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Website UpdatesMaximum Heart Rate
Athletes who use a heart rate monitor as a training aid need to identify their actual maximum heart rate in order to determine their appropriate training zones. Maximum heart rate (MHR) can be determined by undertaking a maximum heart rate stress test which although relatively short does require you to push your body and your heart to the very limit. It can also be predicted using a formula but the variation in actual MHR of 95% of individuals of a given age will lie within a range of ±20 beats/minute (Gellish 2007)[1].
Calculation of Maximum Heart Rate
The easiest and best known method to calculate your maximum heart rate (MHR) is to use the formula
- MHR = 220 - Age
Dr. Martha Gulati et al
Research conducted by Gulati et al. (2010)[3] identified that the traditional male-based calculation (220-age) overestimates the maximum heart rate for age in women. They investigated the association between HR response to exercise testing and age with 5437 women. It was found that mean peak heart rate for women = 206 - (0.88 x age).
Londeree and Moeschberger
A paper by Londeree and Moeschberger (1982)[2] from the University of Missouri-Columbia indicates that the MHR varies mostly with age, but the relationship is not a linear one. They suggest an alternative formula of
- MHR = 206.3 - (0.711 × Age)
Londeree and Moeschberger (1982) looked at other variables to see if they had any effect on the MHR. They found that neither sex nor race makes any difference but they did find that the MHR was affected by the activity and levels of fitness.
Studies have shown that MHR on a treadmill is consistently 5 to 6 beats higher than on a bicycle ergometer and 2 to 3 beats higher on a rowing ergometer. Heart rates while swimming are significantly lower, around 14 bpm, than for treadmill running. Elite endurance athletes and moderately trained individuals will have a MHR 3 or 4 beats slower than a sedentary individual. It was also found that well trained over 50s are likely to have a higher MHR than that which is average for their age.
Miller et al
A paper by Miller et al. (1993)[4] proposed the following formula as a suitable formula to calculate MHR
- MHR = 217 - (0.85 x Age)
USA Researchers
Evidence from USA researchers, Jackson et al. (2007)[5], identified the following formula as more accurately reflecting the relationship between age and maximum heart rate.
- MHR = 206.9 - (0.67 x age)
UK Researchers
Research by Whyte et al. (2008)[7] came up with with the following formulae for predicting maximum heart rates in both endurance and anaerobically trained athletes:
- Male athletes - MHR = 202 - (0.55 x age)
- Female athletes - MHR = 216 - (1.09 x age)
Miller, Londeree and Moeschberger
To determine your maximum heart rate you could use the following, which combines the Miller formula with the research from Londeree and Moeschberger.
- Use the Miller formula of MHR = 217 - (0.85 × age) to calculate MHR
- Subtract 3 beats for elite athletes under 30
- Add 2 beats for 50 year old elite athletes
- Add 4 beats for 55+ year old elite athletes
- Use this MHR value for running training
- Subtract 3 beats for rowing training
- Subtract 5 beats for bicycle training
% MHR and %VO2 Max
It is possible to estimate your exercise intensity as a percentage of VO2 Max from your training heart rate. Swain et al. (1994)[6] using statistical procedures examined the relationship between %MHR and %VO2 Max. Their results led to the following regression equation:
- %MHR = 0.64 × %VO2 Max + 37
The relationship has been shown to hold true across sex, age and activity.
VO2 and Power
It is possible to estimate your power (Watts) based on your VO2 max (L/Min).
- Power = (VO2 - 0.435) / 0.01141
Referenced Material
- GELLISH, R.L. et al. (2007) Longitudinal Modeling of the Relationship between Age and Maximal Heart Rate. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39 (5), p. 822-829
- LONDEREE and MOESCHBERGER (1982) Effect of age and other factors on HR max. Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport, 53 (4), p. 297-304
- GULATI, M. et al. (2010) Heart Rate Response to Exercise Stress Testing in Asymptomatic Women. Exercise Physiology
- MILLER et al (1993) Predicting max HR. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 25(9), p. 1077-1081
- JACKSON, A.S. et al. (2007) Estimating Maximum Heart Rate From Age: Is It a Linear Relationship? Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 39(5), p. 822-829
- SWAIN, D. et al. (1994) Target heart rates for the development of cardiorespiratory fitness. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 26(1), p. 112-116
- WHYTE, G.P. et al. (2008) Training Induced Changes in Maximum Heart Rate. Int J Sports Med, 29(2), p. 129-133
Page Reference
The reference for this page is:
- MACKENZIE, B. (1999) Maximum Heart Rate [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/maxhr.htm [Accessed
Associated Pages
The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page: