Quote:
Originally Posted by whoami  Do you ladies wear a heart rate monitor? I don't have one and was thinking maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to buy one.
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Nope. & you don't really need one unless:
1. You're an elite athlete & doing specialized training (like high-intensity-intervals, working on expanding your lactate threshold, etc.)
or
2. You have a heart condition & have some specific reason for monitoring.
Studies have shown that people are pretty good at using what's known as "Rating of Perceived Exertion" (RPE) - you just rate
how hard you feel you're working on a scale of 1-10. Studies have shown that if you
feel you're working at a 6, you actually
are working at 60% HRR (Heart rate reserve.)
In other words, you can just
listen to your body & gauge by how you
feel. HR monitors aren't necessary.
Plus, HR monitors are really not appropriate in the 1st trimester of pregnancy since, due to the cardiac underfill problem, your HR may be higher than your RPE would predict - so it's better to just not worry about it & to go with the RPE rating. (I think I explained cardiac underfill in my earlier post if you want details.)
On the contrary, the HR monitor would likely encourage you to back off! If you
feel fine but your HR is actually like 165, you may be tempted to reduce the intensity of your workout - but really RPE is what you should use to gauge.
Besides, they're not very comfy anyway. I bought one years ago (Ha, I can't recall why. I think mostly curiosity to see what my HR was when I taught step aerobics. Hard to gauge RPE when you're so focused on cuing the choreo, breaking down the routine, monitoring students form, etc.) Anyway, you have to wear this band around your chest under your breasts - right where underwire of a bra would be - so under the band of your sports bra.
ACOG did recommend not getting HR above a certain threshold (I want to say 140 BPM maybe) but they revoked that back in like 1994. And besides, as most of us natural-oriented mamas know, ACOG often provides policies that are not evidence-based & don't have mamas best interests in mind. So... I'm really not too bothered with what their advice is in any case. (But, again, they don't place restrictions on exercise anyway.)
For full details, definitely check out the fascinating book, "Exercising through your pregnancy." by Dr. Clapp.
& finally, as my DH so eloquently put it, "Really, when is exercising ever
not good for your health?"
Exactly!
BTW, I'm an ACE-certified personal trainer & group fitness instructor.
