A free zone 2 heart rate calculator that shows Maffetone's 180 Formula, your watch's zone 2 and Peter Attia's range side by side.
5.0(1 rating)Your zone 2 heart rate three ways, side by side: Maffetone's 180 Formula, your watch's 60 to 70% of max, and Peter Attia's 70 to 85%. Then the talk test that settles it.
You
Your zone 2
Your page
Your zone 2 as 1 page to keep or share with your coach: the three methods and the talk test. Pick a style, then put it live.
Each look is measured from a real, live site: its colors, its type and its corners. Or use your own brand.navid.me's own look: glass panels on black and one blue action.
Netlify hosts websites, with drag and drop publishing.
Log in first: a drop without an account is locked with a password, and deleted within an hour unless you claim it.
- A free Netlify account
- A folder with your page in it, named index.html
- 1Make a new folder, put your page in it, and rename the page index.html.
- 2Log in to Netlify.
- 3Open app.netlify.com/drop.
- 4Drag the folder onto the page.
- 5Your page is live at an address ending in netlify.app.
- 6To update it, drag the new folder onto the drop zone on the site's Deploys page.
Netlify's own guide: Netlify Drop quickstart
Put my zone 2 page live on Netlify. The page is zone-2.html, in this folder.
1. Make a folder for the site, and copy zone-2.html into it as index.html.
2. Install the Netlify command line tool if I don't have it, log me in, and deploy the folder to production.
3. Give me the live link. Open it, and check that the page loads, the light and dark switch works, and the email form shows.
4. Tell me in plain English how to add my own domain, and how to update the page later.New to Claude Code or Codex? The guide under this tool shows how to start, step by step.
Preview
General wellness education, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before you change how you train, especially with a heart condition, medication or pregnancy. Your answers stay in this browser.
This free zone 2 heart rate calculator works out your zone 2 three ways, side by side: Phil Maffetone's 180 Formula, the 60 to 70% of max your watch uses, and Peter Attia's 70 to 85% of a real max. Then it gives you the check that settles it, the talk test.
They don't agree. That's the most useful thing to know about zone 2.
Here's what zone 2 is, why your watch's number isn't Attia's, how to find your real max, and how much zone 2 to do in a week.
What is zone 2?
Zone 2 is the hardest steady effort you can hold while your muscles still clear the lactate they make. Peter Attia puts it at about 2 millimoles of lactate per liter of blood in fit people.
In a lab you find it with a blood lactate meter or a breath test. At home you estimate it from your heart rate, then check it with how you breathe and talk.
Your watch's zone 2 isn't Attia's zone 2
- Zone 2 for a 40-year-old
- Under 140 bpm
- Where it comes from
- 180 minus your age, with 1 of 4 adjustments
Your watch- Zone 2 for a 40-year-old
- 111 to 130 bpm
- Where it comes from
- 60 to 70% of max, Garmin's zone table
- Zone 2 for a 40-year-old
- 130 to 157 bpm
- Where it comes from
- About 70 to 85% of a real max, Outlive
The ranges are for NTNU's estimated max of 185 bpm at 40. Your own measured max moves the watch and Attia numbers.
A watch's zones are shares of your max heart rate, so its zone 2 is gentle by design. Attia's zone 2 is the top of your easy work, so it sits higher.
The talk test
Attia's check without a lactate meter: you can talk in full sentences, but you'd rather not carry on a conversation.
If you can chat easily, go a little harder. If you can only get out a few words, back off.
How to find your real max heart rate
Every percentage above starts from your max. A formula is only a guess for someone your age.
NTNU's formula, 211 minus 0.64 times your age, came from measuring thousands of Norwegians. A max from a hard, all-out test beats it, so the calculator takes yours if you know it.
Maffetone's four adjustments
Maffetone starts from 180 minus your age, then moves it by your training lately:
- Recovering – a major illness or surgery, rehab, regular medication or burnout: minus 10.
- Setback or starting – injured, not improving, often sick, allergies or asthma, or just starting: minus 5.
- Steady – training at least 4 times a week for up to 2 years without those problems: no change.
- Progressing – more than 2 years of training, improving and without injury: plus 5.
At 16 and under, he uses 165 for everyone.
How much zone 2 a week
That's Attia's plan in Outlive. A bike, a brisk walk uphill, rowing or easy swimming all work.
The people behind the numbers
| Person | What they say about zone 2 |
|---|---|
 Peter Attia | The talk test: you can talk, but you'd rather not chat |
 Phil Maffetone | Train at or under 180 minus your age, adjusted |
Outlive
Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia breaks down the most effective strategies for long-term health and performance, covering exercise, nutrition, sleep, and emotional wellbeing to add years to your life.
I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Keep going
Estimate your VO2 max with the VO2 max calculator, see your fitness line to 90 with the fitness age calculator, and take the full longevity test.
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Zone 2 heart rate calculator FAQs
Questions about the zone 2 heart rate calculator? Here's what to know.
It works out the heart rate range for zone 2 training from your age and, if you know it, your max heart rate.
This one shows three methods side by side, and the talk test to check them.
For a 40-year-old it's under 140 bpm by Maffetone, 111 to 130 bpm by a watch's 60 to 70% of max, and 130 to 157 bpm by Attia's 70 to 85%.
Your own max changes the last two.
A watch's zones are shares of your max heart rate.
Attia's zone 2 is metabolic, the top of your easy work, so it sits higher.
Use Attia's talk test.
You can talk in full sentences, but you'd rather not carry on a conversation.
Attia starts at 2 sessions of 30 minutes and builds to about 3 hours a week.
That's 4 sessions of 45 minutes.
I did.
I'm Navid Moazzez, and I made the zone 2 heart rate calculator as one of my free tools on navid.me, from my own Longevity OS routine.
Read more about me.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
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