Strength Training While Pregnant: Is it Safe? What you need to know.

Strength training during pregnancy? Not only is it safe, it’s also smart. Fortunately, we live in a time when most healthcare professionals no longer advise against it. This is fantastic news, considering childbirth is arguably the most athletic thing the human body can do. Proper conditioning isn’t just helpful, it’s a must.

So now that we have the green light, you may be wondering what information you need to begin or continue your strength training journey confidently. It’s normal to feel uncertain: I did too. You want to keep your baby and yourself safe, but also prepare your body for what’s to come.

As a Certified Personal Trainer for the past eight years and a certified Pre/Postnatal Fitness Specialist since 2021, I’ve helped navigate clients through this exact journey. Here, I’ll walk you through four key things you need to know as you build strength while growing your baby.

Let’s Start with the Basics: Do NOT skip your warmup and cool down.

If you ever participated in a high school sport, you might remember jogging around the gym while chatting with teammates, flinging your arms around in quick circles, or half-heartedly doing hip openers while your coach reviewed the game plan. While that may have passed as a “warm-up” back then, your warm-up and cool down now, especially during pregnancy, needs more intention.

A proper warmup, according to the American Heart Association, increases blood flow, gradually raises the body’s core temperature, and enhances muscle elasticity. All of this aids in preventing injury and ensuring you get the most out of your training session.

It also gives you an opportunity to tune in and notice if any specific muscles or joints are feeling tight, sensitive, or just off. Your body is going to be experiencing a lot of change over the next few months, and things might feel different on a daily basis.

The best approach is to have a mobility routine to use as your warm-up. This can double as an opportunity to move your entire body, while adding in some extra movements to target the muscles you plan on working in your training session.

Some staple warmup movements to include:

Cat-Cows
Internal rock backs (on all fours)
T-spine rotations (on all fours)
90/90s with side reach

A cool down, as the name suggests, will help to lower your heart rate and the body’s core temperature. This process helps prevent any dizziness or risk of fainting.

For your cooldown, focus on gradually lowering your heart rate and core temperature to avoid dizziness or fainting. Stretching is key—not just for post-workout recovery, but for relieving tension in areas commonly affected by pregnancy, like your lower back, shoulders, and glutes. Keep in mind your range of motion and flexibility will start to shift in the second trimester, so adjust your stretches accordingly and don’t hesitate to use props. I provide some ideas in this article here.

Recommended cooldown stretches:

Supported Child’s Pose (rest head on a block or arms on a bench)
Happy Baby (only on your back as long as comfortable)
Levator Scapula stretch (ear to shoulder)
Supported Hamstring Stretch (leg elevated on a bench or chair)

2. Always include proper core engagement and breathing

We’ve all heard the cue “engage your core” during workouts before, but the once-popular “belly button to spine” advice doesn’t actually offer the support your body needs. Instead, the focus should be on activating our deepest core muscles, the transverse abdominis (TVA), which wraps around the trunk of your body like a corset.

The most effective way to engage the TVA is by using a method referred to by Pronatal Fitness as 360° breathing. This will help you maintain proper posture, stabilize your spine, and avoid compensating with the wrong muscles, like relying on your lower back during a deadlift. This is especially important during pregnancy since our center of gravity is being pulled out of alignment.

Solid core engagement goes hand-in-hand with proper breathing mechanics. You’ll want to inhale as you load the movement, allowing your whole abdomen to expand, and exhale during the effort, when the TVA contracts. For example, during a squat, inhale as you lower, exhale as you rise using your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Your core should be braced the entire time (meaning, the TVA is engaged). The exhale provides the force and stability needed to complete the movement safely and effectively.

3. Include movements that will help once the baby arrives

While you still want to include the major compound movements like squats and hinges in your routine, it’s equally valuable to include movements that will mimic the physical demands of life with a baby.

You’re likely already doing movements like squats and deadlifts, but you’ll want to alter these movements to be more intentional. Think: getting up from the floor while using both hands to hold a 10-lb weight, single-arm farmer carries, or wide-stance squats while picking a 10-30-lb dumbbell and then placing it back down.

Strength during pregnancy is important, but strength after birth is essential. Parenthood is full of weight-bearing tasks, and training your body to handle movement patterns that come with this new season of life. The more prepared you are, the better your body will maintain proper form so you can avoid specific aches and pain that often comes with caring for a baby and/or small child.

4. It’s okay to lift heavy… as long as you listen to your body.

I know everyone is sick of hearing this one, but what your body needs will evolve throughout your pregnancy. What felt great in the second trimester might feel like too much by the third. Your energy levels will fluctuate, so even if you have the strength needed to lift a certain amount, you may not be worth draining yourself for the rest of the day.

If heavy weight training was a part of your routine before pregnancy and you’re maintaining proper form and mechanics, lift away! Continuing to strengthen your muscles can support your changing body, potentially shorten labor, reduce the likelihood of insomnia, and aid in postpartum recovery.

Just stay mindful of how your whole body feels during each session. Signs of straining, pain, or compensating with the wrong muscles should not be ignored. Instead, reassess your weight choices; you can still reap all the benefits of strength training without maxing out every time.

Lift Smart and Carry On.

Your body knows what it needs. Use this time to get to know its cues and not overstep the limits it has set for now. By building a foundation of strength that lasts, your strongest lifting days can still be ahead of you, but only if you take care of yourself now.