Training zones
What Is Your Zone 2 Heart Rate?
June 14, 2026 · 6 min read
The short answer
Zone 2 is your easy, all-day pace, about 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. The quickest way to find yours: estimate max HR as 220 minus your age, then take 60 to 70 percent of that. The calculator below does it for you.
What is zone 2 heart rate?
Zone 2 is the easy, conversational pace that builds your aerobic base, roughly 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. It is the lowest of the five training zones that does real fitness work, and it is where endurance athletes spend most of their training time.
At this effort your body learns to burn fat efficiently, build new capillaries, and grow the mitochondria that power long efforts. It should feel almost too easy. That is the point: zone 2 builds the engine that every harder effort sits on top of.
How do I find my zone 2 heart rate?
Start with your maximum heart rate, then take 60 to 70 percent of it. The simplest max HR estimate is 220 minus your age. So a 15-year-old rider has an estimated max of 205 bpm, and a zone 2 range of about 123 to 144 bpm.
For a more personal number you can use the Karvonen method, which factors in your resting heart rate, or enter a measured max from a hard test. The heart rate zone calculator does all of this from your age and resting HR and gives you every zone in bpm.
Zone 2 heart rate by age
Here is the zone 2 range for junior racers using the 220-minus-age estimate. Find your age, and that bpm window is your easy-pace target.
| Age | Max HR | Zone 2 (bpm) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | 207 | 124-145 |
| 14 | 206 | 124-144 |
| 15 | 205 | 123-144 |
| 16 | 204 | 122-143 |
| 17 | 203 | 122-142 |
| 18 | 202 | 121-141 |
For older riders and parents who train alongside their racer:
| Age | Max HR | Zone 2 (bpm) |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 200 | 120-140 |
| 30 | 190 | 114-133 |
| 40 | 180 | 108-126 |
| 50 | 170 | 102-119 |
| 60 | 160 | 96-112 |
These use an age estimate, which can be off by 10 to 20 bpm for any one person. A measured max from a field or lab test is more accurate.
For parents
Age-based zones are a starting point, not a prescription. Let a young rider settle into the easy end of the range and focus on time, not chasing a number. Recovery and sleep matter more than hitting an exact bpm.
The 5 heart rate zones at a glance
Zone 2 is one of five. Here is how the full set lines up as a percentage of your max heart rate, from recovery to all-out.
| Zone | Name | % max HR | How it feels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z1 | Recovery | 50-60% | Very easy, active recovery and warm-up |
| Z2 | Aerobic (Zone 2) | 60-70% | Conversational endurance base, builds fat-burning |
| Z3 | Tempo | 70-80% | Moderate, comfortably hard, steady efforts |
| Z4 | Threshold | 80-90% | Hard, at or near lactate threshold |
| Z5 | VO2 Max | 90-100% | Maximal, short high-intensity intervals |
Why does zone 2 matter for mountain bike racing?
Because the base you build in zone 2 is what lets you race hard without blowing up. A cross-country mountain bike race lives mostly in zones 3 and 4, near your threshold, with sharp spikes into zone 5 on climbs and technical sections.
You cannot spend a whole season racing at that intensity in training. Zone 2 rides are how you build the aerobic engine, recover between hard days, and add volume safely. The bigger your zone 2 base, the higher your threshold can climb, and the faster you finish.
How much time should you spend in zone 2?
Most of it. A common approach is the 80/20 split: about 80 percent of your weekly training time easy (zones 1 and 2) and 20 percent hard (zones 4 and 5). Junior racers especially benefit from a deep, patient base before piling on intensity.
How to measure zone 2 on the trail
A chest-strap heart rate monitor is the most accurate way to track your zones in real time, since wrist-based optical sensors can lag or misread during bumpy, high-vibration mountain bike efforts. If you only have a wrist sensor, lean on the talk test to confirm you are truly in zone 2.
Once you know your numbers, plug your age and resting heart rate into the heart rate zone calculator to get your exact zone 2 window, then build your easy rides around it. You can see how zones fit into a full season on the training plans page.
Training guidance is educational, not medical advice. Check with your coach and physician before starting.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
What heart rate is zone 2?
Zone 2 is about 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. For a 15-year-old with a max of around 205 bpm, that is roughly 123 to 144 bpm.
Is zone 2 the same as the fat-burning zone?
They overlap. Zone 2 is the easy aerobic pace where your body burns a high share of fat for fuel, but the point of zone 2 for a racer is building an aerobic base, not weight loss.
How do I know if I am in zone 2 without a heart rate monitor?
Use the talk test. In zone 2 you can hold a full conversation in complete sentences. If you can only get a few words out, you have drifted into zone 3 or higher.
Does my zone 2 heart rate change with age?
Yes. Estimated max heart rate drops by about one beat per year (220 minus age), so your zone 2 range shifts down slightly as you get older. Recalculate every year or two.
Should young riders do a max heart rate test?
Not on their own. Maximal efforts are taxing and are best done with a coach present, or skipped in favor of the age estimate. Talk to a coach or physician first.
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