Using Your Target Heart Rate to Maximize Your Workouts

Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events.

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Jonathan Valdez, RDN, CDCES, CPT is a New York City-based telehealth registered dietitian nutritionist and nutrition communications expert.

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Knowing how hard you need to exercise helps you reach your goals more quickly. It also ensures that you don’t push your body too much, making exercise unsafe. Working out in a target heart rate zone can help ensure your workout is safe and beneficial.

Cardiovascular exercise relies on frequency, intensity, and duration to be effective. You know how often you exercise and for how long, but you need to know your heart rate to judge your intensity. Learn more about the effects of each of the five heart rate zones and how to use them in your cardio workouts.

What Is Heart Rate?

Your heart rate is the number of beats your heart completes each minute. Heart rate is also known as pulse and is what you feel when you press your wrist or neck to check your pulse. Your heart rate changes constantly based on what you are doing. It changes with physical activity and in response to an emotional stimulus such as excitement or anxiety.

Resting Heart Rate

Resting heart rate (RHR) is the number of beats per minute your heart completes when you are completely at rest. It is the lowest rate your heart usually beats since you are not being active. This rate should be measured when you are resting (sitting or lying down), without any emotional stimulus or illness influencing the rate. A normal resting heart rate for an adult is considered to be between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm).

Maximum Heart Rate

Maximum heart rate (MHR) is as fast as your heart can beat. One way to estimate it is 220 minus your age (so if you are 35 years old, your MHR is 185). However, this is just a guess, and your actual maximum heart rate is likely different.

Target Heart Rate

Target heart rate is a goal of how fast you want your heart rate to be while exercising. It helps indicate the intensity you are working. Your estimate for your target heart rate is just a guess, but it gives you an idea of how hard you work during exercise. Your target heart rate will depend on your current fitness level and age, which means it will change as your cardiovascular endurance increases or as you get older.

How to Find Your Target Heart Rate

This calculator uses a simple age-graded estimation of your MHR. Then, the chart below multiplies it by your chosen percentage to show various target heart rate zones.

Maximum Heart Rate Formula

206.9 – (0.67 x age)

This and other MHR prediction equations are the subjects of ongoing research since they tend to underestimate the MHR for people over age 30. That means that if you are older than 30, it may be more accurate to use +11/-11 deviation from the number as a more acceptable range.

So if you are 35 years of age with a maximum heart rate of 183 (calculated using the formula above), the estimate would be between 172 to 194. The maximum heart rate may be a little higher for women and older adults.

Some fitness trackers, smartwatches, and even sports watches automatically measure your resting heart rate and then use that information to suggest and measure the target heart rate. An advantage of using these devices to find your target heart rate is that the manufacturer can easily update them to match the current research-backed zones.

Heart Rate Chart

Use this target heart rate chart to determine your heart rate in four exercise intensity zones. Select your age to find an estimated maximum heart rate (MHR) zone and the range of beats per minute in each zone: low intensity, moderate intensity, vigorous intensity, and the aerobic zone.

How to Use Heart Rate Zones

When it comes to heart rate zone training, you can mix it up and enjoy moderate-intensity exercise on some days and vigorous on others. You get different fitness benefits by exercising in different heart rate (HR) zones. In each zone, you will feel a different level of exertion.

Low-Intensity Zone

Working at 57% to 63% of your maximum heart rate means you are in the low-intensity zone. Exercising at this intensity can help relieve stress and reduce the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Low-intensity exercise can boost your mood, lower blood pressure, improve endurance, and is excellent for cardiovascular health.

Training within this zone is beneficial if you recover from a more intense exercise session. Many forms of flexibility and strength exercises are also lower intensity, but they are still crucial for your muscles and physical condition.

Low-Intensity Exercise Options

• Yoga (especially restorative or Hatha yoga)
• Pilates
• Mobility and flexibility training
• Walking (2.0 to 2.9 miles per hour)

Moderate-Intensity Zone

Moderate-intensity training is performed at 64% to 76% of your maximum heart rate. This intensity level is typically recommended for building fitness and burning calories for weight balance. For health and fitness benefits, aim to exercise in the moderate-intensity zone for 30 minutes per day, five days per week for at least 150 total minutes per week.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend up to 300 minutes (5 hours) per week for additional benefits. Moderate-intensity exercise improves oxygen transportation throughout your body, boosting heart health.

Moderate-Intensity Exercise Options

• Brisk walking
• Strength training
• Swimming
• Cycling (under 10 miles per hour)
• Jogging

Vigorous-Intensity Zone

You are training in the vigorous-intensity zone at 77% to 95% of your maximum heart rate. The physical activity guidelines recommend 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. Alternatively, you can perform moderate and vigorous activity for up to 150 minutes, which will likely be easier to sustain and recover from.

