Add us on Google

Zone 2 Heart Rate by Age: Chart, Formulas and How to Measure Yours

What zone 2 heart rate is, a by-age chart from the common formulas, why those formulas are only estimates, and how a VO2 max test measures the top of your own zone 2.

Published

October 28, 2026

Read time

12 min read

Medically reviewed by

Rhonda Collins, FNP-C

Share

Copy link

Summarize with AI

Zone 2 heart rate is the easy, steady effort range where you can still hold a conversation. In the five-zone model most heart rate monitors use, it is 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate ^[1]. For a 40-year-old, with maximum heart rate estimated as 220 minus age, that is about 108 to 126 beats per minute.

Every age-based number is an estimate. The top of your real zone 2 is your aerobic threshold, the heart rate where easy, steady effort ends. A lab VO2 max test that analyzes your breath measures that threshold directly, along with your real maximum heart rate.

What is zone 2 heart rate?

Zone 2 is the second of five heart rate training zones. In that model, each zone is a band of your maximum heart rate ^[1]:

Physiologists describe the same easy effort by what your body is doing rather than by a percentage. Zone 2 is steady aerobic work below your first threshold, where your breathing and blood lactate start to rise. Studies of elite endurance athletes describe this low-intensity work as effort below a blood lactate of about 2 mmol/L ^[2].

How zone 2 feels: the talk test

Zone 2 feels comfortable enough to keep going for a long time. You breathe harder than at rest, but you can talk. The US Physical Activity Guidelines describe moderate-intensity activity the same way: you can talk, but not sing ^[3].

The talk test is a reasonable stand-in for a threshold. In a study of healthy young adults, the hardest effort at which people could still speak comfortably matched their ventilatory threshold, and it moved with the threshold when training raised it or blood donation lowered it ^[4].

Zone 2 heart rate by age chart

The chart below shows estimated zone 2 heart rates by age. It uses the percent of max heart rate method, at 60% to 70% of maximum heart rate ^[1], with maximum heart rate estimated two ways: the classic 220 minus age, and the Tanaka formula, 208 minus 0.7 times age ^[5]. The last column shows the 180 minus age figure from the MAF method, which is meant as the top of your aerobic training range ^[6].

Estimated zone 2 heart rate by age (beats per minute, rounded). Max HR is maximum heart rate.

Source: Mito calculation from the published formulas ^[1][5][6]. These are population estimates, not your own zones.

The formulas agree at 40 and drift apart with age. By 70, the Tanaka formula puts zone 2 about 5 to 6 beats higher than 220 minus age. The MAF figure sits above the 220 minus age range at every age and above the Tanaka range through 65, but from 70 it falls inside the Tanaka range. That spread is the main problem with any chart: it can put you in the wrong zone before you take a step.

Measure your own zone 2 instead of estimating it. The Mito VO2 Max Test finds the heart rate at your aerobic threshold, which marks the top of zone 2, so you can stop guessing from age formulas. It also measures your maximum heart rate at your peak instead of estimating it from 220 minus your age.

How to calculate your zone 2 heart rate

To calculate zone 2 from a formula, first estimate your maximum heart rate from your age, then take a share of it. Each step has more than one version, which is why calculators give different answers.

Maximum heart rate: 220 minus age or the Tanaka formula

The 220 minus age formula is the most widely used estimate of maximum heart rate. Its validity was never established in a sample with enough older adults ^[5]. A meta-analysis of 351 studies with 18,712 people found that maximum heart rate was better predicted by 208 minus 0.7 times age, and that 220 minus age underestimates maximum heart rate in older adults ^[5]. The relationship was the same for men and women and did not change with how active people were.

For a 60-year-old, 220 minus age gives 160 beats per minute, while the Tanaka formula gives 166.

Percent of maximum heart rate

The simplest method takes 60% to 70% of your estimated maximum heart rate as zone 2 ^[1]. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) uses a similar band for moderate-intensity exercise: 64% to 76% of maximum heart rate ^[7].

