If you have been training for any period of time, you’ve likely heard about determining your heart rate training zones to train most effectively and efficiently. You may have also heard that you should base your zones on your maximum heart rate (MHR). The problem is, unless you’re in a laboratory setting, hooked up to sophisticated machines, it’s virtually impossible to pinpoint your maximum heart rate.
Since most of us don’t have convenient or affordable access to laboratory testing, we do the next best thing, which is make an educated guess using a formula to determine maximum heart rate.
For decades, the recommended formula for calculating maximum heart rate was: 220 – age. Early on, coaches recognized this method was flawed. Eventually, physiologists realized the formula didn’t reflect the differences of maximum heart rate with advancing age (as shown in this study). Maximum heart rate decreases as we age – something the old formula didn’t take into account. It was suggested that using the old formula could result in numbers that were off be as much as 12 beats per minute high or low.
Maximum Heart Rate Facts
- Your MHR is variable
- MHR is highly individual
- You are genetically predisposed to your MHR
- Altitude/elevation can lower MHR
- MHR is typically higher in smaller people
- Females often have a higher MHR than males
- MHR is NOT indicative of your fitness level
- MHR will vary significantly between people – even of the same age/gender
New Maximum Heart Rate Formula
206.9 – (0.67 * age)
Difference Between Men and Women
Researchers found that MHR formulas over-estimated the maximum heart rate for women. A female maximum heart rate formula was first proposed by researcher Martha Gulati based on data from the St. James Women Take Heart Project (and further validated in this study).
From that information, researches came up with a new MHR formula for women: 206 minus (0.88 * age)
Maximum Heart Rate Conundrum
Now that we have covered some of the maximum heart rate basics, let’s look at the maximum heart rate conundrum.
For example – maximum heart rate using the various formulas for a 53-year old female.
Fox Formula (Men and Women): 220 – 53 = 167 MHR
Tanaka Formula (Men and Women): 206.9 – (0.67 * 53) = 171 MHR
Gulati Formula (Women Only): 206 – (0.88 * 53) = 159 MHR
Conclusion
You can see in the example above there is a 12 beats per minute difference between these maximum heart rate formulas. To add to the confusion, there are other formulas that are also in use today – HUNT formula: 211 – (0.64 * age); Gelish formula: 207 – (0.70 * age). If you are basing training zones on a maximum heart rate that was determined using a formula, your training zones are almost certainly incorrect.
Instead of relying on flawed formulas as a basis for your training zones, you will train more efficiently and effectively if you base your training zones on your lactate threshold as determined through a lactate threshold field test.
