Improve Your Running With a Personalized Plan
Work with CM Performance Coaching for a custom training plan built around your goals, schedule, and experience level.
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Calculate your five training zones by BPM. Uses max HR only or the Karvonen formula if you enter your resting heart rate.
Improve Your Running With a Personalized Plan
Work with CM Performance Coaching for a custom training plan built around your goals, schedule, and experience level.
Get Your Custom Plan →Training in the right heart rate zone is one of the most effective ways to improve as a runner. Use this calculator to find your personal zones, then pair it with the Running Pace Calculator to match your zone targets to specific training paces, or the Race Time Predictor to set a goal finish time.
Heart rate zones are ranges of beats per minute (BPM) that correspond to different levels of training intensity. Each zone triggers different physiological adaptations — from fat burning and recovery at low intensities to cardiovascular strengthening and speed development at high intensities.
Most training systems divide intensity into five zones: Recovery (Zone 1), Aerobic Base (Zone 2), Tempo (Zone 3), Threshold (Zone 4), and VO2 Max (Zone 5). Knowing your zones lets you train with purpose — not just run hard every day and hope for the best.
Zone 2 training (aerobic base) is particularly important for distance runners. Spending 70–80% of your weekly mileage in Zone 2 builds your aerobic engine, improves fat oxidation, and supports faster recovery between hard sessions.
There are two common ways to calculate heart rate zones:
Max HR Method: Zones are calculated as a simple percentage of your maximum heart rate. For example, Zone 2 is 60–70% of max HR. This is quick but ignores individual cardiovascular fitness.
Karvonen Formula: Uses your Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) — the difference between max HR and resting HR. The formula is: Target HR = ((MaxHR − RestingHR) × intensity%) + RestingHR. Because it factors in resting heart rate (a proxy for fitness), it produces more personalized zones. A well-trained runner with a low resting HR will have their zones shifted upward compared to the basic max HR method.
To use the Karvonen method, enter your resting heart rate in the optional field above. Measure resting HR first thing in the morning before getting out of bed for the most accurate reading.
The common estimate is 220 minus your age — but this is a rough population average with high individual variance. More accurate methods include:
Using a more accurate max HR will make all zone calculations significantly more useful.