Heart Rate Monitor

Hi S.-

I'm going to chime in too here as I specialize in pre and postnatal health and fitness and am a Master Trainer and teach other health and fitness professionals on prenatal fitness through Healthy Moms(R) Fitness www.healthymomsfitness.com The 140HR rule has been outdated since 1994!!! The guidelines state that if you can still say 3-5 words in one sentence you are working out hard enough..this is known as the talk test. If you can hold a conversation, then you are not working out hard enough, if you are out of breath, too hard. Safe exercise is 3-5 days per week 30-45min each session. So save your money and get yourself a prenatal massage, well-deserved and money will be well spent! :)

Enjoy!
J. W. MPH
Wellness Edcuator

We use the Polar and so does one of my good friends (she's a triathlete.) We love ours and use it all the time.
K.

Just so you are aware, current excercise guidelines during pregnancy recommend a "perceived exertion" approach rather than heartrate monitoring. Many OBs will use the recommendation to stay below 140 BPM- that information is outdated and not evidence-based. More current guidelines recommend using a "talk test" (being able to hold a conversation while working out means that you are not exerting yourself too much).

Hi,
I'm not an expert but my husband and I have used the brand "Polar". They are expensive but of high quality. There are a lot of models to choose from so it can be kind of confusing. I didn't use mine during pregnancy though. Just be sure to clean the sensors that touch your skin as directed.

A.

polar is a great company. i love mine.

S.,
I'm an exercise physiologist specializing in prenatal and postpartum fitness. The best / most accurate heart rate monitors are the type that straps across your chest (i.e. Polar). Unfortunately, many of my prenatal clients whose OB's told them to use them found that they would sometimes pick up the babies heart rate as well and it would appear as if their heart rates were in the 200's, when they were not.
I agree with the previous person that said perceived exertion should be used rather than HR.

Hi S.,

I used a Polar heart rate monitor for both of my pregnancies and I really liked it. I did mostly treadmill workouts. Some treadmills can even read and display the heart rate monitor for you so that you don't have to keep looking at your watch. Best of luck!

I bought one at heartratemonitorusa.com for like $35 dollars or something like that. They have all kinds of monitors in all price ranges.