Finding Your Maximum Heart Rate
Your maximum heart rate (HRmax) anchors every heart-rate zone. Get it wrong by 10 beats and every zone shifts by 5–10 bpm.
What max heart rate is
HRmax is the highest your heart can beat during all-out effort. It is largely genetic, drifts down slowly with age, and is not a measure of fitness.
You can't train your max heart rate up. Its only job is to anchor your zones.
Estimate it in five seconds
The 220 − age rule is easy to remember but was never derived from solid data. It runs high for older athletes and low for some younger ones. Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age) is more accurate. Drop your age in below to see six published formulas side by side:
Recommended HRmax
184bpm
Tanaka (2001)
Average of all 6 models
183bpm
if unsure, use this
Six published predictors, side by side (±10–12 bpm typical error)
| Fox / Haskell (1971) | 185 bpm |
| Tanaka (2001)Recommended | 184 bpm |
| Gellish (2007) | 183 bpm |
| Nes (2013) | 189 bpm |
| Gulati, women (2010) | 175 bpm |
| Londeree & Moeschberger | 181 bpm |
| Average of all six modelsmean of the predictors above | 183 bpm |
- We recommend Tanaka (2001) because it was re-derived from a meta-analysis of 18,712 people and is more accurate across ages than the old 220 minus age rule, which tends to run high for older athletes.
- Formula-predicted HRmax carries a standard deviation of roughly ±10–12 bpm, so two athletes of the same age can differ by 20+ bpm. Use it as a starting point only.
- For accuracy, do a maximal field test (e.g. a hard hill-repeat session or a supervised ramp test) and read your true HRmax from the device.
A PDF of your personalized results, with a QR code to reopen them anytime.
Test it for real
A field test beats any equation. After a thorough warm-up:
- Run or ride 2–3 minutes hard uphill.
- Recover briefly, then go again, building to an all-out final 30 seconds.
- The highest number you see is close to your true HRmax.
Maximal effort, not for beginners. Stop if you feel unwell. One good test lasts years, since HRmax drops only about 0.7 bpm per year.
Then build your zones
- Heart-rate zone calculator: the standard %HRmax 5-zone split.
- LTHR zones: anchor to lactate-threshold heart rate instead.
- Max heart rate calculator: the six-formula tool above.