Heart rate zones and maximum heart rate: which method fits
Heart rate zones are the simplest way to steer intensity when there is no power or pace. What matters is what they refer to.
Maximum heart rate: measured beats formula
Maximum heart rate varies a lot between people. Age formulas only give an average; individuals are often well above or below. The Tanaka formula (208 minus 0.7 × age) fits better on average than the well-known "220 minus age", but it remains an estimate.
ZonePit therefore first suggests the highest plausible heart rate from your workouts of the last twelve months. Outliers, for example from measurement errors at the start of a session, are filtered out. If you never trained at maximum in that period, this value will be too low as well. Without data, ZonePit uses the formula. You can enter your own value at any time.
Two ways to calculate zones
- Percent of maximum heart rate: simple and common. Zone 2, for example, is 60 to 70 % of maximum.
- Heart rate reserve (Karvonen): includes resting heart rate. The reserve is the gap between resting and maximum heart rate. Zone 2 is then resting heart rate plus 60 to 70 % of the reserve. This often suits well-trained people with a low resting heart rate better.
Both use the same five zones: Recovery, Endurance, Tempo, Threshold, Anaerobic. If you have set a threshold heart rate for cycling or running, ZonePit uses it for that sport's load, because it is more precise than any percentage formula.
What to watch for
- Heart rate responds with a delay. It is of little use for short intervals and good for long, steady sessions.
- Heat, dehydration, fatigue and caffeine raise heart rate at the same effort.
In ZonePit
Under More › Heart rate profile you choose maximum heart rate and zone model. The suggestion from your data comes first; the formula is only a fallback.
Join the betaKeep reading
Sources
- Hirofumi Tanaka, Kevin D. Monahan, Douglas R. Seals (2001): Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited, Journal of the American College of Cardiology 37(1), 153–156.
- Martti J. Karvonen, E. Kentala, O. Mustala (1957): The effects of training on heart rate; a longitudinal study, Annales Medicinae Experimentalis et Biologiae Fenniae 35(3), 307–315.
ZonePit is a training and wellness app, not a medical device.