From
Journal of Exercise Physiologyonline, Official Journal of The American Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP)
ISSN 1097-9751
An International Electronic Journal
Volume 5 Number 2 May 2002
Commentary
THE SURPRISING HISTORY OF THE “HRmax=220-age” EQUATION
ROBERT A. ROBERGS AND ROBERTO LANDWEHR
....
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on this review of research and application of HRmax prediction, the following recommendations can be
made;
1. Currently, there is no acceptable method to estimate HRmax.
2. If HRmax needs to be estimated, then population specific formulae should be used. However, the most
accurate general equation is that of Inbar (17) (Table 3); HRmax=205.8-0.685(age). Nevertheless, the error
(Sxy=6.4 b/min) is still unacceptably large.
3. An acceptable prediction error for HRmax for application to estimation of VO2max is <±3 b/min. Thus, for
a person with a HRmax of 200 b/min, error equals ±1.5%. If this precision is not possible, then there is no
justification for using methods of VO2max estimation that rely on HRmax prediction formulae.
4. Additional research needs to be performed that develops multivariate regression equations that improve the
accuracy of HRmax prediction for specific populations, and modes of exercise.
5. The use of HRmax is most prevalent in the fitness industry, and the people who work in these facilities
mainly have a terminal undergraduate degree in exercise science or related fields. These students/graduates
need to be better educated in statistics to recognize and understand the concept of prediction error, and the
practical consequences of relying on an equation with a large standard error of estimate (Sxy).
6. Textbooks in exercise physiology and exercise prescription should contain content that is more critical of the
HRmax=220-age or similar formulae. Authors need to stress the mode-specificity of HRmax, provide alternate,
research substantiated formula, and express all content of items 1-5, above. Similarly, academic coverage of
HRmax needs to explain how this error detracts from using HRmax estimation in many field tests of physical
fitness and in exercise prescription.