Target Heart Rate Calculator

Exercise guidelines talk about moderate and vigorous intensity. See what those mean for you in beats per minute, using the American College of Sports Medicine ranges.

Your details

years
bpm
Optional, more personal.
bpm
Replaces the estimate.
Intensity

Take your resting heart rate in the morning before you get up. Some medicines, such as beta blockers, lower heart rate, so these ranges won't apply.

Your results

Enter your age, or a measured max heart rate, to see your target heart rate.

How to use it

  1. Enter your age, or your measured max heart rate if you know it.
  2. Add your resting heart rate for a more personal range based on heart rate reserve (Karvonen). Optional.
  3. Pick light, moderate or vigorous, and read your target range. The table shows every intensity.

How it's calculated

The ranges. The American College of Sports Medicine classes exercise intensity like this (Garber et al. 2011):

Intensity % of max heart rate % of heart rate reserve
Very light under 57% under 30%
Light 57–63% 30–39%
Moderate 64–76% 40–59%
Vigorous 77–95% 60–89%
Near maximal to maximal 96% or more 90% or more

With resting heart rate (Karvonen). Heart rate reserve is max minus resting. A target is resting + percentage × reserve. Example: max 185, resting 65, moderate 40–59% gives 65 + 0.40 × 120 = 113 to 65 + 0.59 × 120 = 136 bpm. The calculator shows only whole beats that fall within each band. For example, the moderate band starts at 40% and ends just below 60%.

Without resting heart rate. The percentage applies to max heart rate directly: moderate for a max of 185 is 0.64 × 185 = 118 to just under 0.77 × 185 = 142 bpm.

Max heart rate. Measured if you enter it, otherwise estimated: Tanaka (208 − 0.7 × age) by default, 220 − age, or Gulati’s formula for women (206 − 0.88 × age).

Limits. These are guides for healthy adults. Some medicines, such as beta blockers, keep heart rate low, so the ranges won’t apply. If you have a heart condition, get your training ranges from your doctor or a supervised exercise test.

Sources

  1. Garber, C. E., Blissmer, B., Deschenes, M. R., et al. (2011). Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(7), 1334–1359. Table 4.
  2. Tanaka, H., Monahan, K. D., & Seals, D. R. (2001). Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 37(1), 153–156.
  3. Gulati, M., Shaw, L. J., Thisted, R. A., Black, H. R., Bairey Merz, C. N., & Arnsdorf, M. F. (2010). Heart rate response to exercise stress testing in asymptomatic women. Circulation, 122(2), 130–137.
  4. Karvonen, M. J., Kentala, E., & Mustala, O. (1957). The effects of training on heart rate; a longitudinal study. Annales Medicinae Experimentalis et Biologiae Fenniae, 35(3), 307–315.
  5. World Health Organization (2020). WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

Questions

What is a good target heart rate for exercise?

For moderate exercise, the ACSM range is 64–76% of max heart rate, or 40–59% of heart rate reserve. Vigorous is 77–95% of max, or 60–89% of reserve. The calculator turns these into beats per minute for you.

Should I use max heart rate or heart rate reserve?

Heart rate reserve uses your resting heart rate too, so it fits your fitness better. If you don't know your resting heart rate, percentage of max works fine.

How much moderate or vigorous exercise do I need?

The WHO recommends adults get 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate activity, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mix of both.

Can I go above my target range?

Short spells above it are normal in intervals. If you get chest pain, unusual shortness of breath or dizziness, stop and get medical advice.

Updated November 9, 2026.