EXERCISES YOUR CLIENTS SHOULD DO AND AVOID

DURING AND AFTER PREGNANCY

Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy DAY

3

We get a lot of questions about

exercise programming for Girls Gone Strong Perceived Effort Scale
pregnant clients.
1 Little or No Activity:
Anything other than sleeping, such
Many exercises are safe and as watching TV, reading, or riding in
effective for pregnant clients, a car.

but there are some that you

2-3 Light Activity:
should program with caution. Easy and could be sustained
for hours. It’s easy to carry on a
And remember, if a woman conversation.

was working at a moderate to

high intensity prior to preg- 4-6 Moderate Activity:
Feels like you could sustain it for
nancy, she can work at a rate hours, but your breathing is heavy,
of perceived effort of 7-8.5 out and it’s more difficult to hold a
conversation.
of 10 during pregnancy.

If a woman was sedentary 7-8 Vigorous Activity:

On the verge of becoming
before becoming pregnant, uncomfortable. You can only speak
she should exercise at a low a sentence or a few words at a time
and can’t sustain the activity for
to moderate intensity, or a long periods.
perceived effort of 2-6 out of
10, throughout her pregnancy. 9 Very Hard Activity:
Very difficult to sustain. It feels like
you can hardly breathe, and you can
barely speak a word.

Maximal Activity:
10
Almost impossible to keep going.
You can hardly breathe, and you
can’t speak at all.

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 DAY 3: Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy

WHEN TO STOP EXERCISE

Advise your client to stop exercising and call a member of her healthcare
team immediately if she experiences:

• Vaginal bleeding • Headache

• Regular painful contractions • Chest pain
• Amniotic fluid leakage • Muscle weakness affecting
• Shortness of breath before balance
exertion • Calf pain or swelling
• Dizziness

Make sure each pregnant and postnatal client is familiar with the
symptoms listed above and understands she should “listen to her
body” above all else. If something is feeling “off” or not quite right, she
needs to back off or stop the exercise altogether, even if there are no
other symptoms.

ACTIVITIES THAT ARE SAFE AND CAN BE CONTINUED OR STARTED SLOWLY

o Low-impact aerobic activities (e.g., walking, swimming, stationary
cycling, low-impact aerobic classes)
o Modified yoga and pilates

o Running and jogging*

o Resistance training*

*Your client should receive medical clearance to engage in these activities, and then be
continuously monitored by her medical professional.

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 DAY 3: Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy

RESISTANCE TRAINING EXERCISES THAT ARE GENERALLY SAFE DURING

PREGNANCY
If your client is cleared for exercise, you can generally choose from a wide
variety of resistance training exercises that are both safe and beneficial.

These are just a few:

Core/Trunk Glute Bridge

• Half-Kneeling Chop • Bodyweight Glute Bridge
(band or cable) • Single-Leg Glute Bridge
• Tall-Kneeling Pallof Press • Feet-Elevated Glute Bridge
• Suitcase Carry • Back-Elevated Hip Thrust

Squat Row Variations

• Bodyweight Squat • One-Arm Dumbbell Row
• Dumbbell Squat • Seated Cable Row
• Goblet Squat • Standing Band Row
• Single-Arm Cable Row

Hinge Press Variations

• Kettlebell Deadlift • Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
• Romanian Deadlift • Standing Cable Press
• Suitcase Deadlift • Half-Kneeling Band Press

In general, follow these tips for choosing effective exercises to include

in your prenatal client’s workouts:

o Her body feels good, and the exercise doesn’t cause her any pain
or discomfort.

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 DAY 3: Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy

o Her abdominal muscles and pelvic floor do not feel strained, and
she isn’t feeling any outward pressure on her belly or downward
pressure onto her pelvic floor.
o The exercise feels moderately challenging for her, but she doesn’t
feel like she’s pushing her body to failure on any reps.