This zone spurs your body to improve your circulatory system by building new blood vessels and increasing your heart and lung capacity. Exercising at the high end of this range (84% MHR or higher) will improve the amount of oxygen you can consume—your VO2 max.

This exertion level takes you to the limit where your body begins to produce lactic acid. Runners, cyclists, and racewalkers use this zone to build their ability to go even faster.

Vigorous-Intensity Exercise Options

• Running
• Cycling (over 10 miles per hour)
• Lap swimming
• Strength training (with short rests and/or heavy weights)
• Plyometric and explosive training

Maximum-Intensity Zone

You are pushing as hard as possible at the maximum-intensity level (96% to 100% of your MHR), such as with high-intensity interval training or sprinting. You can’t work any harder. Most people can’t stay in this zone for more than a few minutes. You will be unable to speak except for gasping single words.

Consult your doctor to ensure you can safely work out at such a high heart rate. This zone should only be used for short bursts during interval training, where you work intensely for a minute, then drop back down to a lower intensity for several minutes, then repeat.

Maximum-intensity exercise can be very effective for improving your cardiovascular capacity and the ability to clear lactic acid. This has carryover for improvements in the other intensity zones.

How to Monitor Your Heart Rate Zone

Take your heart rate five minutes after the start of your exercise session and retake it before you go into your cool down. You can do this by taking your pulse or using a heart rate monitor, fitness tracker (such as a Fitbit), or smartwatch.

Take Your Pulse

You can find your pulse at your neck (carotid artery) or wrist (radial artery). You will need a timing device that shows seconds, so switch to stopwatch mode on your smartphone clock or use a watch, clock, or timer with a second hand.

• Use two fingers (not your thumb, which has a pulse). It is often easiest to find your pulse in the carotid arteries on either side of your windpipe. Start feeling for it just beneath your jaw, next to your windpipe.
• Once you locate the pulse, press lightly, count your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by six, or count for 15 seconds and multiply by four. So 20 beats for 10 seconds = 120 beats per minute; 20 beats for 15 seconds = 80 beats per minute.
• You may need to stop to do this at first, but once you can locate it, try to keep walking slowly or marching in place while taking your pulse to keep it from slowing.

Many treadmills and other exercise machines have grips with pulse sensors built in. You grip them, and your pulse will read out on display on the machine. You usually will not have to interrupt your workout to get a reading. You can also use a mobile app.

Use a Heart Rate Monitor

Heart rate monitors with a chest strap are more accurate than taking your pulse. They transmit the data to a wrist unit or a mobile app so you can see your heart rate throughout your workout.

As prices increase, models include many other features, such as tracking your heart rate zones, stopwatch features, calories burned, and more. Different heart rate monitors have pulse monitors where you place one or two fingers on a sensor for a reading.

Many heart rate monitors offer the ability to pre-program multiple heart rate zones. This is beneficial if you do different intensity workouts because you won’t have to reprogram it each time. Some will even tell you how long it takes to return to your resting heart rate.

Use a Fitness Tracker or Smart Watch

Some fitness trackers and smartwatches, such as some models of Fitbit and the Apple Watch, have LED pulse sensors on the underside next to the skin. These must be worn securely against the skin to get a stable and accurate reading.

To save battery life, many of them don’t read continuously. See the instructions for your device to see how to get an on-demand or continuous pulse reading.

These devices often have simplified heart rate zones, such as light, moderate, and vigorous. Some allow you to set a target heart rate and have a visual or auditory alert when you are in your chosen zone. When deciding between a Fitbit and an Apple Watch, consider things like price, battery life, and extra features, such as the ability to integrate with your phone.

We’ve tried, tested, and reviewed the best fitness trackers. If you’re in the market for an activity tracker, explore which option may be best for you.

A Word From Verywell

Working in each heart rate zone has its benefits. Using each is a fantastic way to build cardiovascular health, improve endurance, encourage healthy weight balance, prevent disease, and improve mood. You will also find more variety in your workout routines if you add activities from each zone. Before starting any new fitness routine, speak to your doctor about your current fitness and possible limitations.

Frequently Asked Questions

A normal resting heart rate range for an adult is between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). Heart rate rises with activity, to a maximum of approximately 220 minus your age.

The easiest way to measure your heart rate is to use a heart rate monitor or fitness tracker such as a watch. However, using your fingers on your pulse while watching the clock is also easy. Find your pulse on your wrist or neck, press lightly and count the beats for 10 seconds and multiply by six, or count for 15 seconds and multiply by four to calculate beats per minute.

