Highest Heart Rate Calculator

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Highest Heart Rate Calculator

Determine your maximum heart rate (MHR) and target training zones based on clinical formulas.

Male Female
Fox Formula (Standard) Tanaka Formula (More Accurate) Gulati Formula (Women Only)
Your Estimated Maximum Heart Rate
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Beats Per Minute (BPM)
Zone Intensity Range (BPM)

Understanding Your Highest Heart Rate

Your highest heart rate, or Maximum Heart Rate (MHR), is the highest number of beats per minute your heart can safely reach under extreme exertion. Knowing this number is critical for athletes and fitness enthusiasts because it allows you to structure your workouts into specific intensity zones, ensuring you are training for endurance, fat loss, or peak performance.

The Formulas Explained

  • Fox Formula: The most common formula (220 – Age). While widely used, it is often criticized for being less accurate in older adults.
  • Tanaka Formula: Developed in 2001 (208 – 0.7 x Age), this is generally considered more accurate across a broader range of ages.
  • Gulati Formula: Specifically researched for women (206 – 0.88 x Age), as the traditional Fox formula tends to overestimate MHR in women.

Training Intensity Zones

Once you know your highest heart rate, you can divide your training into five distinct zones:

  • Zone 1 (50-60%): Very Light. Great for recovery and warm-ups.
  • Zone 2 (60-70%): Light. The "Fat Burning Zone." Ideal for building basic endurance.
  • Zone 3 (70-80%): Moderate. Improves aerobic capacity and efficiency.
  • Zone 4 (80-90%): Hard. Increases anaerobic capacity and speed.
  • Zone 5 (90-100%): Maximum. Only for short bursts; improves peak performance and fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Example Calculation

If a 40-year-old male uses the Tanaka formula:

Calculation: 208 – (0.7 * 40) = 208 – 28 = 180 BPM.

His Zone 2 (60-70%) would range from 108 to 126 beats per minute.

function calculateMHR() { var age = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hr_age').value); var gender = document.getElementById('hr_gender').value; var formula = document.getElementById('hr_formula').value; var resting = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hr_resting').value) || 0; var resultDiv = document.getElementById('hr_results'); var mainVal = document.getElementById('hr_main_val'); var zoneBody = document.getElementById('hr_zone_body'); if (isNaN(age) || age 120) { alert("Please enter a valid age between 1 and 120."); return; } var mhr = 0; // Apply specific formulas if (formula === 'fox') { mhr = 220 – age; } else if (formula === 'tanaka') { mhr = 208 – (0.7 * age); } else if (formula === 'gulati') { if (gender !== 'female') { alert("The Gulati formula is specifically designed for women. Using standard Tanaka instead."); mhr = 208 – (0.7 * age); } else { mhr = 206 – (0.88 * age); } } mhr = Math.round(mhr); mainVal.innerHTML = mhr; resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; // Calculate Zones var zones = [ { name: "Zone 1 (Recovery)", min: 0.50, max: 0.60, class: "hr-zone-row-1", desc: "Very Light" }, { name: "Zone 2 (Endurance)", min: 0.60, max: 0.70, class: "hr-zone-row-2", desc: "Light" }, { name: "Zone 3 (Aerobic)", min: 0.70, max: 0.80, class: "hr-zone-row-3", desc: "Moderate" }, { name: "Zone 4 (Anaerobic)", min: 0.80, max: 0.90, class: "hr-zone-row-4", desc: "Hard" }, { name: "Zone 5 (Sprint)", min: 0.90, max: 1.00, class: "hr-zone-row-5", desc: "Maximum" } ]; var html = ""; for (var i = 0; i 0 && resting < mhr) { var reserve = mhr – resting; zMin = Math.round((reserve * zones[i].min) + resting); zMax = Math.round((reserve * zones[i].max) + resting); } else { zMin = Math.round(mhr * zones[i].min); zMax = Math.round(mhr * zones[i].max); } html += ""; html += "" + zones[i].name + ""; html += "" + zones[i].desc + ""; html += "" + zMin + " – " + zMax + " BPM"; html += ""; } zoneBody.innerHTML = html; // Smooth scroll to results resultDiv.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'nearest' }); }

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