rate Calculator

Target heart rate is an estimated beats-per-minute range used to describe exercise intensity. This calculator calculates it as a percentage of estimated maximum heart rate, optionally adjusted with resting heart rate through the Karvonen method. It cannot guarantee a particular training or fat-loss result.

Percent of max multiplies maximum heart rate by each zone's intensity, starting from zero. Karvonen uses heart rate reserve (max HR minus resting HR), applies the zone percentage to that reserve, then adds resting HR back. Karvonen targets often land higher because they include resting heart rate. Neither method directly measures your personal ventilatory or lactate threshold.

Tanaka (208 minus 0.7 times age) is the most accurate average for general adults and the default. Fox (220 minus age) is the classic textbook formula but tends to overestimate for people under 40 and underestimate for older adults. Gulati (206 minus 0.88 times age) was derived from a study of women and fits female cardiovascular profiles more closely than Fox.

Measure your pulse for 60 seconds first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed and before any caffeine. A wearable that tracks overnight averages also works. Healthy adult resting heart rates usually fall between 50 and 90 bpm, with trained endurance athletes often sitting in the 40s.

No. The numbers it gives are educational estimates based on population averages and are not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, take heart or blood pressure medication, or are pregnant, ask your doctor before training in higher heart rate zones.