Resting Heart Rate Fitness Rating Calculator

How it is calculated

The tool places you in one of six age groups for your sex (under 26, 26 to 35, 36 to 45, 46 to 55, 56 to 65, 66 and over), then finds the first rating whose upper limit is at or above your resting pulse. The ratings run Athlete, Excellent, Good, Above average, Average, Below average, and Poor for anything above the last limit. Resting heart rate is in beats per minute (bpm) and age in years. It also shows a rough maximum heart rate with the classic rule max HR = 220 − age, which is only a population-average estimate. Adults from 18 to 120 years and resting rates from 20 to 250 bpm are accepted; a younger age or an implausible pulse gives no result. The tables are the ones this tool applies; other sources draw the lines elsewhere. A rating is a fitness comparison, not a medical assessment.

Common mistakes

• Measuring right after coffee, a meal, stairs or a stressful call. Resting heart rate should be taken lying or sitting still, ideally first thing in the morning. Otherwise it reads high and the rating looks worse than it is.
• Using the heart rate from a workout or a smartwatch's daytime average instead of a true resting value.
• Choosing the wrong sex setting. The female limits are higher in every age group, so the same pulse can earn a different rating: at age 30, 58 bpm is Athlete for a woman but Excellent for a man.
• Treating the maximum heart rate line as exact. The 220 − age rule is a population average, and an individual's true maximum can be well above or below it.
• Judging fitness from a single reading. Pulse changes with sleep, illness, caffeine and stress, so compare readings across several mornings.