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Lookup 1 — My Karvonen zones
Age + resting heart rate → your five personalized zones.
REFERENCE TABLE · HEALTH · PRINTABLE
Heart Rate Zones Chart by Age
Five zones, one formula family, and the reason your watch’s “fat burn” number might be lying to you. The quick estimate is 220 minus your age for max heart rate — but the Karvonen method is the one coaches actually use: it subtracts your resting heart rate first, so a fit 35-year-old and a sedentary 35-year-old get different zones. At 35 with a 65 bpm resting rate, zone 2 runs 137–149 bpm. Below: the full age chart (Karvonen, resting 70), three live lookups — your personalized zones, the quick %max version, and a single target number — plus what each zone does and the talk test. The tables print cleanly: tape one to the treadmill.
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Lookup 2 — Quick % of max zones
Age only → five zones as a straight percent of max heart rate.
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Lookup 3 — Target heart rate
Age + resting HR + intensity → one target number for today.
The full chart: Karvonen zones by age
Computed with the Karvonen formula at a 70 bpm resting heart rate — the standard reference baseline. Your real resting rate shifts every band: run Lookup 1 above with your morning number for your personal chart. Printing? Use your browser’s print command — the table below is formatted for paper.
| Age | Est. max | Zone 1 50–60% | Zone 2 60–70% | Zone 3 70–80% | Zone 4 80–90% | Zone 5 90–100% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 135–148 | 148–161 | 161–174 | 174–187 | 187–200 | |
| 25 | 132–145 | 145–158 | 158–170 | 170–182 | 182–195 | |
| 30 | 130–142 | 142–154 | 154–166 | 166–178 | 178–190 | |
| 35 | 128–139 | 139–150 | 150–162 | 162–174 | 174–185 | |
| 40 | 125–136 | 136–147 | 147–158 | 158–169 | 169–180 | |
| 45 | 122–133 | 133–144 | 144–154 | 154–164 | 164–175 | |
| 50 | 120–130 | 130–140 | 140–150 | 150–160 | 160–170 | |
| 55 | 118–127 | 127–136 | 136–146 | 146–156 | 156–165 | |
| 60 | 115–124 | 124–133 | 133–142 | 142–151 | 151–160 | |
| 65 | 112–121 | 121–130 | 130–138 | 138–146 | 146–155 | |
| 70 | 110–118 | 118–126 | 126–134 | 134–142 | 142–150 | |
| 75 | 108–115 | 115–122 | 122–130 | 130–138 | 138–145 |
What each zone does — and the talk test
Forget the watch marketing: no gadget measures your fuel mix directly. The talk test — what you can still say out loud — tracks intensity better than most wrist sensors:
| Zone | % of reserve | What it trains | Talk test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 Recovery | 50–60% | Warm-ups, cool-downs, very easy movement. Blood flow without fatigue. | Full conversation, easy |
| Zone 2 Aerobic base | 60–70% | The endurance builder: long cardio where 65–85% of calories come from fat. | Sentences, but not singing |
| Zone 3 Tempo | 70–80% | Comfortably hard: improves aerobic power; fuel mix shifts toward carbs. | Short phrases only |
| Zone 4 Threshold | 80–90% | Lactate threshold: the fastest pace you can hold for ~30–60 minutes. | Single words |
| Zone 5 Peak | 90–100% | VO2max: all-out intervals, seconds to a few minutes. Mostly carbs. | Cannot speak |
Worked example: 35 years old, 65 bpm resting
Max heart rate: 220 − 35 = 185 bpm. Heart rate reserve: 185 − 65 = 120 bpm. Zone 2 (60–70% of reserve): 65 + (120 × 0.60) = 137 to 65 + (120 × 0.70) = 149 bpm. The full personal chart: 125–137 (Z1), 137–149 (Z2), 149–161 (Z3), 161–173 (Z4), 173–185 (Z5). Note how different this is from the quick %max version (Z2 = 111–130): the Karvonen method credits your fitness — a 65 resting rate earns you roughly 19 extra beats of zone 2.
