Heart Rate Reserve Calculator
Estimate heart-rate reserve from age and resting pulse.
Estimate Heart Rate Reserve
years
bpm
Heart rate reserve calculator guide
WeCovr's heart rate reserve calculator estimates heart-rate reserve from age and resting pulse.
What heart-rate reserve means
Heart-rate reserve is the difference between estimated max heart rate and resting heart rate.
Uses age to estimate max heart rate.
Subtracts resting pulse.
Commonly used in Karvonen-style target-zone calculations.
Why heart-rate reserve is useful
It gives a simple way to scale training targets relative to both age and your resting pulse rather than using max heart rate alone.
Important limitation
If the max-heart-rate estimate is inaccurate for you, the reserve value will be inaccurate too. Formula-based numbers are only a starting point.
Heart-rate planning tools
| Tool | Focus | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Heart-rate reserve | Training range foundation | Karvonen planning |
| Target heart rate | Specific target range | Exercise sessions |
| Heart rate zones | Zone structure | Training planning |
Related WeCovr resources
FAQs
Is heart-rate reserve the same as target heart rate?
No. Reserve is an intermediate value used to build target ranges.
Why use reserve instead of max heart rate alone?
Because reserve also reflects resting pulse, which can improve the usefulness of training estimates.
Can a measured max heart rate change the result?
Yes. A measured max heart rate can materially change the reserve value compared with an age-based estimate.
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