Free interactive tool
Heart Rate Zone Calculator
Find the zone before you train — and check it with the talk test.
Find the zone before you train
Set age and effort; the gauge shows the heart-rate zone and the talk test says how it should feel.
Zones are estimates wrapped around one honest signal: if you cannot speak a sentence, you are training harder than the plan says. This is guidance, not a medical device.
- Find the top of the full-sentence conversational zone for your age.
- How many beats per minute separate easy from hard for you?
Zones are percentages of an estimated maximum (about 220 minus age). Easy endurance lives at 50–70%, tempo work at 70–80%, and hard intervals above that — each zone trains something different.
The talk test keeps the math honest: full sentences mean easy, phrases mean moderate, single words mean hard. This is guidance, not a medical device.
What zone burns fat?
Lower zones use a higher fat fraction, but total work matters more than the label — consistency wins.
Is 220 − age accurate?
It's a population estimate with real individual spread; treat the zones as starting points.