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Zone 2 heart rate by age

The same age gives three different answers depending on the method. Here are all three for ages 20 to 80; the calculator does it for your exact numbers.

AgeEst. max HR60–70 % of maxHR reserve, rest 60MAF 180
20194116–136140–154150–160
25191115–134139–152145–155
30187112–131136–149140–150
35184110–129134–147135–145
40180108–126132–144130–140
45177106–124130–142125–135
50173104–121128–139120–130
55170102–119126–137115–125
60166100–116124–134110–120
6516398–114122–132105–115
7015995–111119–129100–110
7515694–109118–12795–105
8015291–106115–12490–100

How to read the table

  • Est. max HR is 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka). in an independent test on 230 adults, both 220 − age and 208 − 0.7 × age missed the measured maximum by 9–10 beats on average, and by 20 or more for some people
  • 60–70 % of max is Zone 2 in the common five-zone model used by many watches.
  • HR reserve, rest 60 uses the Karvonen method with a resting heart rate of 60 bpm. Each 10 beats of resting rate moves this range by 3–4 beats in the same direction.
  • MAF 180 is 180 − age for someone training consistently without injuries; the range is the 10 beats below it.

The columns differ by up to 30 beats at the same age. That is not a rounding problem: they are different definitions. The % of max column gives the lowest numbers because it counts from zero rather than from your resting rate, and it ignores fitness completely. For your own numbers, with resting heart rate and health adjustments, use the Zone 2 calculator.

Does Zone 2 go down with age?

The heart-rate numbers do, because maximum heart rate falls with age: by the Tanaka formula, about 7 beats per decade. The effort doesn't change: Zone 2 still means easy, conversational exercise just below the first lactate threshold. A 60-year-old in Zone 2 is working as hard, relative to their own capacity, as a 30-year-old at a higher heart rate.

Individual variation is larger than the age trend. Two people of the same age can have maximum heart rates 20 or more beats apart, so a measured maximum, or a threshold test, beats any column in this table.

Sources

  1. Tanaka, Monahan & Seals (2001). Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Martin et al. (2025). Exploratory analysis of the accuracy of age-based maximal heart rate equations across cardiorespiratory fitness levels. PLoS One. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. Garmin owner's manual: heart rate zones. www8.garmin.com
  4. The science of exercise prescription: Martti Karvonen and his contributions. BC Medical Journal. bcmj.org
  5. Maffetone, P. The MAF 180 Formula. philmaffetone.com