Zone 2 Heart Rate Calculator
Find your personal Zone 2 range in bpm from your age, with the Karvonen method if you know your resting heart rate.
Zone 2 heart rate is 60 to 70% of your maximum heart rate: the easy aerobic intensity where you can still talk in full sentences. Enter your age to get your Zone 2 range in seconds. Add your resting heart rate and TrainingZones.io switches to the Karvonen formula, which personalizes the range to your fitness. Add a tested max HR for even more precision.
Calculate your Zone 2
Optional if you enter a known max heart rate.
Measured in the morning before getting up. Enables the Karvonen method.
From a field or lab test. Otherwise estimated from your age (Tanaka).
What is Zone 2 heart rate?
Zone 2 heart rate is the training intensity between 60 and 70% of your maximum heart rate. It is the easy aerobic zone where your body relies mostly on fat for fuel, builds mitochondria and capillaries, and recovers quickly. For a 40 year old, that means about 108 to 126 bpm with the simple percentage method, or 132 to 144 bpm with the Karvonen method and a resting heart rate of 60.
- Max heart rate
- The highest heart rate you can reach in an all out effort. It sets the ceiling of every zone.
- Zone 2
- 60 to 70% of max HR (or of heart rate reserve with Karvonen). The aerobic base zone.
- Karvonen formula
- Personalizes the zones with your resting heart rate: resting HR + (max HR − resting HR) × %.
- Talk test
- A field check: if you can speak in full sentences, you are in Zone 2.
How to use this calculator
The calculator follows three steps, the same ones you can do by hand:
- 1
Find your max heart rate. Enter a tested value, or let the calculator estimate it from your age with the Tanaka formula (208 − 0.7 × age), more accurate than the old 220 − age.
- 2
Pick the method. Without a resting heart rate, Zone 2 = max HR × 0.60 to 0.70. With a resting heart rate, the Karvonen formula applies: Zone 2 = resting HR + (max HR − resting HR) × 0.60 to 0.70.
- 3
Train inside the range. Stay in the lower half on easy days and on the bike, and check it with the talk test.
Example: max HR 185 bpm and resting HR 55 bpm. Heart rate reserve = 130 bpm, so Zone 2 = 55 + 130 × 0.60 to 55 + 130 × 0.70 = 133 to 146 bpm. The simple percentage method gives 111 to 130 bpm for the same athlete.
Zone 2 heart rate by age: reference table
Zone 2 heart rate for every age from 20 to 70. Max HR is estimated with the Tanaka formula (208 − 0.7 × age). The Karvonen column assumes a resting heart rate of 60 bpm: enter your own above for a personal range.
| Age | Max HR | Zone 2 (%HRmax) | Zone 2 (Karvonen, rest 60) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 194 bpm | 116–136 bpm | 140–154 bpm |
| 25 | 191 bpm | 115–134 bpm | 139–152 bpm |
| 30 | 187 bpm | 112–131 bpm | 136–149 bpm |
| 35 | 184 bpm | 110–129 bpm | 134–147 bpm |
| 40 | 180 bpm | 108–126 bpm | 132–144 bpm |
| 45 | 177 bpm | 106–124 bpm | 130–142 bpm |
| 50 | 173 bpm | 104–121 bpm | 128–139 bpm |
| 55 | 170 bpm | 102–119 bpm | 126–137 bpm |
| 60 | 166 bpm | 100–116 bpm | 124–134 bpm |
| 65 | 163 bpm | 98–114 bpm | 122–132 bpm |
| 70 | 159 bpm | 95–111 bpm | 119–129 bpm |
Running without a heart rate monitor: the talk test
No heart rate monitor? The talk test is the simplest proxy for Zone 2. Research shows that the point where speaking becomes uncomfortable matches the first ventilatory threshold, the upper edge of Zone 2.
Too easy
You could sing. Your breathing barely changes. That is Zone 1, fine for recovery.
Zone 2
You speak in full, comfortable sentences, breathing a little deeper but under control. Stay here.
Too hard
You have to pause mid sentence to breathe. You have left Zone 2: slow down or walk the hills.
Perceived effort helps too: Zone 2 feels like 2 to 3 out of 10, almost embarrassingly easy. Most runners who think they train in Zone 2 actually run in Zone 3.
Zone 2 heart rate for running vs cycling
Zone 2 is not exactly the same on foot and on the bike. Cycling uses less muscle mass and carries no body weight, so for the same effort your heart rate is usually a little lower than when running, and your max HR on the bike is often 5 to 10 bpm lower.
That is why this calculator keeps the same numbers for both sports but, for cycling, advises aiming for the lower half of your Zone 2, or better, testing your max HR on the bike and entering it. Running remains the reference for the age based estimates.
Related Tools
Scientific References
- Karvonen MJ, 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.
- Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR (2001). Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 37(1):153-156.
- Persinger R, Foster C, Gibson M, Fater DC, Porcari JP (2004). Consistency of the talk test for exercise prescription. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 36(9):1632-1636.
- Seiler S (2010). What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 5(3):276-291.
- Millet GP, Vleck VE, Bentley DJ (2009). Physiological differences between cycling and running: lessons from triathletes. Sports Medicine, 39(3):179-206.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should my heart rate be if I'm in zone 2?
Your heart rate in Zone 2 should sit between 60 and 70% of your max heart rate. For a 40 year old with an estimated max HR of 180 bpm, that is 108 to 126 bpm. If you know your resting heart rate, the Karvonen method gives a more personal range: 132 to 144 bpm with a resting HR of 60. Enter your age above to get your exact numbers.
How do I calculate my zone 2 heart rate?
1. Estimate your max HR: 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka), or use a tested value. 2. Without a resting HR, multiply max HR by 0.60 and 0.70. 3. With a resting HR, use Karvonen: resting HR + (max HR − resting HR) × 0.60 to 0.70. Example: a max HR of 185 and a resting HR of 55 give 133 to 146 bpm. This calculator does all three steps for you.
Can my zone 2 be 160 bpm?
Yes, but only with a high max heart rate. With the percentage method, a Zone 2 that reaches 160 bpm requires a max HR of about 229 bpm. With the Karvonen method, a young athlete with a max HR of 205 and a resting HR of 65 gets a Zone 2 of 149 to 163 bpm. For most adults, 160 bpm is Zone 3 or higher.
Is 150 bpm still zone 2?
It depends on your max and resting heart rate. For a runner with a max HR of 190 and a resting HR of 55, Zone 2 tops out at 150 bpm with the Karvonen method. For a 40 year old using the simple percentage method (max HR 180), 150 bpm is 83% of max, which is Zone 4. Enter your numbers above to check.
How to figure out zone 2 without a lab test?
Combine a formula with a field check. First, calculate your range with the Karvonen method from your resting heart rate and a tested or estimated max HR. Then, during an easy run, use the talk test: if you can speak in full sentences at the top of your range, you are in Zone 2. A lab lactate test (about 2 mmol/L at the top of Zone 2) remains the gold standard but is not needed to train well.