Heart Rate Recommdation

[miller2917]

Hello All,

Please see the following recommendation from Baby Center for a pregnant 34 old. I get my heart rate up between 150-170 when working out. Is this too much? I feel fine right now and when working out. I am only 14 weeks preg. (Maybe I am misunderstanding something here).

From Babycenter.com
Before you were pregnant, your target heart rate while exercising was between 120 and 158 beats per minute (that's 30 - 39 beats every 15 seconds). Now, your maximum heart rate should be around 111 beats per minute (no more than 27 beats every 15 seconds).

 

[treasaigh]

Huh. 111 seems extremely low to me, to. I get that high doing grapevines in warmup. I normally keep mine under 162, which is 85% for me, so I don't get anaerobic, and I think that's all you need to be concerned about. If you're not out of breath and feel good, I think you're fine. I'm guessing Baby Center's recommendation is made to include sedentary moms to be, and they're being ultra conservative to keep from getting sued by someone who injures themself.

By the way - I'm 14 weeks, too. Congratulations!
Tracy

 

[amynicole]

Having moved around a lot all 3 of my pregancnies with with different Drs. All 3 told me that I should keep my heart rate at 140 or below. The third Dr. told me that threre has been some contraversy and there are some Dr.s that even believe 150 is safe but she recommended I stay at 140 just to be safe. I wore a heartrate moniter and set the upper limit at 140 so it would beep at me if my heartrate got to 141 or higher. this way I could enjoy my workouts without having to stress or constantly having to check my heartrate.

I think 111 sounds really really low. at the end of my preganncies just walking up the stairs would get my heartrate to 111 LOL!!!

I would check with your Dr. Hopefully shiela will see this, she always has great fitness/pregnancy advice.

 

[rockette]

Do a search on this forum, you'll get lots of info. The 140 beats max is very outdated information from what I've read. You should be able to say sentences that are(I believe) 3-7 words per sentence. Also listen to your body. Somedays you will definitely feel more winded while doing the same activity than on other days. With my second pregnancy I followed the 140 beats guideline and didn't feel like I was exerting myself at all. I'm currently 25 weeks along with #3 and I've been doing the talk test and listening to my body.

Of course, you need to do what you feel comfortable with but
I think reading some of the responses that Sheila and Cathe have given in the past will put you at ease about the heartrate issue.

Valerie

 

[miller2917]

Thanks for your responses. I agree, my heartrate gets to 111 walking up the stairs. I talked to my doctor and he said it was absolutely ridiculous and to work out as I normally would using the speak test as a gauge. I am glad he is not "old school".

I also talked to Shelia as well. She was very, very helpful. She was shocked that BabyCenter would have such a recommenation.

 

[tchersue]

The ACOG abandoned heartrate as a measure for pregnant women years and years ago, but you still seel the guidelines out their (particularly, the not above 140 thing... probably still out there because AFAA has kept that number in their prenata workshops -- sigh ). The ACOG recommends perceived exertion tests instead -- in other words, listen to your body and work no more than hard to somewhat hard... never getting out of breath (anaerobic) or overheated (drink lots of H20... especially in the first trimester)

Sheila can add more on this, but basically as your blood volume increases, your heartrate can be all over the place while you are pregnant... so HR isn't a reliable measure of how hard you are working.

Susan
Healthy Moms(R) certified perinatal fitness instructor