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FitnessFind your target heart rate zones for fat burning and cardio training.
This tool is for general information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a healthcare professional about results that concern you.
Why Train in Heart Rate Zones?
Heart rate zones turn “exercise harder” into a number you can actually follow. Each zone is a percentage band of your maximum heart rate, and each trains something different: easy zones build your aerobic base and burn a higher share of fat, hard zones raise your fitness ceiling. Most people train too hard on easy days and too easy on hard days; zones fix both.
The calculator estimates your maximum with the classic 220 minus age formula and shows the Tanaka formula (208 minus 0.7 x age) alongside it, which tracks better for people over 40. Add your resting heart rate and it switches to the Karvonen method, which personalizes the zones to your actual fitness.
What Each Zone Does
- Zone 1 (50 to 60%): warm ups, cool downs, recovery days.
- Zone 2 (60 to 70%): the famous fat burning and endurance zone. You can hold a conversation here. Most of your weekly cardio belongs in it.
- Zone 3 (70 to 80%): steady cardio that improves aerobic capacity. Talking becomes short sentences.
- Zone 4 (80 to 90%): hard intervals and tempo work. Raises your lactate threshold.
- Zone 5 (90 to 100%): short maximal bursts, sprints, the end of a race.
A simple weekly recipe that works: around 80 percent of cardio time in zones 1 and 2, the remaining 20 percent in zones 4 and 5. Pair it with our calories burned calculator to see what each session costs in energy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which zone is best for burning fat?
Zone 2 burns the highest percentage of calories from fat, which earned it the “fat burn” label. Total calories still decide fat loss, so a harder session can burn more fat overall in the same time. Zone 2 wins for sessions you can do often and recover from easily.
What is a good resting heart rate?
60 to 100 bpm is the normal adult range, and fit people commonly sit between 50 and 70. Measure it in the morning before getting up. A falling resting heart rate over months is one of the clearest signs your fitness is improving.
How accurate is 220 minus age?
It is a population average with real individual spread; your true max can differ by 10 or more beats. The Tanaka estimate shown in your results is more accurate for older adults, and entering your resting heart rate makes the zones considerably more personal.
Do I need a heart rate monitor?
A chest strap is most accurate, wrist watches are decent for steady efforts, and the talk test is free: if you can speak in full sentences you are in zone 2 or below.
Sources
- Target Heart Rates Chart | American Heart Association · American Heart Association
- Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited (Tanaka et al., 2001) · PubMed
- The effects of training on heart rate; a longitudinal study (Karvonen et al., 1957) · PubMed
- Give your heart a workout: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia · MedlinePlus
This calculator is for general information only. If you have a heart condition or take medication that affects heart rate, get zones from your doctor.