“Science” used to tell us that as pregnant women getting our heart rate up over 140 BPM was dangerous for the baby.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Why? Because they had no data on it so they threw out an arbitrary number they thought would be a safe bet and told women not to go past it.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Data now tells us that’s not only untrue, but that as long as it’s not an unusually high range in general [over your max] – that there’s no inherent risk.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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That being said true HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING is not recommended for pregnant women, but not necessarily for the “heart rate” component. The strain on the entire body during true HIIT is likely too great to be safe for mom and baby.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When I say TRUE HIIT, I mean you’re working at absolute MAX intervals for 10-20 seconds. Most workouts called “HIIT” these days are not actually true high intensity, so even your local circuit class is likely safe – but double check with your doctor. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If your doctor tells you not to exercise at all, get a new doctor. Or at least REALLY dig in to WHY NOT, and they better have some damn good answers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Back to the point. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You should always do exercise that YOU’RE comfortable with but know that there are no “rules” to how high your heart rate should be during cardio while pregnant. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you’re ever feeling dizzy or lightheaded, of course stop. If you find that’s correlated to heart rate, then by all means decrease intensity and talk to your doctor.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I couldn’t run during pregnancy due to round ligament pain, but I LOVED running stairs! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What was your favorite workout while pregnant? Share below and tag a friend who needs to know this!