Exercise During Pregnancy
Safe activity by trimester — with your doctor's approval
Recommended
- Walking and Nordic walking — the baseline choice for all trimesters
- Swimming and aqua aerobics — unloads joints and the back
- Prenatal yoga / stretching — with an experienced instructor
- Stationary bike — safer than road cycling (no fall risk)
- Light strength training — technique over load
Avoid
- Contact sports and martial arts — risk of abdominal impact
- Jumping, road cycling, skiing, horse riding — fall risk
- Lying-flat-on-back exercises after the 1st trimester — vena cava compression
- Deep twists and heavy abdominal straining
- Scuba diving; altitude sports above 2,500 m without acclimatization
By trimester
1st trimester: continue usual activity, avoid overheating and dehydration
Stop and call a doctor if
- Bleeding or unusual discharge
- Dizziness, chest pain, shortness of breath before exertion
- Abdominal pain, regular uterine contractions
- Calf pain or swelling — possible thrombosis
Guideline: moderate intensity — the 'talk test' (you can talk during exercise). Heart rate up to ~140 bpm. Always clear your program with your OB-GYN, especially with complications, hypertension, or multiple pregnancy.
About Exercise During Pregnancy
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