Heart Rate Zones: A Simple UK Guide to Training Zones

Heart rate zones are bands of effort based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) suggests a simple way to estimate your maximum: take your age away from 220. Exercising at 50 to 70% of that number counts as moderate intensity, which the BHF calls your "target heart rate". For a 40-year-old, that works out at roughly 90 to 126 beats per minute (bpm).

That's the short answer. The longer one is that zones are a useful guide, not a rule. Your watch might split effort into five zones, the NHS talks about "moderate" and "vigorous" activity, and your own breathing is often the most reliable gauge of all. Below, we explain how to work out your zones, what each one feels like, how they line up with UK activity guidelines, and how to use them sensibly if you're trying to manage your weight.

What are heart rate zones?

Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats each minute. When you're resting, it sits at a fairly steady level. The BHF says a normal resting heart rate for adults is between 60 and 100bpm, and that it may be lower if you do lots of exercise or take a beta blocker medicine such as bisoprolol.

As you start moving, your heart beats faster to deliver more oxygen to your muscles. The BHF notes that it's fine for your heart to beat over 100 times a minute during exercise for exactly this reason.

Heart rate zones simply divide the range between "barely working" and "flat out" into bands. Each band is a percentage of your maximum heart rate, so the zones are personal to you rather than a single number that applies to everyone.

How to work out your maximum heart rate

The quickest estimate is the one the BHF uses:

Maximum heart rate = 220 − your age

The BHF gives the example of someone aged 60, whose estimated maximum is 160bpm (220 minus 60). Fifty to 70% of that is 80 to 112bpm, which is their moderate-intensity target range.

It's worth being clear about what this number is. It's an age-based estimate, not a measurement. Two people of the same age can have quite different true maximums, so if a range feels far too easy or far too hard, trust how you feel over the formula. We'd also never suggest pushing yourself to your maximum to "test" it, especially if you're new to exercise or have any health conditions.

Moderate-intensity target ranges by age

Using the BHF's method (220 minus age, then 50 to 70% of that figure), here's how the moderate-intensity range looks at different ages:

These figures are rounded to the nearest whole beat. Treat them as a starting point, not a target you must hit every session.

The five heart rate zones explained

Most fitness watches, gym classes and training apps use a five-zone model. Brands differ slightly, but the bands are usually set at roughly 10% steps of your maximum heart rate. The descriptions below explain what each zone typically feels like in everyday terms.

How the zones map to "moderate" and "vigorous"

The BHF's moderate band of 50 to 70% of maximum heart rate covers zones 1 and 2. As a rough guide, the higher zones are where activity starts to feel like the vigorous intensity the NHS describes, when you're breathing hard and fast. The exact crossover point varies from person to person, which is one reason the NHS describes intensity by how it feels rather than by numbers.

How UK activity guidelines fit in

The NHS physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 recommend that you:

• Do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity a week
• Spread exercise evenly over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day
• Do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week

The NHS also says that, in general, 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate activity. So you can reach the guidelines through steady zone 2 sessions, shorter harder ones, or a mix of both.

What moderate and vigorous activity feel like

The NHS describes moderate activity as something that will raise your heart rate and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. Its examples include brisk walking, water aerobics, riding a bike, dancing, doubles tennis, pushing a lawn mower and hiking.

Vigorous activity, according to the NHS, makes you breathe hard and fast, to the point where you can't say more than a few words without pausing for breath. Examples include running, swimming, riding a bike fast or on hills, walking up the stairs, skipping, aerobics and team sports such as football, netball and hockey.

The talk test: zones without a watch

You don't need a heart rate monitor to train in the right zone. The NHS suggests that one way to tell if you're working at a moderate intensity is if you can still talk, but not sing.

The BHF describes the same idea: if you can comfortably talk while being active, feel warm and are breathing a little more heavily than normal, you're moving at the right pace. If you can breathe easily, you need to increase your effort.

The talk test has some real advantages. It's free, it adjusts automatically on days when you're tired, unwell or it's hot, and it works for people whose heart rate is affected by medicines.

Are wrist trackers accurate?

Fitness watches and chest straps give you a useful running estimate of your heart rate, but no consumer device is perfect, and readings can jump around from moment to moment, particularly during stop-start activities such as weights or circuits.

A practical approach is to use your tracker for trends rather than single readings. If the number on your wrist doesn't match how you feel, go with your breathing and the talk test. If your tracker flags an unusually fast, slow or irregular rhythm when you're at rest, don't ignore it. Our section on when to get checked, below, explains what to do.

Heart rate zones and weight management

If you're exercising partly to manage your weight, it's easy to get caught up in the idea of a single "fat-burning zone". In practice, NHS guidance is framed around how many minutes of activity you do and how hard it feels, not around hitting one magic number.

What tends to matter more is finding activity you'll keep doing. For many people that means:

• Building a base in zones 1 and 2. Brisk walking, easy cycling or swimming at a conversational pace is sustainable, low-impact and counts towards your 150 minutes.
• Adding strength work twice a week. The NHS recommends it for everyone, and it helps you hold on to muscle as you lose weight. Our guide to maintaining muscle while losing weight on treatment covers this in more detail, and our explainer on whether muscle weighs more than fat explains why the scales don't always tell the whole story.
• Including some harder efforts if you enjoy them. Short spells in zones 3 and 4 can help you reach the guidelines in less time, but they aren't essential, and they're best added gradually once you've built up a base.

Exercise works best as one part of a bigger picture that also includes what you eat and how well you sleep. If you're curious about what actually happens to fat as you lose it, see our guide to where fat goes when you lose weight. And because tiredness can make every session feel harder, our article asking is 7 hours of sleep enough? is worth a read too.

How to start using heart rate zones

If you're new to exercise, or getting back into it, here's a simple way to begin:

1. Work out your rough range. Take your age from 220, then find 50 to 70% of that number. That's your moderate-intensity range.
2. Start in the lower half. Spend your first few weeks mostly in zones 1 and 2, where you can comfortably hold a conversation.
3. Build time before intensity. Gradually add minutes until you're getting close to 150 a week, spread across several days.
4. Use the talk test as a cross-check. If your watch says zone 2 but you can't speak in sentences, slow down.
5. Add strength work. Two sessions a week of bodyweight exercises, resistance bands or weights, working all the major muscle groups.
6. Then, if you want to, add variety. Once you've got a steady routine, short harder efforts can be mixed in.

If you're trying to decide when to fit sessions into your day, our guide to the best time to exercise looks at the pros and cons of mornings and evenings.

When to get your heart rate checked

Most changes in heart rate during exercise are completely normal. But the BHF advises seeing your doctor if you're concerned about how fast or slow your heart is beating, or if you experience dizziness, palpitations or chest pain when exercising.

The BHF also says you should see your GP if you have a fast heart rate for no obvious reason or when you're at rest, and if a slow heart rate comes with feeling faint, fainting, feeling very tired or dizzy. If your pulse feels irregular, check it for a full 60 seconds, and talk to your GP if you're concerned.

The NHS says to call 999 straight away if you get sudden chest pain or discomfort that does not go away, pain that spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or chest pain with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or shortness of breath.

How heart health and weight connect

Heart rate is only one part of your cardiovascular health. Weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar all play a role too, and the NHS lists being overweight and not exercising enough among the causes of high cholesterol. If you've recently had blood test results, our guide to normal cholesterol levels in the UK explains what the numbers mean.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before starting any treatment.