Calculate your estimated maximum heart rate using three formulas side by side. Includes Karvonen zone calculations, resting heart rate analysis, and safe exercise intensity guidance.
Maximum heart rate (Max HR or MHR) is the highest number of times your heart can beat in one minute. It represents the upper limit of cardiovascular effort and serves as the reference point for calculating all training heart rate zones. Unlike resting heart rate, which changes with fitness, maximum heart rate is largely determined by age and genetics.
Knowing your maximum heart rate allows you to set precise training intensities. Exercise physiologists and sports scientists use Max HR as the baseline for designing training programmes targeting specific energy systems and physiological adaptations.
Several formulas have been developed to estimate maximum heart rate from age. Each has different accuracy characteristics:
The traditional 220 − age formula is the most widely known and cited, but research has shown it has a standard error of approximately ±12 bpm and systematically overestimates max HR in young people while underestimating it in older people. The Tanaka formula, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2001, was derived from meta-analysis of 351 studies and is now considered more accurate across all age groups.
Regardless of which formula you use, individual maximum heart rates vary considerably. Two people of identical age may have maximum heart rates differing by 20+ bpm. This natural variation means all formulas provide an estimate, not a definitive value. The only way to determine your true maximum heart rate with certainty is through a maximal graded exercise test under medical supervision.
Factors that influence maximum heart rate include genetics, biological sex (women typically have slightly higher max HR than men of the same age), altitude, temperature, hydration status, and the specific exercise modality (running typically produces the highest max HR; cycling and swimming typically produce slightly lower values).
| Age | 220 − age | Tanaka (208 − 0.7×age) | Gellish (207 − 0.7×age) | Variation Range |
|---|
Variation range shows approximate ±10 bpm individual variation around the Tanaka estimate.
Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) is the difference between your maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate. It represents the true working range of your cardiovascular system:
The Karvonen method uses HRR to calculate more personalised training zones, accounting for individual fitness through the resting heart rate component:
The Karvonen method produces higher target heart rates for fitter individuals (who have lower resting heart rates), which better reflects the physiological reality that a fit person needs to work harder to achieve the same relative cardiovascular stimulus.
Supervised methods include:
Graded Exercise Test (GXT): Performed in a hospital or sports lab on a treadmill or cycle ergometer. Speed/resistance is progressively increased until the subject cannot continue. This is the gold standard but requires professional supervision and equipment.
Field Test — 1 Mile Run: After a thorough warm-up, run 1 mile as fast as possible. Sprint maximally in the final 200 metres. Heart rate at the finish line is close to max HR for most people.
400m All-Out Sprint: After warm-up, sprint 400 metres at maximum effort. Your heart rate immediately after finishing is typically close to your maximum.
VO2 max — the maximum volume of oxygen your body can consume during exercise — is closely related to maximum heart rate, though they are distinct measurements. Higher maximum heart rate means the heart can deliver more blood per minute (cardiac output = heart rate × stroke volume), which generally supports higher VO2 max. However, trained athletes achieve high VO2 max values as much through increased stroke volume and better oxygen extraction as through max heart rate, which explains why endurance training does not significantly change max HR.
The relationship between heart rate and oxygen uptake is approximately linear between 50% and 90% of max HR, making heart rate a reliable proxy for exercise intensity monitoring in this range.
While maximum heart rate tells you your cardiovascular ceiling, resting heart rate tells you about your cardiovascular efficiency at rest. The NHS classifies resting heart rate as follows:
| Resting HR (bpm) | Classification | Typical For |
|---|---|---|
| Below 40 | Athletic bradycardia | Elite endurance athletes |
| 40–60 | Excellent | Trained athletes, very fit individuals |
| 60–75 | Good / Average | Moderately active healthy adults |
| 75–100 | Normal but elevated | Sedentary adults, stress, caffeine |
| Above 100 | Tachycardia | Consult a doctor |
Consistent aerobic exercise over weeks and months reliably lowers resting heart rate. Tracking resting heart rate (measured first thing in the morning) is one of the most accessible ways to monitor cardiovascular fitness improvement over time.