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Maximum heart rate calculator: formula from age or a measurement?

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Every runner and every watch knows "220 minus age". This calculator shows what the formula gives, puts two formulas from large studies next to it, and adds the spread those studies measured. The conclusion is not surprising: no formula knows your heart. If you have a measured maximum, enter it alongside and you will see how far each formula misses in your case.

years
Age
bpm
Measured maximum heart rate (optional)

Enter your age to compare the formulas.

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Where 220 minus age came from

The formula appeared in 1971 in a review by Fox, Naughton and Haskell on physical activity and coronary heart disease. It was not the result of a study but a line drawn by eye through points from a handful of earlier papers, mostly on men under 55, many of them smokers or heart patients. Robergs and Landwehr traced its history in 2002 and found no study that had validated it. The formula caught on because it is simple, not because it is accurate.

What the studies say

Tanaka, Monahan and Seals pooled 351 studies in 2001 and fitted the formula 208 minus 0.7 times age. For a forty-year-old it gives the same as 220 minus age, but for a sixty-year-old it is 6 beats higher and for a twenty-year-old 6 beats lower. The Norwegian HUNT study of 2013 measured maximum heart rate in 3,320 healthy people in tests to exhaustion and arrived at 211 minus 0.64 times age, kinder still to older runners.

More important than any formula is the second number from these papers: the spread. In both studies the standard deviation around the line is about 10 beats. One person in three has a maximum more than 10 beats away from the formula, and one in twenty more than 20 beats away. Two forty-year-olds in the same shape can have maximums of 170 and 195, and both are healthy.

Why it matters for zones

Heart rate zones calculated as a percentage of maximum have limits every 10 percentage points. A 10-beat error in the maximum shifts every limit by 6 to 9 beats, almost a whole zone. A runner whose true maximum is 195 but who calculates from 180 trains "zone 2" at 108 to 126 beats, which is barely a jog. A runner with a true maximum of 170 who enters 180 runs easy runs near threshold. Both errors are common and both spoil training, which is why the heart rate zone calculator on this site works only from a measured value.

How to measure maximum heart rate

The simplest way is to look at the data from recent 5K races or hard uphill intervals: the highest value from the last few weeks, measured with a chest strap, usually sits a few beats below the true maximum. A dedicated test looks like this: after a 15-minute warm-up, run three uphill efforts of 2 to 3 minutes, each harder than the last, and finish the final one with a sprint. A wrist sensor drops beats during such changes of pace, so wear a strap. People with a heart condition, after a long break or over 40 without a check-up should talk to a doctor first.

Frequently asked questions

Which formula is best?

None is good for an individual. For a population the Tanaka and HUNT formulas fit best, because they come from large studies. For you, the measurement counts.

Does maximum heart rate fall with age?

Yes, by 0.6 to 0.7 beats a year on average, and training does not stop it. It says nothing about fitness: maximum heart rate is a personal trait, not a measure of training.

My watch showed 205 on a hill. Is that possible?

Possible, but first check whether the reading came from a strap rather than the wrist. An optical sensor can lose the signal and show cadence instead of heart rate. If the value repeats with a strap, it is your maximum.

Why know your maximum at all?

For zones calculated as a percentage of maximum and from heart rate reserve. If you use threshold heart rate from the 30-minute test, the maximum is not needed. The heart rate zones page explains how that works.

Sources

Step-by-step guides in the Help Center