Technically, you cannot go over your true maximum heart rate since it is by definition, the maximum your heart rate can go. Your maximum or near maximum heart rate is only sustainable for a very short period of time.

The 220 minus your age estimate is just that—an estimate. However, it has been studied extensively to be fairly accurate as an ideal maximum heart rate. Your individual rate will be unique.

Exercise in all heart rate zones contributes to weight loss and healthy weight balance by burning calories. You will still need to create a deficit through nutrition by consuming fewer calories than you burn. Higher intensity exercise may have additional benefits since it is more time-efficient and may provide a slight after-burn effect.

Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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By Wendy Bumgardner
Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events.

Heart Rate Zones Explained

You’re committed to your exercise program. You’ve got your cushy sneakers on your feet and a fancy new heart rate monitor on your wrist. But when that tracker displays your heart rate, do you actually know what to do with that information?

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For committed athletes, your heart rate zone can tell you a lot about the intensity of your workout and the health benefits to your body. But it takes a bit of math and some understanding of your heart rate to appreciate what those numbers mean for your health.

“Your heart rate zone tells you how hard you’re working, and what you’re utilizing for energy,” explains exercise physiologist Chris Travers, MS. “The higher your heart rate gets, the more you’re burning carbohydrates and protein for energy, and the less you’re using fat for energy.”

We talked with Travers about heart rate zones — where your heart rate should fall for the most health benefits — how to calculate your zones and if they’re really all that important.

What are exercise heart rate zones?

Heart rate zones are based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate. The easiest way to calculate your max heart rate is using the age-adjusted formula 220 – your age = max heart rate.

But lately, exercise experts have turned to the Karvonen formula, which takes into account your resting heart rate, too. That creates a more personalized understanding of your exercise intensity. More to come on that.

Heart rate zones are essentially an indication of how hard your heart is working to pump your blood and keep up with the demands of what you’re doing. The higher your heart rate, the higher the heart rate zone you’re in and the harder your body is working to keep up.

There are five heart rate zones, ranging from zone 1 to zone 5.

• Zone 1: At this point, 85% of the calories you burn are fat. You’ll burn fewer calories overall than you would if you were exercising at a higher intensity, but you’re able to sustain this zone for a longer amount of time. You can easily hold a conversation with someone at the rate you’re going.
• Zone 2: Roughly 65% of the calories you burn are fat. You can still hold a light conversation in this zone, but you may need to stop chatting for a beat occasionally to take a breath.
• Zone 3: About 45% of the calories you burn are fat. Talking in this zone takes effort.
• Zone 4: You’re no longer burning fat to fuel you. You can’t keep up at this rate for more than about 15 minutes. You could talk at this point if you absolutely needed to, but you really wouldn’t want to have to.
• Zone 5: You can only keep up this amount of effort for a few minutes. Talking is out of the question.

Heart rate zones chart

Here’s a look at the five heart rate zones and what they mean for your workout.

Like the Pirate’s Code, heart rate zones are less like “rules” and more like “guidelines.” Your personal physiology isn’t entirely ruled by the laws of mathematics. There’s some give and take here.

So, you may see heart rate zones described in slightly different ways and using different names. That’s OK. There are a lot of gray areas. The bottom line is that as your heart rate climbs, your body reacts to keep up with your needs.

Does the average person need to track their heart rate?

For the average exerciser, you can turn to your body’s cues to understand whether you’re getting a workout. If you’re carrying on a normal conversation without effort, your heart rate isn’t all that elevated. If you’re struggling to keep up with talking, you know your heart rate is spiking.

“Some people find it motivating to know their heart rate zone. If it helps you keep on track with your exercise program, that’s OK. For everyone else, the talk test works just fine,” Travers notes. “Can you talk and carry on a conversation when you’re exercising? Then you’re in a moderately easy zone. Not everyone should stress about the numbers, especially if that becomes a barrier to enjoying exercise.”

How to calculate your heart rate zones

If you thrive on numbers and a quantitative understanding of your exercise program, it’s time to get nitty-gritty. It takes a bit of math to find your target heart rate zones, so get your calculator handy.

The Karvonen formula to calculate your training zone is this:

([Maximum heart rate – resting heart rate] x % intensity) + resting heart rate = training zone.

To simplify some, here’s another way to look at it:

1. Maximum heart rate – resting heart rate = heart rate reserve
2. (Heart rate reserve x % intensity) + resting heart rate = training zone

That’s a lot of information, so let’s talk about it piece by piece.

1. Maximum heart rate

Max heart rate = 220 – your age

Your max heart rate represents the highest number of beats per minute that your heart can handle safely.

