Why strength training is worth keeping up

Pregnancy is not the moment to chase personal bests, but it is rarely a reason to stop lifting altogether. If you were training before conception and your midwife has no concerns, continuing with sensible adjustments can help you cope with the extra weight you are carrying, support better sleep, steady your blood sugar, and make the physical demands of late pregnancy and recovery far easier to manage. If you are new to resistance training, you can still start — but build up slowly, prioritise technique over load, and consider working with a qualified pre and postnatal coach for your first few sessions.

Do clear exercise with your midwife or GP first, especially if you have a history of miscarriage or premature birth, placenta praevia, cervical weakness, pre-eclampsia, significant anaemia, or a multiple pregnancy. These are not automatic noes, but they need a proper conversation rather than guesswork.

First trimester: maintain, don't push

Fatigue and nausea shape most first trimesters, so let your energy lead. Two or three sessions a week of 30–45 minutes is plenty. Keep the same exercises you know well, drop the load to roughly 60–70 per cent of your pre-pregnancy working weight, and aim for a perceived effort of about 5–6 out of 10. Stopping a set with two or three good reps still in the tank is exactly the right place to be.

• Work in two to three sets of 8–12 reps with 60–90 seconds of rest.
• Train in a cool room and sip water — overheating is a real risk in early pregnancy.
• Skip maximal lifts, breath-holding, hot yoga, and anything that leaves you gasping.
• On low-energy days, cut sets rather than form. A short, tidy session beats a long, sloppy one.

Second trimester: positioning and pressure

From roughly 12–16 weeks, your bump starts to change the angles. Avoid lying flat on your back for more than a minute or two, as the weight of the uterus can press on the vena cava and make you feel dizzy or faint. Use an incline bench or wedge for pressing movements, and never lie face down.

Watch for coning or doming — a ridge or peak running down the middle of your abdomen during a lift. It is a sign the load is outpacing your deep core. Reduce the weight, slow down, or swap to dead bugs, bird dogs and side-lying work. Crunches, full sit-ups and loaded twisting are best parked for now.

Relaxin loosens your ligaments, so control every lowering phase, avoid bouncing, and do not push stretches to end range. Skip contact sports, box jumps and anything with a genuine fall risk. Keep supporting your pelvic floor throughout.

Third trimester: support, shorten, breathe

Most women find loads naturally drop here, and that is entirely appropriate. Favour supported and seated variations: wide-stance or box squats with a rail nearby, split squats holding a wall, seated rows, incline push-ups, hip thrusts with your back on a bench, and block or trap-bar deadlifts to shorten the range.

• Two sets of 6–10 reps at an effort of 4–6 out of 10 is a sensible ceiling.
• Rest 90 seconds between sets and stop the session while you still feel good.
• Widen your stance and hold something stable — balance shifts quickly as your centre of gravity moves.
• Keep sessions to 30 minutes or less and avoid lying supine entirely.

Breathing, bracing and your pelvic floor

Breathe out on effort and in on the return. Avoid the Valsalva manoeuvre — holding your breath and bearing down against a closed throat — because it spikes intra-abdominal pressure sharply. Instead, use a gentle, steady blow-out as you lift, keeping your ribs stacked over your pelvis.

Practise pelvic floor exercises daily: squeeze and lift slowly, hold for a few seconds, release fully, and repeat ten times, followed by ten quick flicks. Coordinate the lift with the exhale of a rep. If you leak, feel heaviness, or notice bulging, ask your midwife for a referral to a women's health physiotherapist — this is common and very treatable.

Warning signs: when to stop and seek advice

Some symptoms are simply a signal to rest. Others need prompt medical advice. Stop training and contact your midwife, GP or NHS 111 if you experience any of the following:

• Vaginal bleeding or fluid leaking
• Dizziness, faintness, or feeling suddenly unwell
• Regular, painful contractions or period-like cramping
• Chest pain, palpitations, or breathlessness at rest
• Pain, swelling or redness in one calf
• Severe or persistent headache, visual changes, or sudden swelling of your hands and face
• Any change in your baby's movements — contact your maternity unit straight away, day or night
• Leaking urine, vaginal heaviness or bulging
• Coning along the midline, or sharp pubic or lower back pain

Call 999 for severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, or heavy bleeding. Otherwise, trust your instincts: if something feels wrong, it is always worth a phone call. Strength training in pregnancy is about staying capable, not proving anything — and the women who adapt well are the ones who listen closely to their bodies.