Did you keep an eye on heart rate when exercising?

[pandemicpreggie]

My GP said not to let it go over 140, but the internet/mayo clinic et al said this is BS, even found a quote from the guy who initially said it to ignore it - not to mention all the mumsnet quotes I found.

After a horrendous 3.5 months of sickness I'm feeling better and keen to get moving. There is a walk near my house which I do at a moderate pace - the whole thing takes about an hour, and it has two inclines that take 4 mins each to walk up. My heart-rate gets up to between 140 - 160 doing the inclines but I don't feel I need to stop. I'm not breathless but definitely breathing faster and deeper, could hold a convo but it would be a bit clipped! you'd know I was walking uphill.

The walk is helping with my nausea, my mental health and bonding with baby time. I was quite fit before pregnancy (hill walking and pilates and sometimes spin) and have been doing this walk 4 times a week for the past two weeks. Should I give it up? Am having a c-section and want to be as fit as possible for recover?

I know I should listen to my doctor but if I did I'd be on the sofa for this whole pregnancy! Is there a chance she is wrong? Have read of lots of ladies doing all kinds of exercise when pregnant so hopefully I can keep this up.

I was told that I could continue anything I was doing previously so long as I still felt fine. For me this was running until week 11 where my heart rate definitely went above 140 and since then more weights/strength focused exercise. I only stopped running cos I hurt my foot - nothing pregnancy related.

I think now is not the time to be pushing for PRs or training hard, but it definitely helps to exercise and I try to use the conversation metric to judge my effort.

I think the inclines seem so short (4mins) for uou that I can't see it being an issue, but only you can judge.

I had read somewhere that the danger was of less oxygen being sent to the womb...I can't remember where I read it. That's my worry. I feel fine, I feel stronger, a bit breathless but it passes once I get to the top. Maybe it's better to stop though since it's making me anxious. Thank you

I found an article from Emily Oster on this which gives better information.

www.google.com/amp/s/slate.com/human-interest/2013/08/exercise-during-pregnancy-how-much-is-too-much.amp

O, that sort of freaks me out now...

I've been exercising throughout my pregnancy (31 weeks) and wear a heart rate band . My heart is always going above 140. 140 is so low...
As long as you're not going crazy and struggling through a workout you're fine.
You should still be able to hold a conversation and feel good after , not warn out. Just listen to your body.

I think it worries me because I don't know my pregnant body that well yet: my heartrate is running faster than normal at rest, I'm tired some days and not tired other days, moving helps nausea, but if my heart rate is getting close to max when walking uphill is that harming the baby...

Also, are there women like me who got back to exercise in the second trimester, after feeling so crap for the first 12 weeks? Did you go back to things like spin and pilates and hillwalking?

Looking for peace of mind, and really miss that I can't go to classes to see or meet other pregnant women.

just bumping this in case anyone has any more words of wisdom. have been reading a lot online about this and it seems the 140 bpm is BS. Also seems very normal for ladies to be wiped out in first trimester and return to previous exercise in second trimester. But would love to hear if anyone here is in the same boat. Thanks to the ladies here who already replied.

You hr max is going to be more like 180/90 (depending on age and fitness)
I was very fit before getting pregnant- 8+ sessions a week type fit.

I think I went mostly by feel when I exercised while pregnant- I found around 170 I would be getting pretty uncomfortable (especially later in pregnancy) but 150- 160 was pretty comfortable.

I was still racing and pushing myself in the 1st trimester and honestly it was fine. Pgp stopped me in my tracks after that otherwise I probably would have kept going. If it makes you feel good and you aren't getting to a point of total exhaustion or overheating keep doing it.

@Panda368 thank you for this. No, I really enjoyed the walking, i just started prenatal yoga and although some of it was challenging, with increased hr, I loved it, and felt more myself and strong. I wonder if this is a case of the benefits outweighing the risks. This is most human I've felt in weeks. i just don't want to be stupid! I also found this which is reassuring and I think reliable
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3464969/

I didn't mean for that article to freak you out... I thought it would do the opposite - I read it that unless you are at Olympic training levels there is probably very little risk.

@pandemicpreggie I’m try to walk between 5-10km a day. Some of this is uphill walking, and my heart rate goes above 150bpm. I spoke to my midwife and she said it’s fine, as long as it’s not high intensity workouts, and a brisk walk will do me good physically and mentally. I’m not fell walking though anymore. I’m 20 weeks.

@Oatmilk1 oh no it wasn't that really! There are just so many mixed messages, mostly coming from my own doc and mw. And even though I'm not an olympic athlete it's hard to define what strenuous exercise is for each woman. Thanks for posting the article because it was helpful

@DressingGown87 thank you, that is also good to hear. My GP said not to go over 140 and mw said gentle walking. I agree that the mental benefits are incredible, I wish I had started earlier!

According to my Apple Watch my heart rate went up to 202 the other day 😬 I was only walking up a hill v slowly too but I think was just so unfit after not exercising for a long time, I also have a high resting heart rate. I have had a scan since and all looks well with the baby. I am not too worried as I think my body will tell me if I am over doing it. There is so much you can worry about in pregnancy but I do think fitness is quite important.

@FlapJackered thanks! It helps to see other women at least not worrying about it. Best of luck with your pregnancy!

I'm still exercising, doing pre natal videos mainly and they all say 140 is quite outdated and varies massively from person to person, depending on how active they are normally. I wear a fitness watch but dont check my HR during. All of the instructors say you must be able to hold a conversation, and should only be at 6 or 7 intensity out of 10.
Most important thing to do is listen to your body, if you want to rest or have a drink then do so! I am also still doing long walks - I always get out of puff up the hills which I didnt before

@Whiffle thank you, yes I think if I were checking my HR during walks I'd be even more anxious. Really nice to just hear that not everyone is worrying about it

My average heart rate when running is about 180. My peak heart rate was about 200-210 pre-pregnancy (during speed work etc.) My resting heart rate is 55-60 so that’s obviously quite a difference! Very few women would be able to do more than gentle exercise if they used 140 as a guide.

I’m a midwife and did my dissertation about the effects of exercise on pregnancy. Exercise appears to improve blood flow to the placenta if anything.

(If you want to read any research papers then Kari Bo is an authority on womens health and exercise generally)

@Bienentrinkwasser that's VERY reassuring to hear, and I feel much better doing that walk and working on building up strength after being sick for so long. Thank you for sharing your expertise

Yes thanks @Bienentrinkwasser
Everything I have read says exercise benefits us all the way through and after pregnancy, and same for the baby. For me, it's about maintaining my mental health more than anything - if I stop I will likely get depressed and anxious. So as long as I feel up to it I will keep going!

@Whiffle77 agreed. My mental health took a dive due to weeks and weeks of being sick. This is the first time I've felt myself. The weather, the outdoors....it felt delicious to feel my heart pumping, strength in my legs that I hadn't felt in ages, and getting to the top!

I've read online that as long as you can hold a conversation comfortably then your level of exertion shouldn't affect bump. Personally, I have a relatively low resting heart rate and when I get up to 140bpm during my HIIT workouts I start to struggle to talk.

@el108 thank you! feel much better and about to set out for my walk, looking forward to my little hill : )