The most accurate way to know your max heart rate is by doing an exercise stress test or VO2 max test. During the test, you’ll be hooked up to a heart rate monitor while you run as fast as you possibly can on a treadmill or pedal on an exercise bike. The heart rate you achieve at your “breaking point” is your maximum heart rate.

Or you can get a good estimate of your maximum heart rate with a simple calculation: Subtract your age from 220.

For example, a 40-year-old would have an estimated max heart rate of 180 (that is, 220 – 40 = 180).

Of course, not all 40-year-olds — or 20-year-olds or 60-year-olds — are at the same level of physical fitness. So, your actual max heart may vary some from this calculation. But if you don’t have a more precise max heart rate from an exercise stress test or VO2 max test, it’s a good starting point to understanding what you should consider your threshold for safe exercise.

2. Resting heart rate

If your max heart rate is your heart rate when you’re pushing yourself to your limits, your resting heart rate is the opposite.

Your resting heart rate represents how many times your heart beats in a minute when you’re sitting or lying still. For most people, that’s somewhere in the range of 60 to 100 beats per minute. Finely tuned athletes will typically have a lower resting heart rate than people who aren’t as physically fit.

Many wearable heart rate monitors can tell you your resting heart rate at any given moment. Or they may show you your resting heart rate based on an average over several days.

You can also find your resting heart rate by feeling your pulse on your wrist and counting the number of beats in a minute. Travers suggests doing this first thing in the morning for the most accurate results.

3. Heart rate reserve

Heart rate reserve = max heart rate – resting heart rate

Your heart rate reserve is the difference between your maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate.

Let’s go back to our 40-year-old from above. Assume their resting heart rate is 70 beats per minute (bpm).

Their heart rate reserve would be 180 (max heart rate) minus 70 (resting heart rate), which equals 110. Keep this number handy for the next step.

4. Target heart rates per zone

Once you know your heart rate reserve, it’s time for, yes, more math.

You’ll find your target heart rate for each heart rate zone by multiplying your heart rate reserve by the percentage of max heart rate that each zone represents:

• 50% (0.5) for zone 1.
• 60% (0.6) for zone 2.
• 70% (0.7) for zone 3.
• 80% (0.8) for zone 4.
• 90% (0.9) for zone 5.

And now for the last step: Add back in your resting heart rate.

And, voila! You have your target heart rates for each zone.

Here’s a breakdown for the 40-year-old in our example so you can see the full math equation in action:

What exercise zone is best for weight loss?

It’s easy to assume that pushing yourself to your max is the most effective way to lose weight, right? More sweating, more huffing, more puffing, more weight shedding, right?

That’s because the higher your heart rate gets, the more you’re using carbohydrates and protein — not fat — for your fuel.

“For weight loss and endurance-building, it’s best to exercise in the zones that rely on fat for fuel — zones 1 through 3,” Travers emphasizes.

“When your heart rate increases, you’re not taking in as much oxygen. You can’t oxidize fat fast enough when you have less oxygen. So your body turns to another, more readily available energy source to provide fuel for you — glycogen, also known as carbohydrates. You can do short bursts in higher, more intense heart rate zones to push your body. Overall, though, it’s best to spend longer periods closer to 50% to 70% of your max heart rate for the most efficient results.”

What’s more is that strength-training is also important for fat loss.

“Having more muscle mass boosts your metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest),” Travers adds. “That means that with more muscle, you’ll burn more calories throughout the day, which will help promote weight loss.”

What heart rate zone is best for your cardiovascular health?

For most people, what matters most for your heart health is that you make an effort to move more. Any exercise, for any length of time, will improve your cardiovascular health.

That’s because your heart is a muscle. And like any other muscle in your body, it depends on you to keep it strong.

“If you’re moving your heart rate higher than what it is at rest, you’re helping improve your cardiovascular health,” Travers says. “You’re improving your cardiovascular health when you raise your heart rate from what it is at rest and what it is during your normal daily activity. That’s the key.”

Raising your heart rate above your resting point, even a little, strengthens your heart. And it helps to improve blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and more.

For optimal cardiovascular health, the American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (zones 1 to 3). Or if you want to get more benefit in less time, aim for 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity (zones 3 to 4). Or split the difference and do a combination of the two.

If tracking your heart rate makes you happy and motivates you, go for it. But if heart rate calculations become a stumbling block, forget about them and focus instead on how your body feels when you’re exercising.

Talk with a credible healthcare provider, like an exercise physiologist or physical therapist, for personalized advice about heart rate zones and their impact on your exercise program.