Doc Says Don’t Go Over 140?

[narongdach6]

@ruella I was told to not go over 75% of my max heart rate.
I guess those who work out regularly know what their max HR is.

 

[iyimipiru]

@ruella Oh, I seriously misread this at first as 140lbs. Phew!! That seemed like an impossible ask. Not sure about bpm, but I'm interested in what others know about it.

 

[caterine]

@ruella I was never told this, I also don’t wear a monitor so I don’t even know what my normal resting is. I worked out regularly until about 8 months and then I mostly walked

 

[rexcolin]

@ruella I have only ever heard the opposite, ask him for evidence/studies

 

[avgold]

@ruella HR is so variable for everyone. I'm a high beater, so while my resting HR is low enough to be in the 'athletic' category, my max is above 200. I've run half marathons averaging over 190bpm. If I had to stay under 140 that'd mean doing nothing other than gentle walking the entire pregnancy!

Taking into account the fact that your heart rate will increase more easily when pregnant, at a lower effort level than it would have done before, the best way to manage it in my opinion is to use RPE. If you can hold a conversation during the workout, your HR isn't getting high enough to be a concern. I mean I also raced during my last pregnancy and I pushed it harder than that, but not for prolonged periods and I didn't let myself go over RPE 8-9. If you stick with how it feels rather than focusing too much on the numbers you should be fine.

 

[marnor90]

@ruella Last week I ate a cheeseburger and my HR went up to 163. You probably shouldn't go super high every day but I don't think you need to worry about it going over every once in a while. Also, your HR is naturally higher during pregnancy. 140 just seems unrealistic if you're a person who does any kind of regular exercise.

 

[pageturner]

@ruella I think rate of perceived exertion is more up to date, as heart rate is specific to fitness level pre pregnancy and may be different for everyone. I’ve read things like stay between a 6-8 out of 10, 10 being hardest workout ever, and you should be able to talk while you’re doing whatever you’re doing. For me, that’s like 150-160 max. So I try to stay below 160.

 

[americanhoney]

@ruella Serena Williams won the Australian Open while pregnant. Lots of famous runners have done marathons while pregnant. Pretty sure they went over 140 bpm Plus lots of research shows that exercise enduring pregnancy leads to better birth outcomes for mom and baby. Do what feels good, you’ll know if you need to slow down. Listen to your body, it’s fine

 

[seekingtreeoflife]

@ruella This is similar to other comments here, but I was told not to go over 140 at my first appointment by the NP. When I asked my midwife at a later appointment (who also used to do CrossFit), she said as long as I can still hold a conversation and there are no other symptoms that something is wrong, I should be good. Although in the first trimester I feel like every time I went over 140 for very long I was EXHAUSTED the entire rest of the day. I’ve since learned to take more breaks as needed and I definitely don’t go as hard as I used to. Learning to better listen to my body and take more breaks was a bit of a curve to get over but that helps a lot.

 

[cameronshriner]

@ruella My midwife said all of that advice is outdated and aimed at people with no level of fitness. She told me I can continue with my pre-pregnancy exercises (spin, yoga, strength) at whatever intensity feels good, even if I’m in the red at max HR. She said if I start to feel lightheaded, nauseous, etc., then obviously that’s a sign to pull back. I saw a MFM specialist for my early scans and he literally said “Don’t Google what to do and what not to do. Just do what feels good, and if it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it.” I’ve been pushing it at spin classes feeling great, but listening to my body and sitting down, taking a break, etc., when I need it (and might otherwise have pushed harder pre-pregnancy). You will know if you’re going too hard, just listen to your body!