FITNESS DURING PREGNANCY: WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO?
With all the misinformation out there, it’s hard to know how or even whether to work out during and after pregnancy. The good news is that you should continue exercising through both periods. You can stay at your best, but exercise needs to be approached correctly.
LINDSEY’S STORY
One client, Lindsey, was a competitive volleyball player who wanted to jump back into intense training after giving birth. She noticed leakage during high-intensity workouts and pushed through the discomfort. After her second pregnancy, the same issue returned, and she sought medical advice. She was told she had a grade-two bladder prolapse and that volleyball might no longer be possible. That’s when I began guiding her prenatal and postnatal programming to support her body through pregnancy and recovery. Too often, women are cleared for exercise at a six-week checkup with little information about rehab, the core, or the pelvic floor. It can feel like a new body you have to figure out as you start motherhood. My goal is to help you avoid common problems such as pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, and diastasis recti that hasn’t healed postpartum.
TRAINING BEFORE PREGNANCY
Up to half of women experience pelvic floor dysfunctions like incontinence or prolapse. The combination of pregnancy, childbirth, and high-level training can increase vulnerability. Surprisingly, many women who train hard during pregnancy don’t show symptoms until after giving birth.
TRAINING DURING PREGNANCY
In general, you can continue training as you did before pregnancy during the first trimester, but you’ll need to adapt in the second and third trimesters. A common misconception is that you can keep doing exactly what you’ve always done because you’re conditioned. That’s a mistake.
FIRST TRIMESTER
Pregnancy brings structural changes that affect fitness performance and movement, beginning in the second trimester. In the first trimester, the core and pelvic floor aren’t the main concern, but rapid physiological changes, low energy, and nausea can make exercise challenging. Breast tenderness can also make activity uncomfortable, and symptoms may cause exercise to be sporadic.
SECOND TRIMESTER
In the second trimester, symptoms typically ease, and many women are ready to resume their regular program. The body starts to change visibly, and the transverse abdominis becomes inhibited. Alignment changes place more pressure on the core and pelvic floor, with the pelvis tilting forward and the ribs shifting. If this isn’t addressed, the glutes may become inactive while the low back, adductors, abductors, and hip flexors compensate. Pelvic discomfort and pain—such as pelvic girdle pain, SI joint pain, and lower back pain—are reported by a sizable portion of pregnant and postpartum women.
THIRD TRIMESTER
In the third trimester, diastasis recti, the natural separation of the abdominal wall, becomes a factor. While some separation is normal, training and alignment can worsen it. The pelvic floor is especially vulnerable as pregnancy progresses. The pelvic floor isn’t built to bear the load of heavy squats while meeting pregnancy demands, which can contribute to postpartum issues. A weakened core combined with vaginal delivery can increase the risk of incontinence or prolapse if you return to fitness too soon without proper rehab and retraining.
TRAINING POST PREGNANCY
Healing takes longer than six weeks postpartum. It takes about nine months to adapt to the changes of pregnancy, and that assumes you’ve done rehab. If diastasis recti hasn’t fully healed within the first eight weeks postpartum, it’s unlikely to heal on its own. You can still participate in activities you enjoy, but you’ll need to scale back and focus on rehab and retraining to optimize long-term performance. Many new moms rush back to high-impact fitness or intense classes before their bodies are ready, which can lead to issues like incontinence, prolapse, back or hip pain, and reduced performance at high intensity. As pregnancy progresses, you’ll need to modify lifts. This includes guidance on how to modify deadlifts using a barbell and kettlebells. More information is available in Barbell Training For Pregnancy: Your 3 Step Guide For Maximizing Performance During and After Pregnancy, which provides actionable steps to strengthen the core and pelvic floor, improve performance, and prevent postnatal complications. Access the free guide today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terrell Baldock is a prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist based in London, Ontario, Canada. She works with women who have core and pelvic floor dysfunctions to prepare them for pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery. Check out her award-winning site Mom’s Fitness Boutique.