Example: a 50-year-old with an estimated maximum of 170 beats per minute has a zone 2 of about 102 to 119.

Heart rate reserve (the Karvonen method)

The heart rate reserve method, from Karvonen’s 1957 training study, adds your resting heart rate into the calculation ^[8]. Your heart rate reserve is your maximum heart rate minus your resting heart rate. A target is your resting heart rate plus a percentage of that reserve.

ACSM defines moderate intensity as 40% to 59% of heart rate reserve ^[7]. For a 40-year-old with a resting heart rate of 60 and an estimated maximum of 180, the reserve is 120 beats, so the moderate band is about 108 to 131 beats per minute. Because it uses your resting heart rate, this method gives a different range for two people of the same age.

180 minus age (the MAF method)

Phil Maffetone’s MAF formula starts from 180 minus your age. You subtract 10 if you have or are recovering from a major illness or take regular medication, subtract 5 if you are injured, just starting out or often sick, and add 5 if you have trained consistently for more than two years while improving ^[6]. The result is the heart rate he recommends staying at or below for aerobic training.

Maffetone notes that 180 minus age is not itself linked to VO2 max, lactate threshold or other laboratory measurements ^[6]. It is a training rule of thumb, not a measurement of your threshold.

Why age formulas only estimate zone 2

Age formulas give the average for people your age. Three things make your own zone 2 differ from that average.

Maximum heart rate varies widely at the same age. In the HUNT Fitness Study, which measured maximum heart rate in 3,320 healthy adults, the best age formula was 211 minus 0.64 times age, with a standard error of 10.8 beats per minute ^[9]. Many people’s real maximum sits 10 or more beats above or below the estimate, and older formulas underestimated measured maximum heart rate in people over 30 ^[9]. A 10-beat error in maximum heart rate moves both ends of a 60% to 70% zone by 6 to 7 beats.

Your threshold depends on your fitness, not just your age. In a study of 100 adults who did a lab exercise test, the lactate threshold, which marks the top of easy steady effort, fell anywhere from 60% to 90% of maximum heart rate ^[10]. The authors concluded that fixed percentages of maximum values poorly match each person’s intensity domains ^[10]. A fixed 60% to 70% band can be too easy for one person and above the threshold for another.

Some medications change your heart rate. The American Heart Association notes that some medications lower your maximum heart rate and your target zone ^[11]. Beta blockers, for example, work in part by slowing the heart rate ^[12]. If you have a heart condition or take a medication that affects your heart rate, ask your clinician what heart rate range is right for you before you train by the numbers.

How to measure your own zone 2 heart rate

To measure your own zone 2, you need a graded exercise test that analyzes your breath, such as a lab VO2 max test. As the effort climbs, the test finds the point where your breathing and oxygen use shift from easy to hard. That point is your aerobic threshold, and the heart rate at it is the top of your zone 2.

The Mito VO2 Max Test is done on a treadmill or bike at partner centers. You wear a mask while the effort rises over about 8 to 15 minutes of hard work. Your report includes:

• your VO2 max;
• your aerobic and anaerobic thresholds, with the heart rate at each;
• your maximum heart rate, measured at your peak instead of estimated from 220 minus your age;
• your heart rate recovery after you stop; and
• your METs from the start of the test to your peak.

Train with the heart rate at your aerobic threshold as the top of zone 2, and use your anaerobic threshold as the floor for harder interval work. To see whether training has moved your zones, retest after 8 to 12 weeks, on the same type of machine, because treadmill and bike results differ.

A VO2 max test is a fitness test, not a cardiac stress test, and it cannot check your heart for disease. A smartwatch estimates VO2 max and zones from heart rate and pace; the lab test measures them. For what the test includes, read introducing the VO2 Max Test at Mito. For prices across providers, see VO2 max testing near me and what it costs.

Without a lab test, use a formula as a starting point and check it with the talk test. If you can speak in full sentences but could not sing, you are likely near zone 2 ^[3][4].

