Max Heart Rate Calculator
Estimate your maximum heart rate from six published equations (including why 220 minus age is wrong).
Your details
Optional (used for the reserve figure)
The standard deviation on every one of these equations is about 10–12 bpm, which means roughly one person in three is more than 10 bpm away from their predicted maximum. The only way to know yours is a supervised maximal test. And that is not something to attempt alone if you have any cardiac risk factors.
This estimates maximum heart rate from your age, using several published equations rather than only the familiar one.
It shows how much the estimates differ, and what training zones each implies.
How maximum heart rate is estimated
Maximum heart rate is the highest your heart can beat during all-out effort. It sets the scale for every training zone, so an error here shifts every zone with it.
The familiar formula is 220 minus your age. It is easy to remember and it was never derived from careful research. Studies have found a standard deviation of roughly 10-12 beats per minute around it, which means a substantial share of people are more than 20 bpm away from their estimate.
Better equations exist. Tanaka: 208 − 0.7 × age was derived from a large meta-analysis. Gulati: 206 − 0.88 × age was derived specifically in women, where 220 − age tends to overestimate. At 30 these give 190, 187 and 180 respectively.
The equations disagree by more at older ages, and they cross over: 220 − age reads high for young people and low for older ones.
What to enter
- Age
- The only input in every one of these formulas, which is itself a clue about their precision.
- Sex
- Relevant for choosing an equation. The Gulati formula was derived in women, where 220 − age tends to overestimate.
- Resting heart rate
- Optional, and it improves zone calculations considerably through the Karvonen method.
The common equations
- 220 − age
- The familiar one. Simple, widely used, and not derived from rigorous research.
- Tanaka: 208 − 0.7 × age
- From a large meta-analysis. Generally more accurate across ages.
- Gulati: 206 − 0.88 × age
- Derived in women, where 220 − age tends to read high.
- Measured test
- A supervised graded exercise test. The only way to actually know, rather than estimate.
What this assumes
All of these are population equations using age alone. Individual maximum heart rate varies substantially at any given age.
Maximum heart rate is not a fitness measure. It does not improve with training, and a lower max says nothing about how fit you are.
How to calculate your maximum heart rate
Pick an equation, then use the result to set zones.
- HRmax
- Estimated maximum heart rate
- HRrest
- Resting heart rate, measured on waking
- intensity
- Target as a decimal, so 70% is 0.70
Choose an equation. Tanaka is generally the better default. Gulati is worth using for women. 220 − age is fine as a rough check.
Calculate your estimate. At 30, Tanaka gives 208 − 21 = 187 bpm.
Measure your resting heart rate. On waking, before getting up, across several mornings. It makes the zones considerably more personal.
Use Karvonen for zones. Heart rate reserve gives more meaningful zones than a flat percentage of max, because it accounts for your resting rate.
See a worked example: how much the equation choice matters
- Age
- 30
220 − age: 190 bpm. Tanaka: 208 − (0.7 × 30) = 187 bpm. Gulati: 206 − (0.88 × 30) = 180 bpm.
A 70% zone would be 133, 131 or 126 bpm depending on which you picked.
At 60 the spread is wider: 160, 166 and 153. The equations cross over, so the familiar one reads high for young people and low for older ones.
With a resting rate of 60 and a max of 190, Karvonen puts 70% at ((190 − 60) × 0.7) + 60 = 151 bpm, well above a flat 70% of 190.
About 187 bpm at age 30 (Tanaka)
Frequently asked questions
Not particularly. Research has found a standard deviation of roughly 10-12 bpm around it, so a meaningful share of people are more than 20 bpm from their estimate.
Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age) is generally more accurate and just as easy to use. For women, the Gulati equation is worth preferring.
No. Maximum heart rate is largely genetic and declines with age regardless of fitness. Training does not raise it.
What training does improve is everything around it: a lower resting rate, faster recovery between efforts, and more work done at any given heart rate.
A supervised graded exercise test is the accurate route, and a maximal effort carries real risk if you have any cardiovascular concern.
Do not attempt a maximal field test alone if you are over 40, new to exercise, or have any known heart condition. Talk to a doctor first.
The gap between your resting and maximum heart rate. The Karvonen method sets zones as a percentage of that gap added back to your resting rate.
It gives more meaningful zones because it accounts for your own resting rate. At 190 max and 60 resting, 70% by Karvonen is 151 bpm rather than 133.
Because a watch reports what it actually recorded, and your genuine maximum may well be above an age-based estimate. Individual variation at any age is large.
Check for artefacts first: wrist optical sensors can misread during high-intensity or cold-weather efforts, sometimes latching onto cadence instead. A chest strap is far more reliable.
Commonly five: 50-60% for recovery, 60-70% for easy aerobic work, 70-80% for aerobic endurance, 80-90% for threshold, and 90-100% for maximal intervals.
Most endurance training should sit in the lower zones. The usual mistake is training everything at a moderate intensity that is too hard to be easy and too easy to be hard.
Problems people actually run into
Building zones on a single estimate
Every zone inherits the error in the max. If your true maximum is 15 bpm above the estimate, your "easy" runs are genuinely too easy and your intervals too soft.
Cross-check against perceived effort. If a zone-2 pace feels trivially easy or unsustainably hard, the estimate is wrong rather than your effort.
Treating maximum heart rate as a fitness score
A high max is not fitness and a low max is not a problem. It is largely genetic, and it falls with age in trained and untrained people alike.
[VO2 max](/health/vo2-max-calculator), resting heart rate and recovery rate all say something about fitness. Maximum heart rate does not.
Results are estimates for general information only and are not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Last updated: September 4, 2026