Home › Health, Fitness & Education › Resting Heart Rate Calculator
Resting Heart Rate Calculator
This resting heart rate calculator turns two simple numbers — your age and your resting heart rate — into a fitness assessment and a full set of personal heart rate training zones. Enter your resting heart rate in beats per minute (bpm), taken first thing in the morning before you get out of bed, and the calculator tells you which fitness band you fall in for your age, from Athlete to Below Average, and works out your five Karvonen training zones so you know exactly how hard to work in each type of session.
Resting heart rate is one of the simplest and most useful health numbers you can track. A lower resting rate usually means a stronger, more efficient heart: each beat pumps more blood, so the heart does not need to beat as often. Endurance athletes often rest in the 40s, while a typical untrained adult rests in the 60s or 70s. Because the normal range shifts with age, this calculator adjusts its bands for your age group.
Take your resting heart rate first thing in the morning, before coffee and before getting up. Count the beats for 60 seconds, or count for 30 seconds and double it.
How it works
Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you are completely at rest. The best time to measure it is first thing in the morning, while you are still in bed, before coffee, food or exercise. Put two fingers on your wrist or neck, count the beats for a full 60 seconds, and that is your number. A fitness watch or chest strap that records overnight will give you a good average too — look for the lowest value it records while you are asleep or just waking.
The calculator judges your resting heart rate against age-adjusted bands. The bands are different for each age group because maximum heart rate falls with age, and with it the typical resting rate rises slightly. For a 30-year-old, under 51 is Athlete, 51–60 is Excellent, 61–70 is Good, 71–80 is Average, and 81 or above is Below Average. For a 60-year-old the same bands shift up by a few beats, so a resting rate of 62 that is merely Good at 30 is Excellent at 60. The exact cut-offs for every age group are shown in the result table.
Karvonen training zones. The five training zones are worked out with the Karvonen formula, which uses your heart rate reserve — the gap between your resting rate and your maximum. Your maximum is estimated as 220 minus your age. Zone 1 is 50–60% of your reserve, Zone 2 is 60–70%, Zone 3 is 70–80%, Zone 4 is 80–90%, and Zone 5 is 90–100%. Because the formula starts from your resting rate, the zones are personal: two 30-year-olds with resting rates of 50 and 75 get different zone numbers, even though their estimated maximum is the same 190.
What each zone is for. Zone 1 is active recovery — very easy walking or spinning that helps you recover between hard days. Zone 2 is the endurance zone: easy, conversational effort where you can talk in full sentences, and where most of your weekly training time should sit. Zone 3 is tempo work — comfortably hard, sustainable for 20 to 60 minutes. Zone 4 is threshold work — hard, with short sentences only, for intervals of a few minutes. Zone 5 is maximum effort — short bursts of 30 seconds to a few minutes, with full recovery between them.
Worked example
Here is a worked example, so you can check the maths yourself.
Step 1: Sam is 30 years old and his resting heart rate, measured in bed in the morning, is 55 bpm.
Step 2: Work out his estimated maximum heart rate. 220 − 30 = 190 bpm.
Step 3: Work out his heart rate reserve. 190 − 55 = 135 bpm.
Step 4: Check his fitness band for the 30–39 age group. Athlete is under 51, Excellent is 51–60, Good is 61–70, Average is 71–80, and Below Average is 81 or above. A resting rate of 55 falls in the Excellent band.
Step 5: Work out the zones with the Karvonen formula. Zone 1 is 55 + 50% of 135 = 122.5, rounded to 123, up to 55 + 60% of 135 = 136. Zone 2 is 136 to 55 + 70% of 135 = 149.5, rounded to 150. Zone 3 is 150 to 55 + 80% of 135 = 163. Zone 4 is 163 to 55 + 90% of 135 = 176.5, rounded to 177. Zone 5 is 177 to 190.
Try it yourself: enter age 30 and resting heart rate 55 and press Calculate. The tool gives exactly the same result — Excellent — 55 bpm at age 30 — with zones of 123–136, 136–150, 150–163, 163–177 and 177–190 bpm.
FAQ
What is a good resting heart rate?
For most adults, a resting heart rate between 60 and 100 bpm is considered normal, but fitter people usually sit lower. A rate in the 50s is excellent for most age groups, and trained endurance athletes often rest in the 40s. This calculator adjusts its bands for your age group.
How do I measure my resting heart rate accurately?
Measure it first thing in the morning, while you are still lying in bed, before coffee, food or exercise. Count the beats at your wrist or neck for a full 60 seconds. Repeat it for three mornings and take the average.
Why is my resting heart rate higher than usual today?
A resting rate 5 to 10 beats above your normal often means you are fighting off an illness, slept badly, are dehydrated, drank alcohol the night before, or trained hard the day before. If it stays high for several days, take an easy day and see whether it settles.
What are heart rate zones used for?
Heart rate zones turn a workout into a target. Instead of guessing whether you are going easy or hard, you train at a heart rate that matches the goal of the session — easy endurance in Zone 2, tempo in Zone 3, hard intervals in Zones 4 and 5. Training by zones stops you from going too hard on easy days and too easy on hard days, which is the most common training mistake.
Is the 220 minus age formula accurate?
It is an estimate, and it is right for most people within about 10 beats per minute, but some people are further out. For general training, 220 minus age is good enough.