Pregnancy fitness tips for a healthy pregnancy, including trimester-by-trimester workouts and safe exercise ideas.
Staying active during pregnancy doesn’t have to mean intense workouts or spending hours in the gym. In fact, one of the biggest things I learned during my second pregnancy was that pregnancy fitness is about supporting your body, not pushing it.
Before we begin, I want to make it clear that I’m not a healthcare professional. Everything in this guide is based on my own experience, what worked for me, and the research I did throughout my pregnancy. Always speak to your healthcare provider, GP, or midwife before starting or changing your exercise routine during pregnancy or postpartum.
My first and second pregnancies looked completely different.
During my first pregnancy, I hardly exercised and rarely went for walks. As a result, I reached one of the unhealthiest points I’d ever been. While weight gain during pregnancy is completely normal, healthy, and necessary, there’s also a difference between gaining the weight your body and baby need and developing habits that lead to unnecessary weight and body fat gain.
Looking back, I neglected my health, and my postpartum recovery felt much slower and more difficult than it needed to be.
During my second pregnancy, I approached things very differently. Instead of trying to do everything perfectly, I focused on maintaining the healthy habits I’d already built before pregnancy. I adjusted my workouts as my body changed, listened to my energy levels, and followed a trimester-by-trimester pregnancy fitness plan that felt realistic and sustainable.
Rather than chasing personal bests or trying to improve my fitness, my goal was simply to maintain fitness during pregnancy, support my body as it grew my baby, and prepare for postpartum recovery.
The difference was incredible. I felt stronger throughout pregnancy, experienced a much smoother recovery after birth, and returned to my pre-pregnancy healthy weight by around four months postpartum—not because I was trying to “bounce back,” but because I had continued looking after my body in a way that felt achievable.
In this blog post, I’ll share the pregnancy fitness tips, and workout routine that worked for me in each trimester. I’ll cover my approach to pregnancy exercises in the first trimester, exercise in the second trimester, and pregnancy exercises for the third trimester, along with how I adjusted my routine as my body and energy levels changed.
My hope is that this guide gives you realistic ideas for staying active during pregnancy while reminding you that every pregnancy is different. The best pregnancy fitness guide is one that works with your body—not against it.
This post is all about pregnancy fitness tips!
Pregnancy Fitness Tips First Trimester: Focus on Gentle Movement & Listening to Your Body
The first trimester is often the hardest part of pregnancy, and for many women, it’s less about “getting fit” and more about simply surviving.
For many people, energy levels can feel normal in the very early weeks before symptoms start to peak around weeks 6–8. Nausea, morning sickness, exhaustion, food aversions, and other early pregnancy symptoms can make normal daily activities feel challenging.
Of course, every pregnancy is different. Some women feel better earlier, while others may experience symptoms well into the second trimester. For me, this stage was all about removing pressure, giving my body what it needed, and focusing on gentle movement when I could.
Before pregnancy, I was regularly walking 6,000–10,000 steps a day. During my first trimester, there were days where I could only manage 200–1,000 steps — and that was completely okay.
Please do not feel like you are losing progress in your health journey or that you are being “lazy.” Rest is productive during pregnancy. Your body is working incredibly hard to grow your baby, and sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is slow down.
Early Pregnancy Fitness Tips: What Exercise Did I Do in My First Trimester?
During this trimester, my main focus was:
- Gentle walking when I felt able to
- Stretching
- Gentle Pilates
- Low-impact dance workouts
- Deep core and pelvic floor exercises: My favourite were from Lauren Fitter on Youtube – Click HERE for the exact video I did.
There were many weeks where I couldn’t complete a proper workout. Sometimes I would start exercising and end up feeling nauseous or needing to stop.
Instead of forcing myself, I listened to my body.
Some weeks I worked out twice, and some weeks I didn’t manage a workout at all — and that was okay.
One thing I prioritised during my first trimester was deep core and pelvic floor exercises.
These gentle exercises helped me:
- Maintain a strong core during pregnancy
- Support my changing body
- Improve my awareness of my pelvic floor muscles
- Prepare my body for postpartum recovery
A strong core during pregnancy is not about having visible abs. It’s about building support and connection with the muscles that help carry your growing baby.
I focused on short 10-minute sessions around 3–4 times per week.
Exercise in Pregnancy Second Trimester: Building Strength & Staying Consistent
The second trimester is often known as the “honeymoon phase” of pregnancy because many women start to experience more energy.
The second trimester officially begins around weeks 13–14, but for many women, it can take a few more weeks before they truly start feeling like themselves again.
For me, my energy started improving around weeks 16–20, and this was when I slowly started increasing my movement again.
The goal wasn’t to get back to my old routine overnight. The goal was to rebuild consistency.
How to Maintain Fitness During Pregnancy in the Second Trimester
This trimester is when I focused on:
- Increasing my daily steps
- Returning to strength training (I highly recommend MOMDAY on youtube!! She only has 3 workouts on her page, but they were amazing and I did them throughout my whole pregnancy)
- Continuing core and pelvic floor exercises (Click HERE for the exact second trimester core and pelvic floor exercises I did)
- Moving consistently without burning myself out
I slowly increased my steps from around 1,000 daily to around 6,000 steps per day (some days outside, some days using the walking pad.
