@ruella My doctors gave me no guidelines, but I took it upon myself to read “Exercising through your pregnancy” so I could get actual data. I believe the writer says there’s some evidence that you should stay under 90% of your max, which quite frankly is not hard when you’re pregnant and feeling like crap.
@ruella I do a 20–30 minute Peloton class everyday and I haven’t changed my HR at all- I sometimes crest 200. My MFM doc told me if I did it before pregnancy then I’m fine to do it during. I am also considered high risk so he asked that I take a break every 15 minutes to let my HR come down a little once I hit 20 weeks
@ruella I was also told 140 but didn’t really follow it because (as many already pointed out here) many things I read said it was outdated info. Instead I followed the talk test and listened to my body. One or twice I got dizzy on my spin bike so I immediately scaled back. Eventually I found that around 160 was where I personally felt comfortable that I was getting a good workout in but not pushing too far. Anytime I was concerned, I’d do another talk test. Sometimes just saying “I can still talk” and sometimes I’d talk to my baby.
Also, heart rate monitors in watches can be useful for tracking statistics over time (especially if you’re a data nerd like me) but I don’t trust the absolute numbers very much. It’d be interesting to test my watch against a medical grade monitor to see how much they vary. But I don’t trust my watch saying 140 is actually 140.
@ruella I’m going to ask my doc the same thing when I see her on the 6th. From my research (and I’m a lawyer not a doc so I realize this isn’t my area of expertise) the whole HR guideline is antiquated. And if you are an active person or were pre pregnancy it’s best to go by rate of perceived exertion.
I had one fuck of a time getting pregnant (took 3 years and IVF) so I’m playing it SAFE SAFE SAFE the first trimester. I want to wrap myself in bubble wrap lol. But I’m doing my regular hikes and nature walks and yin/prenatal yoga and light weights on my arms. Itching to get back on the peloton. After my ultrasound I’ll prob do some low impact rides.
@ruella I did otf 6x per week throughout most of my first pregnancy (slowed down considerably the last 5-6 weeks). I think the heart rate monitors are not super accurate anyway, so I always just went by perceived exertion. I can’t speak for everyone, my HR was easily in the 120s just walking up the stairs lol
@ruella One of the doctors in my practice said the same! And also I need to make sure I don’t lift anything up at the gym. The nurse told me not to do CrossFit because it’s too much “jumping around” (whatever that means???). I’m having a hard time believing my practice understands everyone’s different fitness levels so I’m just trying to listen to my body, and take a breath and water when I need it. I’m not sure what else to do!
@ruella Hi! Fellow OTF mom. I worked out there til I was 35 weeks. Gave birth at 37 weeks.
My doctor said “you’ve been working out before you got pregnant keep it up. Don’t start any extreme sports.” And my favorite “if you can breathe the baby can breathe.” She also said the 140 is way out of date.
@ruella I worked out my entire pregnancy and just did what I had been doing as long as I felt good. I primarily run and swim. I got slower as time went on, but I never changed my effort level. Stopped running at 20 weeks but continued swimming and added in stair stepper and bike when running wasn’t possible. According to my Apple Watch, my heart rate could be 150s-160s during a run. If I felt a Braxton hicks, I’d stop and rest. I had a quick labor and a decent recovery and I think staying active (with a bit of luck too) helped. My daughter is perfectly healthy!
My doctor just encouraged me to listen to my body and as long as I “felt good” to keep at it!
@ruella My doctor said don’t worry about heart rate but try not to get breathless. She said if you can’t hold a conversation that’s when oxygen deprivation could occur
@denorasweet If I can hold a conversation that doesn’t feel like I’m putting any effort in/working out. I would say having a conversation would probably be 145 and under. I can speak a few words or say a long to a song between 150-160 but not conversate.
@ruella Well, I ran throughout my pregnancy, even by the end I still was running 5k a few times a week. The entire time I ran my heart rate was in the 160s and sometimes above, but I made sure I was still able to speak a sentence (which I would do by talking on the phone or running with friends). Running is still a decent level of effort, in my opinion! You can definitely do workouts like lifting heavy weights and running, swimming, etc, without being totally breathless. For me, running was really important, so I just slowed down my pace so I could manage. That was what felt best for me in order to manage the workouts I wanted to do while feeling like I was staying safe.
@ruella Very outdated, my OB said this and I said that it wasn't possible and I would still continue to work out. Then she altered it to saying that as long as I could carry on a conversation.
@ruella I’ve never monitored my heart rate while exercising and did plenty of higher intensity stuff; for what it’s worth I don’t think it caused any problems in my last pregnancy! I think as you’ll see everywhere on this sub, your body does start to tell you when something is too much, just gotta make sure you are listening to it. Enjoy your workouts!!
@ruella Outdated information. Based on old science. However, it would be wise to stay away from vigorous exercise for the same reason with what we know. Avoid this by not being completely breathless of above an RPE of 14 (6-20). I personally try not to go to much harder than 160bom because I start to get pretty breathless around this point, but HR varies on age and fitness levels. 140 is a completely arbitrary number, I can’t believe the ridiculousness of the idea. My midwife told me this also but I knew it was an outlandish statement as in my professional career I work as an exercise specialist in cardiac rehab.
Wouldn’t be surprised if I could push harder than this without risk of hurting the baby but typically I feel nauseated or wiped out working harder than this right now. So, I am listening to my body
@ruella As others have said, this is nonsense advice from your doc. Since you will probably need a PT during recovery, you should contact one now! They can tell you what you need to know, help you with your pelvic floor, and assess your ab separation as it happens.
With a doc giving bad and old advice like this, it is probably very wise to have someone with updated information in your corner now helping keep you healthy through your pregnancy and after.
