How do I find my target heart rate zone for exercise?

The quick formula and its limits

220 minus age is the classic estimate for maximum heart rate, and the standard training zones are percentage slices of that number. It is convenient but generic: real maximums vary between people of the same age, so treat the zones as a starting frame rather than exact walls. If a zone feels wildly wrong for your effort level, your true max likely differs from the formula.

The Karvonen method is more personal

Karvonen zones use your heart rate reserve, which is max minus resting heart rate, and anchor the zones to your resting pulse. Two people with the same age but different fitness get different zone boundaries, which usually matches perceived effort better. You only need one extra input: your resting heart rate measured after waking.

Using the zones in practice

Easy aerobic sessions belong in the moderate band, harder interval work pushes into the vigorous band. If you train by feel, the talk test is a decent proxy: full sentences are easy in the moderate zone and become hard in the vigorous one.

Step by step

1. Enter your age. The calculator estimates your maximum heart rate from it.
2. Add resting heart rate. Optional but recommended, it unlocks the Karvonen zones.
3. Read your zones. See the beats per minute range for each training intensity.