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One doctor I saw last week told me to stick to ONLY walking, yoga, pilates, and stretching while pregnant.

Another doctor said not to do anything too challenging in workouts while pregnant… “Don’t try to set any new PRs.” That’s better advice, at least…

I suppose that it’s a good thing that doctors are advising exercise for pregnant women at all, but which is it?? What should pregnant women do?

Here are some of my thoughts based on research, personal experience so far, and experience fitness coaching many pregnant women over the years, with some science thrown in too!

First of all, I believe that before doctors give any advice about what kinds of workouts to do, that they should start with asking what workout routines were like before pregnancy. Frequency, intensity, modalities, what you like doing, etc.

That matters! (and neither doctor mentioned above asked me…)

If someone had no exercise routine before getting pregnant, they should absolutely start with adding in walking, light yoga, and stretching into their routine.

And if someone had a more rigorous or high-intensity workout routine before getting pregnant, they likely don’t have to “scale back” all the way to walking only (barring any pregnancy complications, of course). I do agree that we don’t need to be setting any PRs or anything like that, but within reason, continuing to do the things you were doing before getting pregnant has been shown to be okay!

This study states, “Prenatal exercise programs that include high- and low-impact aerobics and are supported by pelvic floor muscle exercises should be recommended for pregnant women, especially those who are accustomed to higher exercise intensity before pregnancy.” (PMID: 30761019)

Alternatively, and this makes sense, it is not recommended that someone start high-intensity exercise when pregnant, if they had not been doing so before. (PMID: 12054383)

Personally, I’ve been aiming for 6-8000 steps per day, at least, and have been continuing my crossfitt-y workouts 5 times per week, which are between 10-30 minutes each day. I generally use much lighter weights than I have in the past. I don’t “race” as much. I modify a lot… haven’t done an actual pullup in months, for example. I have significantly adjusted my core work and make sure to avoid coning or over exertion. But I’m still doing lots of the same things I’ve done for years, as long as they feel good. And will continue to do so for the next few months as long as it keeps feeling good.

Post workout pic from last week! 19 week babe in there! The workout included some Pushup + DB Pull Across (which I did from my knee), Front Rack Lunges (which I used at 65# barbell for), and Box Jump Overs (which I subbed out completely for some running and biking instead!).

Regardless of exactly what workout routine or frequency you decide is right for you, here are some things to consider while working out:

Check in more regularly with how you feel while fitnessing. At other stages in life, we may feel like we can push harder, or work through “pain” of running faster, or whatever. That should not be the case during pregnancy. This is not a time to try to push the pace or work through anything.
It’s also worth understanding that blood volume increases tremendously when you’re pregnant and workouts or movements that used to feel easier might feel more exhausting than they use to. Or you might get tired more quickly than you used to, and THAT’S OKAY!
This might go without saying, but it’s also totally okay use lighter weights and adjust movements or ranges of motion as needed. One might think of pregnancy as a period of maintenance and continued consistency, as opposed to needing to use any certain weights or complete any specific movements. Equally, women experience different limitations around movements, have different size bellies, etc. all which might require making adjustments to what you’re used to. Make them! Modify to where you are and how you feel at that moment.
Once into the second trimester, stay away from direct core movements like situps/crunches, and, instead, include more pelvic floor supporting core exercises like bird/dogs, oblique and transverse abdominal work, breathing, and diaphragmatic core work. You don’t want to make your ab split worse than it may inevitably become, and plus, you can support yourself in birth and postpartum with these kinds of preparations!
- Addendum to this: You might consider meeting with a Pelvic Floor PT or looking into one of the many pelvic floor-related programs out there for pregnant women to support you with this!
Don’t do exercises that are risky for you or the babe. Understand that there’s a higher risk of falling or balance issues so moderating exercise choices to account for that is huge. For example, I, personally, will be skipping skiing this winter.

The bottom line here is that exercise is a positive for most pregnant women and can help decrease pre-term birth. (PMID: 28847193) It helps manage fetal weight gain, and may reduce hypertension and gestational diabetes for the mother (link). There is also a lack of evidence of any harmful effects of working out for both mother and baby in otherwise healthy pregnancy situations (link).

So, talk to your doctor about what’s right for you, and be clear about what workouts you were doing before you got pregnant to help the conversation. And, be comfortable with making shifts to your plan, as needed, depending on what comes up for you and your baby, specifically.

With this all being said, above all, I support women doing what they are comfortable with doing. If you want to only walk or do yoga, OF COURSE I support you doing that. I’m not trying to knock that. I am however, saying that there are multiple ways we can approach fitness during pregnancy and that I don’t agree with blanket recommendations for all.

Two more notes:

We had our 20 week ultrasound today! Everything looks good and the Mango (it’s current size comparison!) was moving all over the place the whole time! Even got to see it sucking on it’s little fingers! *happy tear emoji*
Hiiiiii, baby!
If you’re reading this today, Tuesday 11/8, and haven’t yet, MAKE SURE YOU GO VOTE! It matters!

As always, thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Sara

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Working Out While Pregnant: The Science + My…