ACTIVITIES THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED

o Contact sports (e.g., hockey, boxing, soccer, rugby, football,
basketball)
o Activities with a high risk of falling (e.g., downhill and water skiing,
surfing, off-road cycling, gymnastics, horseback riding)
o Scuba diving

o Activities done in high temperatures (e.g., hot yoga, hot pilates)

EXERCISES TO AVOID DURING PREGNANCY

The following exercises should be avoided during pregnancy:

o Exercises that cause leaking of urine or sensations of heaviness or

dragging in the perineum.
o Exercises that cause pain or aggravate existing pain.

o Exercises that cause the abdominal wall to bulge, especially along the
midline.
o Prolonged exercise in supine in the later stages of pregnancy.

o Exercises performed at such a high intensity that the client can’t talk
comfortably.

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 DAY 3: Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy

Top Considerations for Prenatal Training Programs

During this time in your client’s life, the focus of your training sessions
should be on helping her maintain activity and feel strong and capable in
her changing body while keeping her feeling healthy outside the gym.

When designing resistance training programs, it will be important to know

the client’s training level and how many days she intends to train. From
there, you will need to consider:

o What exercises to prescribe (exercise selection)

o The order in which the exercises will be performed (exercise order)

o How many times she will do the exercises (reps and sets)

o How much weight she will be lifting with the exercises (intensity
of load)
o How much rest she takes between each set (density)

o How the program will progress (forms of progression)

EXERCISE SELECTION
It’s important to select the right exercise and level of difficulty for your
client and her goals.

To create a well-balanced program, include exercises from each movement

pattern category in your client’s sessions throughout the week, with a slight
bias toward hinge/hip-dominant exercises, pulling/rowing exercises, and
core strengthening exercises, all of which can help support your pregnant
client as her body changes.

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 DAY 3: Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy

The six major movement patterns* for the upper and lower body are:

o Push

• Vertical push (e.g, dumbbell shoulder press)

• Horizontal push (e.g., dumbbell bench press)

o Pull

• Vertical pull (e.g., pull-up)

• Horizontal pull (e.g., bent-over row)

o Squat (e.g. barbell back squat)

o Hinge/Hip-Dominant (e.g. barbell deadlift or barbell hip thrust)

o Lunge (e.g. reverse lunge)

o Loaded Carry (e.g. suitcase carry)

*While there are more major movement patterns than what is listed below, this list
contains patterns appropriate for pregnant and postnatal clients.

INTENSITY OF LOAD AND REST PERIOD

Among general population clients, the intensity of load is determined by a
percentage of the maximum load a person can lift in a given exercise with
good form. For pregnant women, the ACSM recommends rep ranges of
8–10 or 12–15, so that they are working to a moderate level of fatigue.

We have found that intermediate and advanced clients can lift in rep
ranges as low as 6, and as high as 15–20, as long as they are not working
to failure and are not holding their breath (Valsalva maneuver) which can
cause serious health problems.

Your client should always feel like she could complete one or two more
reps in each set.

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 DAY 3: Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy

SETS AND REPS

Beginners may do well with one to two sets of each exercise, while two to
four sets may be appropriate for intermediate and advanced clients. This
depends on the structure of the training program, the exercises prescribed,
and the client’s experience and energy level. Moderate intensity is still
advised.

Rest periods between sets should be long enough for your client to be able
to talk without gasping or see a significant drop in the number of reps
performed (two or more).

If you’re a coach or you want to be…

Learning how to ask the right questions (and avoid common mistakes) is
critical to feeling confident when coaching pregnant & postpartum clients.

But it doesn’t stop there.

If you’d like to learn exactly what you need to know to confidently coach,
train, and make an even bigger difference in the lives of women who are
pregnant or postpartum (and know how to appropriately address topics
like pelvic organ prolapse, leaking urine during exercise, body image
struggles, postpartum depression, and much, much more), consider
enrolling in our Pre- & Postnatal Coaching Certification (CPPC).

CPPC is the world’s only comprehensive, interdisciplinary, evidence-based

pre- and postnatal coaching certification, and it’s designed to teach you
exactly how to work with clients who are pregnant and postpartum.

Not only will you master the science and psychology of coaching women,
but you’ll also learn how to keep them safe and strong both during and
after pregnancy.

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 DAY 3: Exercises to Do and Avoid During Pregnancy

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