How much zone 2 training per week?

The US Physical Activity Guidelines recommend 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity for adults ^[3]. Zone 2 is moderate-intensity effort, so zone 2 time counts toward that target. For example, 30 minutes on 5 days a week reaches 150 minutes.

Endurance athletes train mostly at this intensity. Studies of national and international level athletes found that about 80% of their training sessions were at low intensity, with about 20% dominated by high-intensity work ^[2]. For most people trying to raise their VO2 max, that looks like mostly steady zone 2 sessions plus one or two harder interval sessions a week. For a full plan, read our guide to raising your VO2 max at any age.

Is walking zone 2?

Brisk walking can be zone 2. The federal guidelines class walking at 2.5 miles per hour or faster, cycling slower than 10 miles per hour on level ground, and recreational swimming as moderate-intensity activities ^[3]. If you are already fit, a flat walk may not raise your heart rate enough. Add hills or pace, or switch to easy cycling, jogging or rowing, and check yourself with the talk test or a heart rate monitor.

References

1. Polar: Heart rate zones, the basics of zone training
2. Seiler S. What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2010 (PubMed 20861519)
3. US Department of Health and Human Services: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition, 2018
4. Foster C, et al. The talk test as a marker of exercise training intensity. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev. 2008 (PubMed 18277826)
5. Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001 (PubMed 11153730)
6. Maffetone P. The MAF 180 Formula: heart-rate monitoring for real aerobic training
7. Garber CE, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining fitness in apparently healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 (PubMed 21694556)
8. Karvonen MJ, Kentala E, Mustala O. The effects of training on heart rate; a longitudinal study. Ann Med Exp Biol Fenn. 1957 (PubMed 13470504)
9. Nes BM, et al. Age-predicted maximal heart rate in healthy subjects: the HUNT fitness study. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2013 (PubMed 22376273)
10. Iannetta D, et al. A critical evaluation of current methods for exercise prescription in women and men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2020 (PubMed 31479001)
11. American Heart Association: Target heart rates chart
12. MedlinePlus: Propranolol

Frequently asked questions

How does a zone 2 heart rate calculator work?

A zone 2 heart rate calculator applies one of the age formulas on this page. It estimates your maximum heart rate from your age, then takes 60% to 70% of it, or works from your heart rate reserve if you enter your resting heart rate. The answer is only as accurate as the max heart rate estimate behind it, which can be 10 or more beats off for many people.

What is zone 2 heart rate for a 50-year-old or a 60-year-old?

Using 60% to 70% of 220 minus age, zone 2 is about 102 to 119 beats per minute at 50 and 96 to 112 at 60. Using the Tanaka formula for max heart rate, it is about 104 to 121 at 50 and 100 to 116 at 60. Your measured range can sit well above or below both.

Why does my zone 2 heart rate feel too easy or too hard?

The formula is probably off for you. Real maximum heart rate varies by about 11 beats per minute around the age estimate, and in one study of 100 adults the lactate threshold fell anywhere from 60% to 90% of max heart rate. If you can talk in full sentences but not sing, you are likely close to zone 2 whatever the number says.

Is zone 2 the same as moderate-intensity exercise?

They overlap closely. Zone 2 in the five-zone model is 60% to 70% of max heart rate, and the American College of Sports Medicine classes 64% to 76% of max heart rate as moderate intensity. Both feel like an effort you can keep up while still talking.

Does zone 2 heart rate change as you get fitter?

The effort you can hold in zone 2 usually rises with training, so you go faster or push more power at the same feel. Your thresholds can shift too, which is why retesting after 8 to 12 weeks of training shows whether your zones need updating.

Can I do zone 2 training on a treadmill or an indoor bike?

Yes. Any steady activity that keeps your heart rate in range counts, indoors or out. If you measure your zones in a lab, retest on the same type of machine, because treadmill and bike results differ.