Training Zone Thresholds
The Training Zone Thresholds carries 6 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages, from 70 to 85 percent, read 17 October 2026.
4 of the 12 named sources read in full publish a figure; 8 publish none, read 17 October 2026.
By band
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| bandmoderate-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 70% | 70 to 70% | 2 |
| bandvigorous-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 85% | 85 to 85% | 2 |
| bandACSM-hard-intensity-index-%-of-HRmax | 85% | 85 to 85% | 1 |
| bandtarget-zone-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 85% | 85 to 85% | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Heart Association target heart rates | 85% | vigorous-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 2026-10-17 |
| Target heart rates for the development of cardiorespiratory fitness (PubMed record) | 85% | ACSM-hard-intensity-index-%-of-HRmax | 2026-10-17 |
| Johns Hopkins Medicine, understanding your target heart rate | 85% | target-zone-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 2026-10-17 |
| Mayo Clinic, exercise intensity: how to measure it | 85% | vigorous-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 2026-10-17 |
| American Heart Association target heart rates | 70% | moderate-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 2026-10-17 |
| Mayo Clinic, exercise intensity: how to measure it | 70% | moderate-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax | 2026-10-17 |
The sentence each figure was read from (6)
- American Heart Association target heart rates, read 2026-10-17:
In time, you’ll be able to exercise comfortably at up to 85% of your maximum heart rate.
- Target heart rates for the development of cardiorespiratory fitness (PubMed record), read 2026-10-17:
Further, the ACSM states that 55%, 70%, 85%, and 90% of maximal heart rate (HRmax) may be used as indices of these respective levels of % VO2max for the general population.
- Johns Hopkins Medicine, understanding your target heart rate, read 2026-10-17:
Target heart rate is generally expressed as a percentage (usually between 50 percent and 85 percent) of your maximum safe heart rate.
- Mayo Clinic, exercise intensity: how to measure it, read 2026-10-17:
Vigorous exercise intensity: 70% to about 85% of your maximum heart rate.
- American Heart Association target heart rates, read 2026-10-17:
Target heart rate during moderate-intensity activities is about 50-70% of maximum heart rate.
- Mayo Clinic, exercise intensity: how to measure it, read 2026-10-17:
Moderate exercise intensity: 50% to about 70% of your maximum heart rate.
Read in full, publishes no figure
8 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- ACSM physical activity guidelines, read 2026-10-03: every candidate on the page was refused
- NHS physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64, read 2026-09-26: every candidate on the page was refused
- CDC measuring physical activity intensity, read 2026-09-19: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- ODPHP Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, read 2026-10-17: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- WHO physical activity fact sheet, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- The Cooper Institute, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- British Heart Foundation, staying active, read 2026-10-10: every candidate on the page was refused
- Tanaka, Monahan and Seals, age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited (JACC), read 2026-10-03: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
4 of the 12 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 8 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 0 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 6 figures, never sentences; 40 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per authority per intensity band: the percentage of maximum heart rate or heart-rate reserve each body defines moderate, vigorous and threshold at, beside the maximum-heart-rate equation it applies (220-age versus Tanaka's 208-0.7xage versus Karvonen's reserve method).
The figure nobody publishes is the SPREAD for one reader: how many beats per minute apart the AHA, ACSM, NHS and the two equations put 'zone 2' for the same 40-year-old - which is the honest answer to a question every incumbent answers with a single made-up number.
40 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (12)
- American Heart Association target heart rates(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ACSM physical activity guidelines(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NHS physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- CDC measuring physical activity intensity(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ODPHP Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- WHO physical activity fact sheet(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Target heart rates for the development of cardiorespiratory fitness (PubMed record)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- The Cooper Institute(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Johns Hopkins Medicine, understanding your target heart rate(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Mayo Clinic, exercise intensity: how to measure it(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- British Heart Foundation, staying active(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Tanaka, Monahan and Seals, age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited (JACC)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
Cite or embed this figure
The Training Zone Thresholds carries 6 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages, from 70 to 85 percent, read 17 October 2026.
4 of the 12 named sources read in full publish a figure; 8 publish none, read 17 October 2026.
Training Zone Thresholds, band moderate-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax: median 70 percent across 2 sources, read 17 October 2026.
Training Zone Thresholds, band vigorous-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax: median 85 percent across 2 sources, read 17 October 2026.
Training Zone Thresholds, band ACSM-hard-intensity-index-%-of-HRmax: median 85 percent across 1 source, read 17 October 2026.
Training Zone Thresholds, band target-zone-upper-bound-%-of-HRmax: median 85 percent across 1 source, read 17 October 2026.
Cite as: "Strength Standards Calc Training Zone Thresholds", updated 2026-10-19, https://strengthstandardscalc.com/datasets/training-zone-thresholds/.
Download the CSV (6 rows, computed 2026-10-19)