Liftsmith

Heart rate zone calculator

Your maximum heart rate and five training zones, from your age or your own maximum, with heart rate reserve if you know your resting heart rate.

Estimated from age: 208 − 0.7 × 35 = 184.

  • Zone 5 · Maximum166–184 bpm

    All-out efforts, a minute or two at most.

  • Zone 4 · Threshold147–165 bpm

    Hard intervals and circuits.

  • Zone 3 · Tempo129–146 bpm

    Steady cardio that feels like work.

  • Zone 2 · Endurance110–128 bpm

    Easy cardio you could talk through, which builds the base for recovering between sets.

  • Zone 1 · Recovery92–109 bpm

    Warm-ups, cool-downs and walking between sets.

Between heavy sets, start the next one once you're back under about 128 bpm, the top of zone 2.

The zones

Zones run from 50 to 60, 60 to 70, 70 to 80, 80 to 90 and 90 to 100% of maximum heart rate. With heart rate reserve, each percentage is of the gap between resting and maximum, added to your resting heart rate.

Questions

How is maximum heart rate worked out?
From age with the Tanaka formula, 208 − 0.7 × age, which is more accurate for adults than the older 220 − age. Formulas can be 10 bpm out either way, so if a hard effort has taken you higher, use that number instead.
What is heart rate reserve?
The gap between your resting and maximum heart rate. Zones worked out from it (the Karvonen method) follow your fitness: as your resting heart rate drops, your zones shift.
What are the five zones for?
Zone 1 is recovery and warm-ups, zone 2 easy cardio you could talk through, zone 3 steady harder work, zone 4 hard intervals, and zone 5 all-out efforts of a minute or two.
How does heart rate help with lifting?
Between heavy sets, your heart rate dropping back to about the top of zone 2 is a good sign you're ready for the next one. It also shows how hard a circuit or conditioning finisher really was.

More: the interval timer, the TDEE calculator and the blog.

Rest as long as you need, not longer

Liftsmith times your rest, reads your recovery from your heart rate and sleep, and adjusts the day's workout to match.

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Heart rate on every set

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