Could I have done more? Yes. But 6,000 steps felt realistic and sustainable alongside pregnancy fatigue, work, and looking after my family.
The best pregnancy fitness plan is one you can actually maintain.
Strength Training During Pregnancy: Benefits & Why I Did It
During my second trimester, I returned to strength training around 3 times per week with pregnancy-safe workouts.
Strength training during pregnancy can help support:
- Maintaining muscle and strength
- Supporting metabolism
- Managing healthy pregnancy weight gain
- Improving posture as your body changes
- Preparing your body for labour and postpartum recovery
- Supporting overall fitness during pregnancy
However, pregnancy is not the time to chase heavier weights or personal bests. The goal is maintenance, strength, and feeling good.
Always make sure you are following pregnancy-qualified trainers (e.g. MOMDAY on youtube or Lauren Fitter) and modifying exercises appropriately for your trimester.
Second Trimester Pregnancy Fitness Routine
My weekly routine looked like (use this to inspire yours):
- 3x pregnancy-safe strength training workouts
- 3x deep core and pelvic floor workouts
- Around 6,000 steps most days
- Gentle movement whenever possible
My biggest focus:
Consistency over intensity.
Some days I reduced the weight, lowered my reps, or shortened workouts depending on my energy levels. And that’s okay. Your body is literally growing a human — your workouts should support that.
Pregnancy Exercise for Easy Delivery: Pelvic Floor & Labour Preparation
Your pelvic floor is one of the most important areas to focus on during pregnancy.
While many people only think about pelvic floor exercises after birth, preparing your pelvic floor during pregnancy can be incredibly valuable.
I started focusing more heavily on pelvic floor and labour preparation during my second trimester and continued until birth.
Benefits of Pelvic Floor Exercises During Pregnancy
Pregnancy pelvic floor exercises can help you:
- Improve awareness of your pelvic floor muscles
- Learn how to relax your pelvic floor (not just strengthen it)
- Support baby positioning
- Prepare your body for labour
- Feel more confident going into birth
I personally aimed for:
- 5–10 minutes
- Around 3–5 times per week
- Increasing frequency closer to my third trimester
I loved adding these exercises into my evening routine because it also helped me relax before bed.
My Favourite Pregnancy Pelvic Floor & Labour Prep Workouts
I personally loved following pregnancy-qualified workouts from MOMDAY on YouTube.
I used her:
- Pelvic floor workouts
- Labour preparation exercises
- Pregnancy mobility workouts
They taught me so much about relaxing my pelvic floor, which is just as important as strengthening it.
Important disclaimer:
Pelvic floor exercises and labour preparation do not guarantee a certain birth experience or delivery outcome.
Birth is unpredictable, and every pregnancy and labour is different.
However, they can help you feel more prepared, connected to your body, and confident going into labour.
Pregnancy Exercises Third Trimester: Adjusting Your Routine as Your Body Changes
The third trimester is when your body changes the most, and your workouts will likely need more adjustments.
At the beginning of the third trimester, my energy was still fairly similar to the second trimester.
However, as I got closer to full term, movements became harder, my belly grew, and I needed to listen to my body even more.
My Third Trimester Pregnancy Fitness Routine
I continued with a similar structure:
- 3x pregnancy-safe strength workouts
- Daily walking when possible
- Core and pelvic floor exercises
- Rest days when needed
However, I started modifying more:
- Lowering weights
- Reducing intensity
- Taking longer rest periods
- Stopping workouts earlier when needed
Personally, I reduced weights more during lower body workouts because they became more challenging.
For upper body workouts, I was able to maintain similar weights for longer.
Late Pregnancy Fitness Tips: Preparing Your Body for Birth
As I approached full term, my focus shifted from maintaining strength to preparing my body for birth.
My priorities became:
- More walking
- Gentle movement
- Pelvic floor relaxation
- Labour preparation
I also used:
- At-home walking workouts (Growwithjo on Youtube has the best ones!!)
- A walking pad when going outside wasn’t practical
For pelvic floor relaxation and labour preparation, I increased this closer to 5 times per week.
The Most Important Pregnancy Fitness Tip: Listen To Your Body
The biggest lesson I learned from my pregnancy fitness journey is:
Pregnancy is not the time to push harder. It’s the time to support your body.
Pregnancy is NOT about:
- Hitting personal bests
- Training through exhaustion
- Trying to progress every week
- “Bouncing back” quickly
It IS about:
- Maintaining your health
- Supporting your changing body
- Building strength for birth and postpartum
- Moving in ways that feel good
The best pregnancy workout routine is one that helps you feel strong, supported, and confident throughout your pregnancy.
Pregnancy Fitness Equipment
These are the equipment I have used throughout my second pregnancy and now postpartum too!
This post was all about pregnancy fitness tips!
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