How I’ve Modified Exercises During Pregnancy

There is a lot of information online about what you should or shouldn’t be doing during pregnancy. A lot of times, the amount of information overload can feel overwhelming and you may find yourself avoiding exercise all together. I think the biggest advice I can give is to continue to move your body in ways that feel good. If you’ve never run a marathon before, now is not the time to start training. You also shouldn’t set expectations or goals to hit a 1 rep max PR with your squat or deadlift. However, it is important for you to stay strong and active. Continue to lift the heavy weights or continue to run if you’ve always been a runner and it still feels good in your body.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) recommends 20 to 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise most days of the week. Here are a few signs your body may be giving you that you need to scale back or modify your exercises: 

• Vaginal bleeding 

• Regular painful contractions 

• Amniotic fluid leakage 

• Dyspnea before exertion 

• Dizziness 

• Headache 

• Chest pain 

• Muscle weakness impacting balance 

• Calf pain/swelling 

Here are a few things I modified with each trimester so far:

First Trimester

During the beginning of my first trimester, I had significantly less energy. Therefore, I really tried to focus on listening to my body and base my workouts on how I was feeling day to day

I continued to focus on strength training, emphasizing my posterior chain (both glutes and hamstrings) to make sure they were supporting my spine and pelvis as well as maintaining stability of my pelvic floor muscles. While working on my strength training, I maintained a similar level to training that I was doing pre-pregnancy. I incorporated breath work to make sure I was not holding my breath throughout any movements and providing good core support with each lift. 

I also continued to do Pilates work 1-2 times per week. With my background, I had been doing Pilates consistently prior to becoming pregnant, so this was not a major change to my normal routine. Moving on the Pilates equipment helps me to connect with my transverse abdominus muscles to make sure I am activating my deep core. I know my abdominal muscles will continue to weaken as my stomach continues to grow and the abdominal wall is stretched out. Therefore, I want to make sure my core is strong during pregnancy and to help hopefully make my recovery postpartum easier. I plan to continue focusing on my core in a variety of positions as my pregnancy progresses.

Second Trimester

As my body continued to change, I made more modifications to my workouts during my second trimester. Any exercises done on my stomach I now do on my hands and knees. 

I continued to focus on posterior chain strengthening of my glutes and hamstrings. I did this through working on double leg stability to support my pelvis. This included squats, deadlifts, kickstand RDLs, hip thrusts, side planks and bridge lifts. 

Side Planks

Side planks are a great exercise to target the outer hips and obliques. 

I have still felt comfortable continuing with abdominal exercises on my back, but have also made some modifications with exercises in quadruped, kneeling and tall kneeling. Here are a few ways I have modified these exercises:

Tall Kneeling Paloff Press

 This is a great anti-rotation core exercise you can use with a resistance band or weights.

Tall Kneeling Rotation

 This is a good modification for bicycle exercise on your back to still get rotation into your workouts.

Plank modifications

With all of my core strengthening, I watch for any hard doming or coning of my abdominal wall. This is a sign that I am loading my abdominal wall more than my core muscles can support. If I see this happening, I modify the exercise by either changing positions or decreasing the lever arm so there is less strain on my abdominal wall. 

I started modifying planks and push-ups from higher surface to reduce strain on my abdominal wall and to make sure I didn’t have any hard doming or coning. 

What questions do you have about exercise modifications during pregnancy? Stay tuned as I continue to make changes during the last half of my pregnancy!  If you are pregnant and unsure of what exercises to do to best support your body as it continues to change, our pelvic floor physical therapists would be happy to guide you! Reach out to learn more about how we can support you during your pregnancy!