The American Heart Association uses a two-line rule of thumb to sort the guesswork out of cardio.
Your estimated maximum heart rate is about 220 minus your age, moderate-intensity work happens at 50 to 70 percent of that number, and vigorous work at 70 to 85 percent.
Because the maximum drops as you get older, the actual beats per minute you should aim for slide down decade by decade. A 30-year-old chasing the top of the vigorous zone is working at around 162 bpm. A 60-year-old at the same relative intensity is at 136.
Your target heart rate, by age
Numbers below come straight from the AHA's Target Heart Rates chart. The zone is 50 to 85 percent of estimated maximum.
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Age | Target zone (50-85%) | Estimated max heart rate |
|---|---|---|
20 Also read: Extreme heat may be harming your body in more ways than doctors previously realized | 100-170 bpm | 200 bpm |
30 | 95-162 bpm Also read: On blood pressure meds? Missing more than 1 in 5 doses may erase most of the heart benefit | 190 bpm |
35 | 93-157 bpm | 185 bpm Also read: How eating papaya every day can affect your gut, immunity and eyes |
40 | 90-153 bpm | 180 bpm |
45 Also read: 7 back pain signs that point to inflammation, not a pulled muscle | 88-149 bpm | 175 bpm |
50 | 85-145 bpm | 170 bpm |
55 | 83-140 bpm | 165 bpm |
60 | 80-136 bpm | 160 bpm |
65 | 78-132 bpm | 155 bpm |
70 | 75-128 bpm | 150 bpm |
The formula is an estimate, not a personal readout. It works for most healthy adults, but it can be off by 10 to 20 beats for any individual. Averages, not verdicts.
The talk test if you do not have a monitor
You do not need a smartwatch to know which zone you are in. Cleveland Clinic exercise physiologist Christopher Travers describes the rule this way.
At moderate intensity you can carry on a conversation, but speaking takes a little more effort than usual and you are not gasping.
Push into the vigorous zone and full sentences fall apart. You can get a few words out, then you need a breath.
If you can belt out a song without pausing, you are below the moderate zone and can safely push harder.
What each zone actually does
The moderate zone is where most weekly cardio should sit. It is the range often called Zone 2 training, and it builds the aerobic base, the mitochondria and the fat-burning machinery that underpin cardiovascular fitness.
The vigorous zone stresses the heart harder and delivers a bigger cardio return per minute. That is why the AHA lets you swap 150 minutes of moderate activity for 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, either one paired with muscle-strengthening on at least 2 days.
When the formula does not apply
Some medications, especially beta blockers and certain blood pressure drugs, lower both your resting and your maximum heart rate.
The AHA is direct on this point. If you have a heart condition or take medication, ask your health care professional what your heart rate should be.
Anyone starting a new exercise routine after a long break or with existing heart, lung or joint conditions should have that same conversation before pushing into the vigorous zone.
To check your pulse the low-tech way, place your first two fingers on the thumb side of the opposite wrist, press lightly over the artery, count the beats for 30 seconds and double the number.
This article is made and published by Mie Hermansen, who may have used AI in the preparation.