Workout Routine During Pregnancy

*Disclaimer: Every pregnancy and every body is different. My doctor encouraged me to workout during my pregnancy from day 1.

One of the most frequent questions I got during my pregnancy was “are you still working out?” Short answer: Yes absolutely, and I worked out throughout my pregnancy. I’m not a doctor, but after speaking to my doctor, my trainers, and doing some homework online; I learned that working out is actually recommended during pregnancy. However, things do have to modified as the pregnancy progresses, but the idea is to stay active as possible without killing yourself. My doctor encouraged me to exercise from the very beginning, and being as active as I am, I didn’t question it. The only rules she gave me were: “No core work” and “nothing that requires bouncing and jumping around.” With those two rules in mind, I spoke to my trainers and modified my workouts accordingly. Check out my breakdown below.

First Trimester: So fun fact: the day I found out about my pregnancy I had done an HITT Pilates class that morning haha. However, as soon as I met my doctor, she informed me that I had to modify my workouts, and inform any trainers I’m working with right away. At this point, I felt physically very normal-maybe a little nauseous but thats about it. I started doing my daily cardio on a stationary bike, with a half n hour walk in the evening (this was more of a change of scenery for me because it was the middle of lockdown and I wanted to be outside). Then, I did barre classes once a week, as well as hip opening yoga classes. Along with that, I followed this workout that I found on Pinterest and a few youtube workouts from Pregnancy and Postpartum TV.

Second trimester: By the time I got to my 4th month, I started trusting my body a little bit more, and increased my activity. My first source to find workouts was Pinterest again, and my weekly workouts were a combination of Pinterest finds and couple of videos by Glow Body PT.  Let me tell you, those workouts killed! I felt my muscles working and found myself sore a couple times, but I loved every minute of it. Despite the increase in energy, the increase in weight was making it difficult to keep up with the regular Barre classes and Hip Opening Yoga classes. Therefore, I stopped the Yoga classes and started with prenatal pilates classes twice a week, which are at a much slower pace but suiting me perfectly. As the weather got better, I continued my outdoor walks as well.

Third Trimester: Now things are getting a little heavy for me, and I’m finding myself slowing down and needing catch my breath sooner than what I’m used to. Ive continued with the prenatal pilates classes, which are a huge huge blessing; the stationary bike for cardio, and I’m following this Pinterest workout by Postpartum Trainer Brittany Robles. Also, as I write this, it is the middle of winter here, but we are getting bright sunny days, so I do my 30 minute walks in the glorious afternoon sun :).

So that is a breakdown of my workout routine during my pregnancy. First things first, I’m so glad I was able to workout during pregnancy. I understand it’s not for everyone, but it’s been a lifesaver for me, and having the Internet to access so much information has been a huge huge blessing as well. I hope this help you or your loved one moving forward :).