Everyone is different and everyone’s pregnancy is different. This worked based on my personal experience and permission from my doctor. Please connect with your doctor and a professional trainer on what is best for you prior to trying any new workout regimens.
I wasn’t always consistent with my gym attendance. I would train for a race here, take a break, run an obstacle course there. I never aspired to be a fitness model or professional athlete so I mostly just balanced it all out with healthy food.
There was something about the age 30 lurking around the corner and the idea that I might at some point want children that motivated me to hire a personal trainer. I started with twice a week and then increased it to three. Three became a habit for me, there are seven days in the week, anyone can find time just three days out of the seven, right?
Once I became pregnant I was genuinely concerned. Would I be too tired to workout? Will morning sickness stand in the way? Would I give in to cravings and instantly gain a million pounds? Will all of my hard work be for nothing? I was fortunate to experience an “easy” pregnancy early on. Cravings were manageable, I understood that I was not eating for two people, I was just eating well. So when it came to fitness I didn’t skip a beat.
I instantly turned the intensity down and kept the momentum going. These were my go-to moves up until week 14. Doing one of these sets three times a week kept me at a healthy weight (I gained 1 lb), kept me feeling confident and strong. These all worked really well for the first semester but I had to make even more adjustments for the second one!
Bottoms
- DB squats 4×10
- Curtsy lunges 4×10
- Lateral step ups 4×10 (each side)
- Banded clam shells 4×10
- Glute bridges 4×10
- 10 minutes cardio
Top
- DB curl to press 4×10
- Single arm row 4×10
- DB hammer curl 4×10
- 1/2 kneeling DB shoulder press 4×10
- Bench dips 4×10
- 20 minutes cardio
Back
- Cable reverse fly 4×10
- wide lat pull down 4×10
- Inverted rows TRX 4×10
- Deadlift 4×10
- Assisted pull ups 4×10
- 10 minutes cardio
All
- Close Stance leg press
- Seated cable row
- Cable Kickbacks
- Cable straight arm pull down
- Dumbell snatch squat
- 10 minutes cardio
Check out how I kept up with workouts in the second trimester!