Karvonen vs % of max: which to use?
Use Karvonen (Lookup 1) whenever you know your resting heart rate — it’s meaningfully better for very fit people (low resting HR) and deconditioned beginners (high resting HR), the two groups %max misjudges most. Use the quick %max (Lookup 2) only as a starting guess before you’ve measured a morning resting rate. Measure resting HR three mornings in a row, before getting out of bed, and use the average; recheck whenever it shifts for more than a couple of weeks — your zones move with it.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Max heart rate | 220 − age | 185 bpm at 35 — an estimate, ±10–12 bpm for most people. |
| Heart rate reserve | max − resting | 120 bpm at 35/65 — your usable cardiac range. |
| Zone bounds | resting + reserve × % | 137–149 bpm for zone 2 at 35/65 — your aerobic base. |
Who uses this
- Runners and cyclists: setting zone-2 caps on the watch before long slow distance — and keeping easy days genuinely easy.
- New exercisers: the talk test beats any gadget for finding “moderate” without overdoing week one.
- Post-rehab walkers: a doctor-prescribed intensity (say 60%) becomes one concrete number to hold.
- Coaches & students: the Karvonen formula is standard exercise-physiology curriculum — cite it with the block below.
Accuracy & limitations
220 − age is a population estimate with a standard deviation around 10–12 bpm — trained athletes often test higher, some medications (beta blockers especially) suppress heart rate and invalidate the zones. Resting HR must be a true morning measurement; caffeine, stress, illness, and dehydration all inflate it. Zones describe cardiovascular intensity, not calorie precision — wrist sensors add their own error. If you have a heart condition, get zone targets from your clinician, not a chart. Not medical advice.
Cite this reference tableBright Side Kit. “Heart Rate Zones Chart by Age (Karvonen).” brightoolbox.com, 2026.
Bright Side Kit. "Heart Rate Zones Chart by Age (Karvonen)." https://brightoolbox.com/heart-rate-zones-chart/ Accessed October 23, 2026.Frequently asked questions
What is zone 2 heart rate for a 35-year-old?
With the Karvonen method at a 65 bpm resting rate: 137–149 bpm. With the quick %max method: 111–130 bpm. The Karvonen version is the one to train to — it accounts for your fitness baseline. At a 70 resting rate (the chart default), zone 2 at 35 is 139–151 bpm.
What is the Karvonen formula?
Target HR = resting HR + ((max HR − resting HR) × intensity%), where max HR ≈ 220 − age. Developed by Finnish physiologist Martti Karvonen, it personalizes zones through the heart rate reserve (max minus resting) — the range your heart actually has to work with.
Is zone 2 really the fat-burning zone?
Partly. Zone 2 burns the highest proportion of fat as fuel — roughly 65–85% of calories — but higher zones burn more total calories per minute. For fat loss, the evidence favors zone 2 volume plus some zone 4 intensity over camping in one zone. Zone 2’s real superpower is endurance: it builds the aerobic base everything else runs on.
How do I measure my resting heart rate correctly?
Measure first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed, three days in a row, and average them — finger on wrist or a chest strap, not a wrist sensor mid-day. Caffeine, stress, poor sleep, illness, and dehydration all inflate the reading. Recalculate your zones whenever your resting rate shifts for more than a couple of weeks.
Why are my zones different from my watch’s?
Most watches default to straight % of max with a generic 220−age estimate — no resting baseline. If your resting HR is well below average (fit) or above it (deconditioned, stressed, medicated), the watch’s zones can sit 10–20 bpm off your Karvonen zones. Enter your real resting rate in the watch’s zone settings, or just use Lookup 1 above.
Can I do zone training on beta blockers?
Talk to your doctor first. Beta blockers suppress heart rate — sometimes by 20–30 bpm — which breaks the 220−age estimate and every zone derived from it. Your clinician can set medication-adjusted targets or switch you to perceived-exertion and talk-test guidance instead. This chart assumes an unmedicated heart rate response.