Zone 2 is the easy, conversational pace where your body builds its aerobic base — roughly 60–70% of your maximum heart rate. Estimate your max as 208 − 0.7 × your age, then take 60–70% of that for a starting range. The calculator below does the maths; the talk test confirms it. Estimates, not targets.
Zone 2 is the unglamorous workhorse of longevity training: easy, steady cardio at a pace you could hold a conversation through. It builds the aerobic engine that underpins your VO2 max — one of the strongest predictors of how long you’ll live well — without the strain of all-out efforts.
The maths is simple. Estimate your maximum heart rate, then take roughly 60–70% of it. The calculator below does that for you, and shows where all five zones fall. Everything here is an educational estimate, not medical advice or a personal prescription.
What Zone 2 actually is
Heart-rate “zones” are just bands of intensity, usually expressed as a percentage of your maximum heart rate. Zone 2 sits low — easy enough to breathe through your nose and talk in full sentences, hard enough that you’re clearly working. Physiologically, it’s the intensity where your body leans on fat for fuel and trains the mitochondria and capillaries that make all of your fitness more efficient.
The point of Zone 2 is that it’s sustainable. You can do a lot of it, week after week, without digging the kind of recovery hole that hard sessions create. That’s exactly what makes it such a durable longevity lever.
Estimate your zones
Zone 2 heart-rate estimator
Enter your age — add your resting heart rate for a more personal estimate. These are population estimates, not prescriptions.
Enter your age (18–100) to see your estimated zones.
Formulas: estimated max HR = 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka); zones from % of max HR, or % of heart-rate reserve (Karvonen) when you add a resting HR. Estimates only — a lab test or the talk test is more accurate, and anything involving a heart condition belongs with a clinician.
If you entered a resting heart rate, the calculator switches to the heart-rate-reserve (Karvonen) method, which personalises the bands a little by anchoring them to your own resting pulse. Either way, treat the numbers as a starting frame, not a finish line.
Why Zone 2 is a longevity lever
Easy aerobic training improves the parts of your cardiovascular system that matter most for the long run: how efficiently your heart pumps, how well your muscles extract oxygen, and how readily your body burns fat for fuel. Over time, that raises your aerobic ceiling — and a higher VO2 max is consistently linked with lower all-cause mortality.
It also pairs cleanly with the other big lever. Where strength training protects muscle, bone, and function, Zone 2 builds the metabolic and cardiovascular base. You don’t have to choose — most longevity-minded routines do both.
How to actually train it
Keep it genuinely easy. The most common mistake is letting Zone 2 creep into Zone 3 because it feels too gentle to be “real” training — but the slow pace is the point. Use the talk test as your honest check: full sentences, yes; singing, not quite.
Pick something you can sustain — brisk walking on an incline, easy cycling, a slow jog, the rower at a relaxed pace. Build the volume gradually over weeks rather than chasing a number on day one, and let the trend across a month tell you whether it’s working.
A note on accuracy and safety
Formula-based zones are estimates. Your true maximum heart rate can sit a good ten beats either side of the prediction, medications like beta-blockers change the picture entirely, and wrist trackers wobble during hard efforts. None of that is a problem if you treat the number as a guide and let perceived effort and the talk test lead.
This is educational, not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, chest pain, or are starting exercise after a long gap or a medical event, set your zones with a clinician first. Deciding what to do with a number like this — and when to push, hold, or check with a professional — is exactly what AMORTAL is built to help with. See how it works.
Educational only — this is not medical advice or a diagnosis. Talk to a licensed clinician about your own numbers, targets, and any treatment decisions.
Frequently asked
What is my Zone 2 heart rate?
As a starting estimate, Zone 2 is about 60–70% of your maximum heart rate, where your maximum is roughly 208 minus 0.7 times your age. For a 40-year-old that's an estimated max near 180 bpm and a Zone 2 band around 108–126 bpm. Treat it as a ballpark: the practical check is the talk test — you should be able to hold a conversation but not sing comfortably.
How long should I spend in Zone 2 each week?
Common guidance is to accumulate a few hours of easy aerobic work across the week, built up gradually rather than all at once. Many people aim for several 30–60 minute sessions. The exact amount that's right for you depends on your fitness, schedule, and goals, so build slowly and let consistency — not a single number — do the work.
Can I use my Apple Watch, Whoop, or Oura to track Zone 2?
Yes, with a caveat. Wrist-based optical heart rate is a reasonable estimate for steady efforts, though it can lag or misread during intervals; a chest-strap monitor is more accurate. Whatever you use, watch the trend over weeks rather than obsessing over a single reading, and pair the number with how the effort actually feels.
What's the difference between Zone 2 and Zone 3?
Zone 2 is comfortable and conversational — you're building your aerobic base. Zone 3 is moderately hard, where you can only manage short sentences. Drifting up into Zone 3 (the so-called 'grey zone') feels more productive but blunts the specific benefit of easy aerobic training. If in doubt, slow down to stay genuinely easy.
Is the 208 − 0.7 × age formula accurate?
It's a population estimate, not a personal measurement — individual maximum heart rates vary by roughly ten beats either way. A graded exercise test or a hard field test gives a more precise number, and anyone with a heart condition should set zones with a clinician. For most people, the formula plus the talk test is a perfectly good starting point.