Your heart rate is a vital indicator of your cardiovascular health and exercise intensity. By understanding your heart rate zones, you can optimize your workouts for specific goals, whether it's improving general fitness, burning fat, or boosting endurance.
Calculating Your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)
The most common and simple formula to estimate your Maximum Heart Rate is: 220 – Age. For example, if you are 30 years old, your estimated MHR is 220 – 30 = 190 beats per minute (bpm).
While this formula is widely used, it's an estimation. Factors like genetics, fitness level, and medication can influence your actual MHR. If you know your actual MHR from a stress test or other reliable method, you can input it directly into the calculator for more accurate zone calculations.
What are Heart Rate Zones?
Heart rate zones are ranges of heartbeats per minute that correspond to different exercise intensities and physiological benefits. They are typically expressed as a percentage of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR).
The Five Heart Rate Zones
Zone 1: Very Light (50-60% of MHR)
This zone is for recovery. It's great for light warm-ups, cool-downs, and active recovery days. You should be able to hold a conversation easily.
Zone 2: Light (60-70% of MHR)
This is your aerobic or "fat-burning" zone. It's ideal for building endurance and improving your cardiovascular base. You can still talk, but with more effort.
Zone 3: Moderate (70-80% of MHR)
In this zone, you're improving your aerobic fitness and starting to build muscle. Talking becomes more challenging, and you'll likely be breathing harder.
Zone 4: Hard (80-90% of MHR)
This is your anaerobic zone. It's great for increasing your speed and improving your efficiency at higher intensities. You can only speak a few words at a time.
Zone 5: Maximum (90-100% of MHR)
This zone is for very short bursts of high-intensity effort, like sprinting. It's extremely demanding and should be used sparingly. You can barely speak.
Using this calculator will help you identify the specific bpm ranges for each of these zones based on your age or your known maximum heart rate.
function calculateHeartRateZones() {
var ageInput = document.getElementById("age");
var maxHeartRateInput = document.getElementById("maxHeartRate");
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
var age = parseFloat(ageInput.value);
var maxHeartRate = parseFloat(maxHeartRateInput.value);
var calculatedMHR;
if (isNaN(maxHeartRate) || maxHeartRate <= 0) {
if (isNaN(age) || age <= 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter a valid age or maximum heart rate.";
return;
}
calculatedMHR = 220 – age;
maxHeartRateInput.value = calculatedMHR; // Update the input field with the calculated MHR
} else {
calculatedMHR = maxHeartRate;
}
if (calculatedMHR <= 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Maximum heart rate must be a positive number.";
return;
}
var zone1_low = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.50);
var zone1_high = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.60);
var zone2_low = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.60);
var zone2_high = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.70);
var zone3_low = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.70);
var zone3_high = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.80);
var zone4_low = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.80);
var zone4_high = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.90);
var zone5_low = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 0.90);
var zone5_high = Math.round(calculatedMHR * 1.00);
var htmlOutput = "
Your Heart Rate Zones:
";
htmlOutput += "Based on a Maximum Heart Rate of " + calculatedMHR + " bpm:";
htmlOutput += "