Training during pregnancy and after birth: what is safe

With medical clearance and a normal pregnancy, resistance training is safe and beneficial. Major obstetric guidelines now encourage exercise rather than restrict it.

Basic rules

• Ask your doctor first — especially with a high-risk pregnancy, bleeding, placenta problems or pre-eclampsia.
• Continue what you were already doing. Pregnancy is not the time for new records, but it is a good time to maintain.
• The talk test: train at an intensity where you can still speak in sentences.
• 150 minutes of moderate activity a week is the general recommendation, including two strength sessions.

What to avoid

• Lying flat on your back for long periods after the first trimester (vein compression) — use a slight incline.
• Exercises with a risk of falling or impact to the abdomen (box jumps, contact sports, rapid direction changes).
• The Valsalva manoeuvre (long breath holds under maximal load) and maximal attempts.
• Overheating — sauna, hot yoga, training in extreme heat.

What works well

• Leg press, goblet squats to a comfortable depth, supported lunges.
• Rows and lat pulldowns — they help posture as the belly grows.
• Walking, stationary bike, swimming.
• Pelvic floor work and breathing — useful for both birth and recovery.

Stop and call your doctor if you have

• bleeding, fluid leaking, severe abdominal pain,
• dizziness, breathlessness at rest, chest pain,
• regular contractions.

After birth

1. First 6 weeks: walking, breathing, gentle pelvic floor work. Your postnatal check decides when to progress (usually later after a caesarean).
2. 6–12 weeks: machines and light free weights, 2–3 times a week, nothing maximal.
3. 3–6 months: gradual return to normal training, adding about 10 % load per week.

If you notice a gap in the middle of your abdomen (diastasis) or leaking urine when you strain — both are common and treatable; see a pelvic floor physiotherapist rather than pushing through.

The short version

• With medical clearance, weights are safe and recommended.
• Maintain rather than chase records; use the talk test.
• Avoid falls, overheating and breath holding.
• Return gradually, with attention to the pelvic floor.