Heart Rate Zones

Heart Rate Zone Training Guide

Understanding your heart rate zones is key to optimizing your workouts for specific goals like fat burning, endurance building, or performance improvement. Our calculator helps you determine your personalized training zones based on your age and resting heart rate.

Calculate Your Heart Rate Zones

Your Age (years)

Typically between 10–120 years

Resting Heart Rate (BPM)

Typically between 30–120 bpm (measure when fully rested)

Your Training Zones

Zone 1 (50–60%) Recovery/Easy

Zone 2 (60–70%) Fat Burning

Zone 3 (70–80%) Aerobic

Zone 4 (80–90%) Anaerobic Threshold

Zone 5 (90–100%) Maximum Effort

Zone 1: Very Light - Recovery and warm-up

Zone 2: Light - Fat burning and endurance

Zone 3: Moderate - Aerobic fitness

Zone 4: Hard - Anaerobic threshold

Zone 5: Maximum - Peak performance

Understanding Heart Rate Zones

Heart rate zone training divides your maximum heart rate into different ranges, each with distinct physiological benefits. By training in specific zones, you can target different fitness goals more effectively.

Benefits of Heart Rate Zone Training:

• Personalized training: Tailors workouts to your specific physiology
• Efficient progress: Helps avoid over- or under-training
• Goal-specific results: Targets fat burning, endurance, or performance
• Recovery optimization: Identifies proper recovery intensity
• Performance tracking: Measures improvements over time

How to Use Your Heart Rate Zones

Once you've calculated your zones using our calculator, here's how to apply them to your training:

Zone 1 (50-60%): Recovery

This zone is perfect for active recovery days, warm-ups, and cool-downs. You should be able to maintain a conversation easily at this intensity.

Zone 2 (60-70%): Fat Burning

The optimal zone for endurance training and fat metabolism. This is where you should spend most of your training time for general fitness.

Zone 3 (70-80%): Aerobic

Improves cardiovascular capacity and aerobic endurance. This zone is ideal for tempo runs or sustained efforts.

Zone 4 (80-90%): Anaerobic Threshold

Challenging workouts that improve your lactate threshold. Used for interval training and performance improvement.

Zone 5 (90-100%): Maximum Effort

Short, intense bursts that develop speed and power. Use sparingly for sprint training or high-intensity intervals.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is the 220-age formula for maximum heart rate?

While the 220-age formula is widely used, it's a general estimate. Individual maximum heart rates can vary by ±10-20 bpm. For greater accuracy, consider a graded exercise test with a professional.

When is the best time to measure resting heart rate?

Measure your resting heart rate first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed. Take measurements for several days and use the average for most accurate results.

How often should I train in each zone?

A balanced training program typically spends 70-80% of time in Zones 1-2, 10-20% in Zone 3, and 5-10% in Zones 4-5. Adjust based on your specific goals and fitness level.