Your Heart Rate Training Zones
Understanding Your Running Heart Rate Training Zones
Heart rate training zones are specific ranges of your heart rate that correspond to different levels of exercise intensity. By understanding and training within these zones, runners can optimize their workouts for various goals, whether it's improving aerobic capacity, building endurance, or enhancing speed. Your heart rate is a reliable indicator of how hard your body is working during exercise.
Calculating Your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)
A common and simple formula to estimate your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) is:
MHR = 220 – Age
For example, if you are 30 years old, your estimated MHR would be 220 – 30 = 190 beats per minute (bpm). While this formula is widely used, it's an estimation and individual maximum heart rates can vary. If you know your actual MHR from a stress test or other reliable measure, you can use that for more accurate zone calculations.
The Five Heart Rate Training Zones
Once you have your estimated or actual Maximum Heart Rate, you can calculate your training zones. These zones are typically expressed as a percentage of your MHR:
- Zone 1: Very Light (50-60% of MHR) – Recovery pace. Helps in active recovery and reduces muscle soreness.
- Zone 2: Light (60-70% of MHR) – Aerobic base building. The "conversational pace" where you can talk easily. Crucial for building endurance.
- Zone 3: Moderate (70-80% of MHR) – Aerobic fitness improvement. You can speak in shorter sentences. Builds aerobic capacity and endurance.
- Zone 4: Hard (80-90% of MHR) – Anaerobic threshold. Speaking becomes difficult. Improves speed and lactate threshold.
- Zone 5: Maximum (90-100% of MHR) – Very Hard/Max Effort. Very short, intense bursts. Improves speed, power, and top-end performance.
How the Calculator Works
This calculator takes your age to estimate your Maximum Heart Rate using the 220-Age formula. If you provide an estimated maximum heart rate, it will use that instead for greater accuracy. It then calculates the percentage ranges for Zones 2 through 5, which are the most commonly used for training purposes. Zone 1 is often a recovery zone and can be less precisely targeted.
Example Calculation
Let's say you are 40 years old:
- Estimated Maximum Heart Rate = 220 – 40 = 180 bpm.
- Zone 2 (60-70%): 180 * 0.60 = 108 bpm to 180 * 0.70 = 126 bpm.
- Zone 3 (70-80%): 180 * 0.70 = 126 bpm to 180 * 0.80 = 144 bpm.
- Zone 4 (80-90%): 180 * 0.80 = 144 bpm to 180 * 0.90 = 162 bpm.
- Zone 5 (90-100%): 180 * 0.90 = 162 bpm to 180 * 1.00 = 180 bpm.
By using these zones, you can structure your runs to effectively target your fitness goals.
function calculateHeartRateZones() {
var age = parseFloat(document.getElementById("age").value);
var maxHeartRateInput = parseFloat(document.getElementById("maxHeartRate").value);
var resultsDiv = document.getElementById("results");
var pZone2 = document.getElementById("zone2");
var pZone3 = document.getElementById("zone3");
var pZone4 = document.getElementById("zone4");
var pZone5 = document.getElementById("zone5");
var pZone5plus = document.getElementById("zone5plus");
var maxHeartRate;
if (!isNaN(maxHeartRateInput) && maxHeartRateInput > 0) {
maxHeartRate = maxHeartRateInput;
} else if (!isNaN(age) && age > 0 && age < 120) {
maxHeartRate = 220 – age;
} else {
resultsDiv.innerHTML = "
Error
Please enter a valid age (between 1 and 120) or an estimated Maximum Heart Rate.";
return;
}
var zone2_lower = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 0.60);
var zone2_upper = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 0.70);
var zone3_lower = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 0.70);
var zone3_upper = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 0.80);
var zone4_lower = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 0.80);
var zone4_upper = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 0.90);
var zone5_lower = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 0.90);
var zone5_upper = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 1.00);
var zone5plus_lower = Math.round(maxHeartRate * 1.00) + 1; // Starting from bpm above max
pZone2.innerHTML = "
Zone 2 (Light): " + zone2_lower + " – " + zone2_upper + " bpm (Aerobic Base)";
pZone3.innerHTML = "
Zone 3 (Moderate): " + zone3_lower + " – " + zone3_upper + " bpm (Aerobic Fitness)";
pZone4.innerHTML = "
Zone 4 (Hard): " + zone4_lower + " – " + zone4_upper + " bpm (Lactate Threshold)";
pZone5.innerHTML = "
Zone 5 (Maximum): " + zone5_lower + " – " + zone5_upper + " bpm (VO2 Max)";
// Zone 5+ is often considered above 90% or 100% for very short bursts, but we'll show slightly above max as a conceptual zone
pZone5plus.innerHTML = "
Zone 5+ (Peak Effort): " + zone5plus_lower + "+ bpm (Peak Performance Bursts)";
resultsDiv.style.display = "block";
}
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