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Max heart rate

Max heart rate by age

Your max heart rate is the highest number of beats per minute your heart reaches in an all-out effort. It drops with age. Here are three common ways to estimate it, with a chart and a calculator.

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Enter your age.

Talk to your doctor first. This page gives general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting hard training, especially if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, chest pain or dizziness, or have not exercised for a long time. Maximal tests should only be done if you are healthy and cleared.

Max heart rate by age chart

Estimated max heart rate in beats per minute, rounded.
Age220 − ageTanaka 208 − 0.7 × ageGulati (women) 206 − 0.88 × age
20200194188
30190187180
40180180171
50170173162
60160166153
70150159144
80140152136
90130145127

The three formulas

  • Tanaka: 208 − 0.7 × age. Built from 351 studies with 18,712 healthy adults and checked in a lab study of 514 people, which gave almost the same line (209 − 0.7 × age). It did not differ between men and women or with activity level. We use it as the default on VO2max.io.
  • Gulati: 206 − 0.88 × age, for women. From treadmill tests of 5,437 women without symptoms. The authors found that the traditional male-based calculation overestimates max heart rate in women.
  • 220 − age. The traditional rule of thumb. Its exact origin is unclear, and Tanaka and colleagues note it was never validated in a group with enough older adults. It underestimates max heart rate in older people: at 70 it gives 150 bpm, Tanaka 159.
Your own number beats any formula. These formulas describe averages, and people of the same age can differ a lot. In Paterson's study of people aged 55–86, age did not predict max heart rate well. If you are healthy and cleared for hard exercise, the highest heart rate your chest strap records at the end of a very hard, well-warmed-up effort is a better number. Some medicines, such as beta blockers, lower heart rate.

From max heart rate to training zones

Enter your max heart rate (or let us estimate it) in the heart-rate zones calculator to get zones 1–5 in bpm. For easy aerobic training in zone 2, see zone2cardio.app.

Related: VO₂ max by age · VO₂ max calculator (the resting heart-rate method uses max heart rate) · how to improve VO₂ max

FAQ

What is the formula for max heart rate by age?

The best-supported simple formula is Tanaka: 208 − 0.7 × age, from a meta-analysis of 351 studies with 18,712 people (Tanaka 2001). For women, Gulati (2010) found 206 − 0.88 × age in 5,437 women. 220 − age is the traditional rule of thumb.

Is 220 minus age accurate?

It is a rough rule. Tanaka and colleagues found that it underestimates max heart rate in older adults. At 70, 220 − age gives 150 bpm, while Tanaka gives 159.

Why is there a separate formula for women?

Gulati and colleagues found that the traditional calculation, based mostly on men, overestimates max heart rate for women. Their formula is 206 − 0.88 × age. Tanaka found no difference between men and women, so both formulas are shown.

How accurate are these estimates?

They describe averages. Your own max heart rate can be well above or below the estimate, and Paterson (1999) found that age did not predict max heart rate well in people aged 55–86. A max heart rate measured during a very hard, well-warmed-up effort is better than any formula.

Sources

  1. Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol 2001;37(1):153–156. doi:10.1016/S0735-1097(00)01054-8
  2. Gulati M, Shaw LJ, Thisted RA, Black HR, Bairey Merz CN, Arnsdorf MF. Heart rate response to exercise stress testing in asymptomatic women: the St. James Women Take Heart Project. Circulation 2010;122(2):130–137. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.939249
  3. Paterson DH, Cunningham DA, Koval JJ, St Croix CM. Aerobic fitness in a population of independently living men and women aged 55–86 years. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999;31(12):1813–1820. doi:10.1097/00005768-199912000-00018

Last updated: October 17, 2026. Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above.