Why is this Heart Rate Zone Calculator better?

[Polly Lieberman]

This heart rate zone calculator estimates your running heart rate zones so that you can understand what effort level to use in your different runs. For example, if you are looking for a Zone 2 calculator for your easy runs or a Zone 4 calculator to find out roughly where your tempo runs should be, this will give you the info you need as well as all the other Zones from 1 to 5. Note that this calculator provides a five-zone model, as seen on most sports watches and apps.

This running heart rate zone calculator uses your Maximum Heart Rate and your Minimum Heart Rate to calculate your Heart Rate Reserve (this is how much your heart rate can vary). It then calculates your heart rate zone boundaries as percentages of that Heart Rate Reserve, so it’s also known as an HRR Zone Calculator or Heart Rate Reserve Zone Calculator.

Underneath the calculator, there is an explanation of what each effort/heart rate zone should feel like while running so that you can sense-check the data in case you aren’t wearing your heart rate monitor correctly – if it’s too loose, light will seep into the gap and ruin the data – too tight and it will restrict the ability to measure the light reflected.

To get ready to enter values in the heart rate calculator below, you’ll need to know your true maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate. The Maximum Heart Rate should have been measured in a Maximum Heart Rate Stress Test. The Minimum Heart Rate should have been measured while standing still, first thing in the morning, or using the average recent resting heart rate from your activity tracker device. If you haven’t done the Stress Test, then you could use the Max Heart Rate Calculator to give a rough estimate of your MaxHR, but it’s better to find out your value from the Stress Test to get the most accurate heart rate zone calculations. Bookmark this page, schedule a stress test for your training, and then come back here to get a more useful set of results.