Determine your maximum aerobic heart rate and aerobic training zone for optimal training using the MAF 180 formula. Please read their blog post which describes all the modifiers listed below in more detail. The heart rate is beats per minute (BPM).
Modifiers
Training Status
If you have none of the modifiers listed above, it is assumed you have been training consistently (4+ times per week). Select how long you have been doing that.
Using the MAF formula, the answer is 119 beats per minute without applying any modifiers. Use the calculator on this page to adjust for conditions such as illness, injury, poor training, etc.
Generally speaking, exercise can be broken into two categories depending on the exertion level. Low intensity activity is referred as aerobic and high intensity activity is anaerobic. Aerobic means with oxygen while anaerobic is without oxygen. Aerobic exercise burns fat while anerobic burns sugars.
The easiest way for athletes to estimate the boundary between aerobic and anaerobic is using their heart rate measured in beats per minute (BPM). There are several formulas calculating this number which is referred to as the maximum aerobic heart rate. This calculator uses the MAF 180 formula developed by Dr. Phil Maffetone in the 1980s. MAF stands for maximum aerobic function and the calculation begins by subtracting your age from 180.
Dr. Maffetone's research led him to add a series of modifiers to that result to better reflect an individual's training and health status. Factors such as injury, illness, asthma, allergies, etc. cause a reduction in your MAF while consistenty training longer than two years increases your MAF. Their website goes into much more detail on this formula.
MAF = (180 - Age) +/- Modifiers
Dr. Maffetone then recommends subtracting 10 beats from your MAF to determine an aerobic training zone that is optimal for building a strong aerobic base.
An important thing to note is the MAF formula was designed for people between the ages of 16 and 65.